Round trip to Devon

[ChrisPro]

Took the Fabia for a good workout this weekend to (not so sunny) Devon, a round trip of about 450 miles.

 

Determined to do the return trip on no more than a tank of fuel, I filled up to the brim on Friday and off I went. Trip down was great, car feels good regardless of whether I'm driving 50 mpg or 70ish mph. Here are my observations:

 

1. I hate the 30 mph speed limit on the M5 roadworks in the West Midlands
2. The Fabia really doesn't like going up steep hills like the major climb on the A38 in Devon (could be A30)
3. I can get 450 miles on a tank of petrol, with about 20 miles to spare
4. I can finally listen to 6Music and not the appalling local stations on FM.

 

A couple of observations:

 

• I noticed when climbing the big hill (see point 2 above) that I could actually see the needle on the fuel gauge dropping, at what point is it advisable to drop down to fourth on a major climb? I kept in 5th throughout and was beginning to struggle towards the top of the hill at around 60mph - couldn't get a good run at the hill as the traffic was really heavy.
   
• I seemed to get the same overall mpg on my drive down as my drive back and that's despite making no deliberate attempt to save fuel on my way down and a deliberate attempt to save fuel on the way back (i.e. slower on upward hills, lower overall speed etc)
   
• Is it just me, or is the Fabia 1.2 fuel tank a little on the small side?

Edited 1 April, 2018 by ChrisPro

[davidwhite]

Hi,

my findings on the many trips down to east Devon from North Yorks essentially keeping up with the flow of traffic albeit in a mk1 1.9tdi Fabia were always a better return on the way down even though most journeys home would be be leaving late night traveling through the early hours, I think my best return was 64.7 however that was when there was a long run on the M1 restricted to 50 mph with cameras I'm sure if I kept to a max of 65 mph I could have done improved on that no end but 6-7 hours in a Fabia is plenty 

car used to crack 70 mpg over a tankful fairly regularly prehaps not the most refined engine built but certainly lives up to its reputation.........

[edbostan]

Took my 1.2tsi 86bhp Roomie to Scotland this year where there are long hills and it did not like them in 5th. To avoid labouring the engine I dropped to 4th when it felt flat on the throttle pedal. Engines prefer to be lightly loaded at higher revs than slog along at low revs in higher gear.

[ChrisPro]

Thanks for the tip ed, I'll give that a go next time I feel the car labouring in 5th. Used to driving a big car with a small diesel engine which was just plain awful in terms of acceleration by never failed to impress on hills in top gear.

[Ootohere]

The fuel tanks in petrol Skoda Fabia have been the same size since 1999.

Pretty much the same as in other manufacturers cars of the same weight and power.

Over 19 years you would have hoped that the same amount of fuel in a tank would give a greater range and that emissions produced would be less,

seems not.

 

Maybe the 1.0TSI with GPF that are coming will still give no greater range / efficiency, but will be less polluting.

Vorsprung Durch Technik seemed to come to nothing.

SKODA Fabia car technical data. Car specifications. Vehicle fuel consumption information..mhtml

Edited 2 April, 2018 by AwaoffSki

[peter3197]

I did a trip to Cornwall in October last year from Northamptonshire in my Fabia 1.2 Tsi 90 combi, 2 up at all times. 854 miles overall at 49.1 mpg which I was quite happy with considering speeds used and some uneconomic motoring in Cornwall itself.

[Guest]

Chris, I'm guessing your Fabia is the 90ps version? If so, they do go well but up really steep hills they do like to rev a bit more to keep them happy especially if loaded. Remember, 5th gear is an overdrive gear for cruising and reducing the engine revs. It isn't made for slogging up hills if youi are loaded. 4th gear is it's true 'top gear'.  At 60 mph the engine is revving quite low in fifth gear so a change down is good. It also improves fuel economy to let it rev slightly higher under those conditions as you don't have to give it so much throttle and it burns cleaner. Very good to hear your views. I have the 110ps version with the DSG box. It kinda takes the decisions away from you regarding going up hills in so far as it selects the right gear for the job. It's lovely!

Edited 2 April, 2018 by Estate Man

[ChrisPro]

Hi Mr Estate Man, you are quite correct in that my Fab Estate is the smaller of the two 1.2 engines. Great info, next time I see a big hill, I won't be accelerating like a madman, I'll take it nice and easy and drop it a gear. Incidentally, on one of the long drawn out climbs on my way down, I was passed by a couple of Fabias - not just passed, they zoomed by, next time and with my newly acquired knowledge, that'll be me!

[edbostan]

Estate man is right. Petrol engines go better at higher revs with better torque. Ignore that arrow on the LED display telling you to change into 5th over 2000 rpm. I get better mpg showing on the display when I keep in 3rd gear in a 30mph limit rather than changing into 4th. Some hills in Scotland I changed into 3rd as I was holding up motorhomes. Rather embarrassing.

Edited 2 April, 2018 by edbostan

[vc-10]

Regarding range- I had a 2002 Polo with the 12v 1.2 petrol, the same engine known in the older Fabias as the HTP engine. That would get me around 400 miles to a full tank with careful driving. I can easily get 450 with my TSI 90, and 500 is achievable if I'm gentle. The difference is especially pronounced on the motorway, where the new Fabia will easily top 50 mpg on a long run, whereas the Polo would be around 10 mpg behind. My long-term average is around 45 mpg in the Fabia, and that's in far worse traffic than I ever routinely drove the Polo. I could get that sort of figure in the Polo only on regular cross-country A/B road driving, such as around near my parents, where the Fabia again easily tops 50 mpg. 

[Guest]

Sound pretty good vc-10. How many miles on the clock now?

[ChrisPro]

I need to remove the memory of driving my previous diesel car, in the last three months of ownership I was avoiding higher revs at all costs due to a blown turbo which meant higher revs burnt oil and damaged the engine still further. Off down South to West London in a few weeks, will use my newly acquired knowledge on the M40 (long incline approaching High Wycombe or Beaconsfield if memory serves me well).

 

Interesting that higher revs/ lower gear conserves fuel, will check it out on some local 30/ 40 mph runs.

 

Thanks guys!

[davidwhite]

Where you off to ?

West London born and bred ( Hanwell W7 grew up there in the 60/70 's ) 

then moved to Chalfont St Peter, spitting distance from Beconsfield ( wouldn't mind a £1 for every time I've used the M40 )

strangly enough I find that after a couple of decent trips in a ' new ' car you get to ' feel ' when the engines at the sweet spot 

[ChrisPro]

Going to a funeral in Ealing - wish it was under happier circumstances as there are a few people I wouldn't mind catching up with whilst down, alas gotta head back as I've got a hound with severe separation anxiety. I too spent a great many years in West London. Grew up in Uxbridge, lived in the area until about 10 years ago and worked in Bourne End with the daily commute up and down the M40.

[alan4856732]

Interesting reading these comments..

I've just switched to a 1.0 TSI 95 after 15 years driving an Octavia 1.9 TDI.

I started out by almost stalling it trying to pull away from near stationary in 2nd on several occasions.

Now, I always think the indicator in the maxidot wants me to change up to 5th far too early - usually at about 38mph on a flat road, seems to make the engine labour quite a lot, it appears  to want to keep it revving at about 1500rpm which seems a little too low for my liking.

[skidpan]

12 hours ago, ChrisPro said:

Interesting that higher revs/ lower gear conserves fuel, will check it out on some local 30/ 40 mph runs.

 

Higher revs and a lower gear does not save fuel. Being in the correct gear for your road speed and road conditions saves fuel. An experienced driver can "feel" with no problems when the car is running at its most efficient.

 

VAG TSI engines are not like petrols of old.   They produce their torque at much lower revs over quite a wide rev band. No need to thrash them. The easy driving manor and excellent mpg of our Leon 1.4 TSi and Superb 1.4 TSi are proof of this. When we test drove the Fabia 1.0 95 PS it was excellent on the hills of the peak district requiring nothing more than ordinary revs to cope with the hills. On the 50+ mile route we took it averaged over 55mpg according to the dash.

[rum4mo]

4 hours ago, alan4856732 said:

Interesting reading these comments..

I've just switched to a 1.0 TSI 95 after 15 years driving an Octavia 1.9 TDI.

I started out by almost stalling it trying to pull away from near stationary in 2nd on several occasions.

Now, I always think the indicator in the maxidot wants me to change up to 5th far too early - usually at about 38mph on a flat road, seems to make the engine labour quite a lot, it appears  to want to keep it revving at about 1500rpm which seems a little too low for my liking.

 

Due to wife leaving me to refuel her car and running down to maybe 15 miles range, I needed to refuel my wife's 2015 1.2TSI 110PS Polo at our local Tesco filling station and it seemed okay, maybe slightly reduced MPG but on a single tank you can't make sweeping statements on consumption I suppose, but, days later when down to less than half a tank of fuel, I ended up making a mess of starting from being nearly stationary at two roundabouts one per day (yes in 2nd gear!), after the second one I thought that it was not entirely due to me making a mess of things and when passing our local Costco, added in 16 litres of their UL+ petrol, after that things improved back to what I would expect them to be. I don't mean to make a habit of using UL+ petrol - I don't think, but it is years since I have messed up by having the engine bogging down under conditions that it would usually tolerate.  I discovered the "falling flat in its face if using second gear at silly moments" early on in its life and now accept that a slightly different approach is needed when driving a car fitted with a small engine with a turbo!

[Gerrycan]

I find putting the display on instant consumption gives a much better idea of what rev/gear combination works best.

The 'seat-of pants' meter has been known to be temperamental, even a bit prone to emotion bias.  

The 2nd gear on my 1.4tsi is just a bit long for my taste, even with the remarkable flexibility of the engine.  Might also be the case with the manual 1.2tsi?

 

[vc-10]

On 03/04/2018 at 20:39, Estate Man said:

Sound pretty good vc-10. How many miles on the clock now?

Just over 18k now. Loving the car! MPG is improving too with the better weather.

[SlightlyQ]

Hello 

 

I am assuming you are talking about Telegraph or Holden Hill just outside of Exeter  heading towards Cornwell, I am assuming that you have the 90PS Fabia 1.2TSi model as my 110PS 1.2TSi Monte Carlo increases speed in 6th gear as i go up either of these hills.

 

SlightlyQ

[ChrisPro]

Hi SlightlyQ,

 

Not sure of the name but it's the large hill on the A38 (I think), just after it branches off. The route I took, went off towards Newton Abbot, I'd hate to have to ride it on a push bike. 

 

You're quite correct in that I've got the 5 gear 90PS Fabia - but now armed with my newly acquired knowledge, if I ever have to take the hill, it'll be in fourth.

 

I looked at the Monte, there was a really nice one at the dealership that I eventually purchased mine at, the only thing that put me off was the red interior - not for me.

[SlightlyQ]

8 minutes ago, ChrisPro said:

Hi SlightlyQ,

 

Not sure of the name but it's the large hill on the A38 (I think), just after it branches off. The route I took, went off towards Newton Abbot, I'd hate to have to ride it on a push bike. 

 

You're quite correct in that I've got the 5 gear 90PS Fabia - but now armed with my newly acquired knowledge, if I ever have to take the hill, it'll be in fourth.

 

I looked at the Monte, there was a really nice one at the dealership that I eventually purchased mine at, the only thing that put me off was the red interior - not for me.

 

Hi

 

That was Holden Hill, it is quite a steep hill. I go up that one often in my Monte...

 

I was not a fan of the red interior, but it seems to work well with the black paint i have on my one.... seats are great for long runs and cornering.... lol 

 

SlightlyQ