Whilst I don't drive my car like I stole it, I don't hold back either, I am a "spirited" driver. I'll do 70ish not 60ish on a motorway, but most driving is A roads and country roads. I don't drive for economy but when I have taken it easy on the motorway I have seen in excess of 60mpg returned.

 

My long term average mpg is 44 which I thought was suprisingly low. That's 44 on the computer though, not a spreadsheet. So I'm just curious, is anyone else getting similarly low figures from a 1.6 TD DSG?

 

Nick

The manual version estate car that I had with that engine averaged around 53mpg, with 60+mpg easily attainable on longer runs, so your mpg does seem a bit lower than you might expect.

Not a 1.6D but we have a 1.4TSI manual estate and over the 3 years we've lived in North Devon our long term average is 47mpg, so 44mpg from your 1.6D does seem low.

I’ve had my Octavia 1.6TDi 5speed for 46’500 miles and have averaged 58-62 mpg over that time and I don’t hang around either. I think that around 55mpg must be appropriate for a 1.6TDi DSG surely? Your mpg does seem a bit low. 

Hmm, I wonder what would account for it then? Fully serviced, 41k, just replaced the air filter, no known issues. Decent fuel (vpower). I work from home, so maybe my journies aren't long enough for a diesel to come in to its own...

 

Nick

Could well be shorter runs doing in your mpg. I've a 2.0 tdi dsg and can get 53-55mpg. I give it some beans fairly often and sport mode gets me moving past slow traffic when required. 

Edited 2 December, 20205 yr by paulski

I just drove 70 miles in a similar manner and avg 44. On my old A3 1.6tdi dsg I would have to have the foot planted, carrying weight and bikes on the roof to see less than 50mpg. I know its a smaller car but not that much

A few years back we had a Kia 1.6d hire car for a UK holiday and did a lot of miles there on the crowded motorways. The last thing we wanted was a speed ticket while abroad and since we were in no hurry just went with the traffic flow.

We usually got 70+mpgs from a tank but while we were doing the tourist thing down in Devon and Cornwall it was notable that our average dropped to around 50mpg despite clear off-peak-season roads., I presumed it was the effect of steep hills and cautious driving on one car-wide only country lanes. I was aware of regens when they happened but they were pretty rare.

Definitely not spirited driving but it did dawn on me after a while that I got  better consumption and driving experience by ignoring the displays recommended gear, which always had me trying to slog the engine in low revs. and choosing at least one gear higher for more comfortable revs.

 

I first joined Briskoda about 6 years back when we got our current 14tsi mk3 Octavia and I remember a regular contributor of the time recounting a situation where he swapped vehicles with his wife for a month or so. He usually got 50's in a 2.0tdi Octavia on his regular longer commute but was horrified to subsequently find out that his wife's consumption had dropped down to the teens with her usual short local journeys. When they swapped back again the Octavia consumption returned back to normal on his commute.

I think she may have got on the wrong side of continually interrupted DPF regens? 

@NikTheGeekI have recently replaced my mk2 petrol VRS with a mk3 1.6 TDI (50,000 miles) and I am really disappointed with the mpg.  I do a lot of motorway driving and I always use cruise control at 75mph.  They are both auto gearboxes and at 75mph my old VRS would do 34/35 mpg, my newer diesel only does 43/44 mpg!  I'm amazed it can't even manage 50 mpg, not even 500miles/tank.  Have you found a way to improve your mpg?  Sounds like we are in the same boat, maybe I should have done some more thorough research before buying.  My old 06 Civic diesel would do 54mpg no problem.

 

@paulskido you think the bigger 2.0 could actually be better on motorway runs than the 1.6?

 

Thanks guys

I think the larger engine would have been a more economical motorway cruiser. That logic works on boats. The 4.3l engine is usually more ecomomical than the 3.0 engine.

 

Anyway, if I cruise at 60, I can get in to the 50's mpg-wise, but no one wants to drive like an old lady do they (apart from, possibly, old ladies). So no, if I cruise like you, I was doing 44/45. I did the "pikey mod" and seem to be doing a little better now, but still no better than 47

 

Nick

@NikTheGeek I tend to agree with you.  I guess I'll run the 1.6 for a bit and see how it works out but it's not great - cruising at 60 is awful for what is still pretty bad mpg.  What is the "pikey mod"?  Although from what you say it may not be worth it!

7 minutes ago, SimmoWhale said:

@NikTheGeek I tend to agree with you.  I guess I'll run the 1.6 for a bit and see how it works out but it's not great - cruising at 60 is awful for what is still pretty bad mpg.  What is the "pikey mod"?  Although from what you say it may not be worth it!

 

I'd say it was worth it. It's:

1. Blanking off the rear of the drivers side air intake (forcing the air in to the air filter rather than passing over the engine bay)

2. Opening up the passenger side air intake which by default is blanked off

3. Removing the snow grate from the bottom of the air filter.

 

In Sports mode, you can tell a difference. Acceleration is a little better, you can hear the air being sucked in now. And if you don't take advantage of the slightly better acceleration, you get slightly better mpg.

 

It costs nothing to do, hence the name, so nothing ventured, nothing gained. (Actually, if you do it properly, you have to buy a VW blanking plate for £20. But its worth a punt...

 

Nick

@SimmoWhale

 

Quite likely the 2.0tdi is more economical as it's got a higher torque lower down the rev range. It'll do ~1200rpm in 6th gear at 30mph. 

 

If you think about what remaps do to TDI cars they are often advertised to increase mpg as the torque is improved so you don't need to be in a higher rev range. 

 

My Octavia 2.0 Dsg is equally as economical as my 2005 Seat Altea TDI was,  which was the 1.9l, smaller lighter and a manual. It's a cracking engine imo. 

 

@paulski

 

those were my thoughts as well, I find the 1.6 is actually better across town than on the motorway.  Perhaps I have just bought the wrong engine on this occasion...