Of course I don’t get this all the time.

 

My previous Kodiaq managed 38 mpg true brim to brim over 3 years.

 

The current Bear hasn’t reached that figure due to much lower miles under Covid rules.

 

But over a couple of hundred gentle (ish) miles on this week’s short break the dash gave me 45 mpg.

 

That’ll do.

 

Must be something in the air, I’ve been very surprised to achieve over 40mpg the last few days on a short trip away.

14 hours ago, Kenny R said:

Must be something in the air, I’ve been very surprised to achieve over 40mpg the last few days on a short trip away.

Warmer weather but not too warm, so quick to get up to operating temperature and low load on the heating/cooling/electrical systems. Gone are the days when I used to routinely get 45+mpg on warm weather journeys. The car seems be thirstier as it ages (probably partly my driving style), not helped by switching to All Season tyres. 

The UK is about as good as it gets for fuel economy also as good as it gets and for the performance of the engines meeting & exceeding the min of what you paid for according to PS / Nm.

 

Good quality fuel, & never driving more than 3,000 ft above sea level in the UK.

Not too hot or cold in the main. 

 So less waste of fuel so energy getting engines / coolant / oil up to temp, or energy to get the oil cooled again.

Maybe times of nice cool dry air and roads in winter when there is no need for too much de-icing, heating or cooling in the cabin, or even the heated mirrors or rear or front screen needed. 

Edited 11 August, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

What engine are we talking about?

Temperature of 21c (as per dashboard pic) is close to the optimum

Much colder and will use more fuel

Much warmer and climate control will need to work hard to cool the cabin

 

Averaging 46mph is clearly going to help, fast enough for top gear, but not so fast that aerodynamic drag increases fuel consumption.

 

 

22 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

What engine are we talking about?

190 diesel 4x4.

 

Often flipping between suspension modes and also often in Sport mode (gears) so that I can dodge the ever-annoying coasting feature that insists on doing it's thing at every opportunity.

 

I'm not pussyfooting all the time.  Pace normally dictated by other traffic, but often on clear roads. Happened to be up north to Plockton and beyond.  With a lap round a chunk of Skye one day.  On some of the country's best roads.

 

My brim to brim calculation when I got home showed a more accurate figure of 41.6 mpg after using 96 Litres.

 

 

@BoxerBoy realistically the bi-turbo diesel awd kodiaq is a large heavy vehicle with relatively poor aerodynamics so it is not something you buy for its low consumption especially if you like to use the performance on offer when circumstances permit. I reckon anything over 40mpg is not bad for the vehicle type.

I can understand how annoying the coasting feature would be driving around Scotland as engine braking is a useful thing in hilly terrain.

My small petrol engine Octavia offers virtually no engine braking and while that is not a problem on the flat terrain where I live, a trip to Tasmania (parts are similar to the Scottish Highlands) a couple of years ago really highlighted how much I missed its contribution.

 

Does the coasting 'turn off' if you touch the brakes?

Touch the brake or touch the accelerator and you are back in D, and out of coasting mode.

Coasting is perfect for Scotland, it can increase the range of your tank and decrease the fuel consumption. 

Get up the hills and come down are run on slight decline with the DSG gear indicator showing 'D', it is a DSG and if you want to drop a gear or 2 then use the shifter or paddles, that is what they are for.

 

I did not have a Kodiaq but a 2016 2.0 TDI SCR DSG which had a 63 litre capacity tank.

630 miles from a tank with 50-60 mile range left before brimming was normal and when coasting mode was used on the likes of the A9, A93 or A939 over the Cairngorms then high 600's -700 miles plus was usual.

 

Coasting enabled and toe off the accelerator if not required, and you got places just as quick as you do without enabling coasting and less fuel would be used.

 

My Alhambra did not have a ECO mode and Coasting could be enabled in the menu.  (Vehicles that only having 'Coasting' when in ECO are a PITA IME.)

The longer i had the car the better i got at getting great economy on trips when using Coasting and sticking to speed limits, or maybe going a ickle bit quicker.

6 points gained in 3 years.

I had winter tyres fitted all year for 3 years.

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/437857-making-the-most-of-eco-and-coasting

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/475731-amazing-mpg

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/470440-coasting-to-save-fuel

 

 

Perfect roads can be perfect for coasting with toe off the accelerator. 

 

 

 

Edited 13 August, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

18 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

@BoxerBoy realistically the bi-turbo diesel awd kodiaq is a large heavy vehicle with relatively poor aerodynamics so it is not something you buy for its low consumption especially if you like to use the performance on offer when circumstances permit. I reckon anything over 40mpg is not bad for the vehicle type.

I can understand how annoying the coasting feature would be driving around Scotland as engine braking is a useful thing in hilly terrain.

My small petrol engine Octavia offers virtually no engine braking and while that is not a problem on the flat terrain where I live, a trip to Tasmania (parts are similar to the Scottish Highlands) a couple of years ago really highlighted how much I missed its contribution.

 

Does the coasting 'turn off' if you touch the brakes?

Yes. Coasting turns off as soon as you touch a pedal or change gear.

 

You’re spot on guessing that the lack of engine braking is the biggest impact of the Stupid Coasting Feature.  And you’ve lost control of the car for an instant response to Go or Slow.

 

I’m astonished that the car manufacturers got away with introducing this feature (aka ECO gimmick) when freewheeling was/is regarded as a complete No-No by all driving trainers since Henry started making black cars. And for good reason.

 

Even the old Mobil Economy Run employed referees in each car to ensure no one cheated by coasting down hill.

 

Interesting to discover that using the Up and Down paddles has a different result when re-engaging drive.

 

Selecting a lower gear with the LH paddle puts the car in Manual mode, while selecting the RH paddle puts the car in normal Auto mode. A subtle but significant difference regarding what happens next.

7 hours ago, BoxerBoy said:

Selecting a lower gear with the LH paddle puts the car in Manual mode, while selecting the RH paddle puts the car in normal Auto mode. A subtle but significant difference regarding what happens next.

 

To me, that actually seems like a good idea. I can imagine wanting to stop it coasting but not wanting to enter manual mode... so having a choice there makes sense.

 

ACT on my current 1.4TSI is really cool - the number of miles I've done trying to get the little 'eco' symbol to show up and stay on even as I go up/down hills... will miss it when I don't have it on the new bear and have to get used to this coasting function. Still would have liked to see the ability to permanently* engage ACT when in Eco mode so you were driving around on 2 cylinders the whole time. Can see many reasons why that would not be feasible / a bad idea though.

13 hours ago, BoxerBoy said:

Even the old Mobil Economy Run employed referees in each car to ensure no one cheated by coasting down hill.

I always thought it was not so much the coasting downhill that was dangerous but actually switching the engine off as well while doing it where you'd probably lose brake and steering assist in that generation of vehicles. Kill switches (totally illegal) are popular with manic US hypermilers.

I have a manual and I'll admit to coasting in neutral where I think it's safe and I will get a consumption benefit, but often as not I'll do as well or better leaving it in gear and using the minimal engine braking effect on offer where fuel is cut off and opposed to the minimal fuel (0.5L/hour in my 1.4tsi) used by an idling engine when coasting. 

It's been a part of how I drive for so long I'll probably miss the challenge of driving economically when I eventually get an EV.  

 

Pre-Covid, my wife and I were looking at a possible awd Kodiaq purchase for a round Australia trip, but I was hoping for a bit better than the 45mpg you are getting on a run because while our fuel can be cheaper, the distances are a bit daunting. Not sure I would get much better than that from any (suitable) awd though.