Hi all, had the skoda for 2 weeks now and have noticed that the fuel range drops down very quickly, for example today before setting off the gauge said 360 miles of range,

less than 2 miles up the road it had dropped to 340 miles of range, then it went up to 345, by the time i had returned home after driving 30 miles, it said the range was 305 miles.

Personally i would of thought it would of been about 320 as the journey back was stop start.

I have spoken to the dealer who have said that the range does go up and down like all other cars. To me that is quite a bit drop on the range for only have driven 30 miles.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

These numbers are not accurate, the ecu combines the amount of fuel in the tank, your average speed and the time you spent traveling and then outputs informative data, not exact measurements. If you really want to know your average consumption, you have to repeat the procedure several times: fill it to the top, drive 100km, fill it to the top again and see how much you put in the tank, and so on several times, try filling it in the same place, you will get the most accurate consumption.

Edited 3 December, 20253 Dec by imart143

The range readings are calculated by the on-board computer (quite approximately) and depend on: fuel quality, instantaneous consumption, average consumption, road conditions, driving style, and...you can go on.

Cars use more fuel when they are cold. The consumtion information starts of being based on the cold consumtion. My Karoq only indicated ~12mpg by the time I get to the end of my road. The computer starts with a fuel range, and as you drive it is calculated and the remaining range displayed. As the engine warms up it becomes more efficient, and frequently the consumption improves sufficiently for the displayed range to increase. This can also be true if yoy have been doing a lot of urban driving, then get out onto country roads.

As your garage advises this is perfectly normal. Same with satnavs, your ETA is constantly being adjusted as you drive. Your fuel range is too.

The range is conditional on the fuel consumption. When you first start the engine the data used is remembered from your last trip. As you start driving new data allows for the anticipated range to be updated. This is why the number goes up and down. If you look at the trip mpg figure this will also go up and down in town driving. The range is based on the mpg the computer in the car is seeing. On a long run as the mpg (generally) climbs and the range will then often do the same or at least not drop despite you covering several miles.

Personally I find mpg since last refuel to be a more useful guide.