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I made my first roadtrip in the TDI over the weekend. The trip was 390 mi one way which included passing over a mountain. In the pic below the computer shows a very optimistic 797 mile range, but realistically it's probably closer to 725-750 miles for 100% highway.
When I filled up at my destination, the computer showed right at 36 MPG average and fuelly reported 34.0. On the way back the average was 35.3 when I filled up at home and fuelly said 34.4. These figures include driving around local roads (combination city/rural) while I was at my destination. The first tank had more highway miles but that alone can't explain the bigger discrepancy of the first leg. Different fuel pumps could make a small difference too...
It's really crazy how good the mileage these cars deliver is, particularly on the highway considering a probably pretty poor wind resistance. Nice job.
We (family of 4) just got back from our first road trip too (1200 miles). Cruise set between 85-88...trip computer read 33.8 mpg, but manual calculations was closer to 31 mpg's. No complaints here with the mpg's especially with how much stuff was packed and the rate of speed (especially during passing)
Don't meant to burst your bubbles but the default readout is somewhat too optimistic. If you have a VAGCOM cable, you should adjust the factor from 100 to 108, which in then it'll report to the most accrue readout.
I'm averaging 29 combined. Consider the LA traffic.
Don't meant to burst your bubbles but the default readout is somewhat too optimistic. If you have a VAGCOM cable, you should adjust the factor from 100 to 108, which in then it'll report to the most accrue readout.
I'm averaging 29 combined. Consider the LA traffic.
Anyway, bravo!
He seems transparent about the disparity between the display and fuelly, which should be accurate.
It's really crazy how good the mileage these cars deliver is, particularly on the highway considering a probably pretty poor wind resistance. Nice job.
I know....it's unbelievable, and it was one of the major reasons for me choosing the TDI drivetrain.... This sort of fuel economy is unheard of for a vehicle of this size and with this sort of power....
Everyday the fuel gauge puts a smile on my face.
Driving to Vegas and back( to Los Angeles ) can be done on one tank and that is traveling 80-90mph. Plus, you may even be able to go further if you aren't heavy on the accelerator...
Rob, you can go in with VCDS and fine-tune the MPG readout. It's typically off (optimistic) by 8 - 10%. I've been able to fine-tune mine so it's right around +/- .2mpg in the city, but it's off more than that when on the long road trips. It seems I can get it tweaked in for city or highway travel, but not both.
(IIRC, it's instruments (17) > Adaptation > Channel 3 > change value from 100 to 108.)
Congrats, great mileage! Do note that the estimated mileage remaining is FAR off during the tank. It gets much closer near the end (thankfully/obviously). I recorded several tanks throughout the course of the tank to see what it predicts throughout the tank vs what some simple/reasonable math reveals (with some known items that the car doesn't know).
Note how optimistic the blue lines are vs the corresponding purple lines through the course of the tank (and the final result):
With 34.0 mpg and 19.5 gallons (my observation of about what the Trip Computer calculates for 0 miles remaining), you're looking at 663 miles.
and as others have noted, you can dial in the fuel consumption accuracy with VAGCOM. I'm gathering a few more datapoints for my car with 107 and then will see if it's more accurate than 108 for me. You can see (for me), <=106 are too optimistic, and >=109 are pessimistic:
06-30-2014, 06:53 AM
TDI Road Trip MPG update
