Volkswagen Passat Real World MPG Numbers
PF_Flyer
Member Posts: 9,372
in Volkswagen
With the price of gas being what it is, your real world mileage is becoming more important than the estimates on the sticker. This is the place to talk about your real world on the road results!
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BTW: I just turned 33K miles.
Peppy engine with maintenance every 5000 miles!
Great car!
On the four-lane, I get 30-33 MPG depending on my speed. But on the two-lane - IF I can keep the speed to exactly 55 or so--I get a solid 38 MPG (38.5 or more). If the wind is behind me, and I avoid accelerating on hills, I can get 39 or even 40 . Quite a difference in gas costs over a year!
How did I discover this, given my speedy nature? One night I was on the 55-mph route and noticed a state trooper driving behind me. I set my cruise control on 55 - exactly 55- the whole way. Finally the cop passed me. But by then I was noticing the incredible mileage. Given that gas was topping $3 a gallon, i took heed.
The neat thing about having a mileage counter built into the dash is that MPG has become the metric I'm thinking about, rather than time (how soon can I get there?) or speed (how fast can I go without getting caught?)
The inconvenient thing about going slow is that it annoys other drivers. I used to hate it when i got behind someone going slow. But there's not that much traffic on the two-lane. And I don't care that much anyhow - one of these days I'll become a geezer so I might as well get used to being dissed. (Another advantage of slower speed: a lot of deer around here, and I'll have more time to react.)
Anyway: the moral is obvious - amazing how much difference your speed makes to your mileage.
One other key to good mileage: suppress the natural tendency to accelerate on hills. (and this is hilly country.) If you manage that, your mileage improves vastly.
BTW, the car does not get good mileage in the city. I don't know why (maybe the turbo doesn't kick in as often at city speeds? I assume the turbo improves mileage.) But most of my driving is highway.
I do use 91 octane gas, too. Mileage would be lower with regular. Also, I've always used Synth oil.
Anyway, the moral applies to any car, but I was amazed at how high this Passt goes in the real world. Wasn't expecting it.
In May of 2006 my parents purchased, at my recommendation, a 2001.5 Anthracite Blue GLS wagon with the Tiptronic tranny and 62,000 one owner miles with all the maintenance records and the fail prone timing belt replaced at the 60,000 mile maintenance. We drove it for four weeks and it was only averaging about 24 mpg. So we replaced the stock air filter with a K&N filter in hopes that it would eliminate the turbo lag and improve the gas mileage. Well, it did completely eliminate the turbo lag and vastly improved mid-range acceleration, but it actually dropped the mileage to 23 mpg and has stayed right around there ever since. We have a 22 mile daily commute, composed of 3 miles of gravel and 19 miles of highway. We do maybe 5 miles of city driving per day, and then 22 miles back to the farm, so just over a 50 mile commute six days a week.
Now I understand the 1.8T is a little on the smallish side for a car this heavy, but from what I've read and given that our commute is 90% highway with minimal stop and go, shouldn't it be getting more like 25-28 mpg instead of 22-23mpg? :confuse: Is there anything wrong that we should fix/replace, and if not, would chipping the engine raise our gas mileage?
if you want more power you need to burn more fuel.
Krzys
1) Some say using a K&N air filter can cause problems with the MAF sensor.
2) Some say chipping can improve mileage, assuming you can keep your foot light on the go pedal. The problem is, of course, that the exhilaration coming from the extra power unleashed by the chip tends to negate any possible fuel savings.
3) Wihout knowing the traffic conditions of your commute, the weather and terrain of where you live, it's hard to draw a conclusion about your mileage.
For me, living in a hilly section of SW PA, In the winter, I get around 20 mpg in suburban driving with a fair number of traffic lights. In the summer, this climbs to 22 or so. Light traffic interstate driving will get me over 30 miles to the gallon. Last autumn, we got above 34 mpg travelling across the Ohio Turnpike with the cruise set at 73 mph. I'm meticulous about recording and calculating my mileage.
I use only 93 octane premium (octane below 91 will retard the timing and impact mileage), run Mobil 1 0w-40 synth oil, and have the tires inflated to 32 psi all around.
Mileage-wise, the 1.8T shines best at uninterrupted highway speeds. Stop-n-go traffic, especially full stops, takes a real toll on the mileage with this car, unless you are really light on the gas pedal.
Couple of other things worth checking out:
1) Vacuum leaks, especially given the age of the car and the heat under the hood.
2) Condition of spark plugs (sitck with OEM recommendation).
3) Condition of tires and steering system (inflation and alignment).
4) O2 sensors, but that would throw a code.
5) Are you idling the car at all before driving? If so, don't! Just start it and go, driving lightly until the engine warms up. Just keep it under 3,000 rpm until warmed up.
6) I can noticeably improve my mileage by anticipating traffic lights and traffic conditions. The brake pedal is the enemy of fuel efficiency.
Good luck!
In the end it is typically a "fool's economy" to burn Regular fuel in a car that calls for Premium.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Even so, diesel is more expensive than regular, but the MPG outweighs everything else.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I have had all kinds of minor quality problems with my 2012 Passat... I love the car but VW doesn't do a whole lot to rectify these issues:
1. Seatbelt light and chimes even though my seatbelt is fastened and I'm the only person in the car. VW's lame excuse is that my cell phone is emitting electromagnetic waves that are setting the seatbelt light and chimes off. VW told me not to charge my cell phone in the car and not to get my phone too close to any of the seats. LAME!
2. Front end suspension noise. I has to bring my car in to the dealer twice before they admitted the right front suspension was defective. I had to put the tech guy in my car and roll over speed bumps at low speed before he admitted there was a defect. They have since rectified the problem.
3. Drivers door. The drivers door doesn't close unless you slam it like you are angry. The door should close properly with just the weight of the door. The VW tech told me "You know, everything on a new car doesn't actually work perfectly." Another LAME!
4. Rear trunk lid. Same problem with the rear trunk lid not closing unless you slam it like you are angry. There are scratches on the inside lid latch that show the latch is not aligned properly. Tech response, "All VW's are like this." A third LAME!
5. My brakes squeek in the morning. Eveyday, when leaving my house, my brakes squeek. Tech guy: "Due to the high humidity in the Hawaiian Islands, it's normal for VW brakes to squeek in the morning." Huh, I've leased Hondas for the last 14 years and never had squeeky brakes before. This must be a VW Issue? One more time: LAME!
I would highly recommend looking at the Passat, as it has good road manners, comfortable seats, and an excellent radio with Bluetooth (it actually loaded my entire phone book from my Blackberry), HD FM radio, and Sirius satellite radio. This is the first car I had with HD FM radio. Quite clear and sounds like Sirius! Have not activated the Sirius radio as I now question spending $13 per month on satellite, when HD FM is great!
Bel Air Car Guy
So now your issues are resolved, correct?? Obviously someone dropped the ball on your car in quality control and no one wants the car that was finished on Friday at 4pm or Monday Morning. Now did you really expect the far lager Passat to get the same mileage as a Civic? Sure in Diesel but not in gas engines. The fit issues were wrong and the answers you were given suck so there was a total lack of professionalism. So are you happy with the car at this point. I wouldn't buy one just because I sell the brand, I'm keeping my 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 SLT quad cab 4x4 because I still need a truck and it's paid for. I was a Territory Manager for Toro for over 8 years on the road and I fixed issues that a lot of techs couldn't. Now I need a more fuel-efficient daily commuter car and I like the Passat. So all I am suggesting on anything that you ever own is that if you get resistance from Service then contact the Manufacturer's Customer Service Department and your life will be simplified. I only posted this because I spotted your aggravation on what is really a well-made product. In the end they are all great when they run and fit perfect and they all suck when they are broken. So I hope you find this information of some value and best of luck on your car!
We just took an 1,800 mile road trip and filled up 3 times. Each fill up was about 14 gallons +/-. We averaged 35 mpg for the trip and got as high as 37 at one stretch. This was with the cruise control set at 75 mph too.
I am sure with the TDI, the mpg numbers would be better and maybe we would have spent less in total on fuel for the whole trip despite the higher cost of diesel. I really think with this car it's 6 of 1, half dozen of another.
Its not the same as a gas engine with respect to acceleration, but I knew that going in. The car doesn't ride as quiet or smooth as some of the other sedans out there--but we bought it for the longevity and fuel savings.
The car has been nothing short of miraculous on the MPG department. On the freeway--going 70ish--I average about 45 MPG.
In town--drops to 32-34 MPG depending on traffic conditions.
Don't have any of the fit/finish problems mentioned above.
Just filled up my 2014 TDI SE for the first time. 80% highway, 43.5 MPG.
Second fill up on my TDI SE. About 80% highway. 40.2 MPG.
OK, 3rd fill up at 38.3 MPG. A bit down, but we will see how it goes. This one is 95% highway. I'm wondering if it isn't a bit more efficient in mixed driving...
Still great for the size, comfort, and room, of course.
Fourth fill up, 39.07. At least the number is going up. The wife wants over 40, but this number seems OK to me. almost all highway.
Latest fill up at 40.67. At least back over 40. Wife says she is trying to ease up a bit so as to get better MPG.
Two more fill ups: 37.96 and 39.53.
Just got back from a trip to San Diego, all on one tank. The indicated MPG was 43.5, but I've found that the dash is somewhat optimistic. Probably fill it up this week again.
Four more fill ups, all at high speeds (over 70 MPH) on our recent vacation.
40.05, 42.24, 40.14, 40.66
This is an amazing car. I never wanted for more power, at any speeds. Hard to believe there is only 2.0L under there!
My third tank I achieved 40.5 avg, calculated, first tank over 40!. MFI stated 42.1, not too far off.