Fuel Consumption

[MissVuks]

I was just wondering how many km's you guys get out of a tank of petrol.

I know ive only had my car for 2 weeks now and i know that the fuel consumption will become more efficient the longer ive had the car..

Im quite disappointed with how many km's i got out of this tank of petrol. I filled up with V Power and only managed to get 390km. I have been driving the car normally, not really giving it much at all. Mind you the first tank i got 480km, although i dont know what petrol the dealership filled the car up with.

Can the fact i was doing alot of highway driving on the first tank make that much of a difference?

What are your experiences with fuel consumption with varying types of fuel? As it stands now i dont think il be using V Power anytime soon again...

Cheers
Lora :)

[Ben_GTI]

The Polo gets around 650km to a full tank of 98 octane. I mean I do a lot of Highway driving though. But if i spend lots of time at 60km/h in 5th gear i get very good economy.

One week i got 750km to a tank. It was a freeky week. I drive from Melbourne to Geelong each day and that particular week there was either no wind, or i had a tail wind. Tail wind on the freeway gets to down to 5.0L/100km according to the car.

That said, heavy cross winds or a headwinds you can only expect 400km out of a tank and heaven forbid its a hot week with the aircon going. You damn near have to carry a spare jerry can of fuel because it sucks it down to fast.

I find 95 octane tends to really bump up the fuel economy. I've used Vortex 98, BP Ultimate and V-power. I find Ultimate and V-power to run a little better, but I did go through a bad patch with V-power for a while.

[NickZ]

There is a big difference between highway driving and city driving. Depending on the speed I go, I can get as low as 7.0l per 100km on a trip with a lot of highway driving. However, driving around the city uses a fair bit more. On a good day with a/c on, I get 9.5l and I have left the car using 13-14l at times in heavy traffic.

Fuel consumption does improve a bit as the engine loosens up, you will notice a difference around 8-10k. Air con makes a big difference to the fuel usage too. so it will be better over winter.

Also, in terms of measuring fuel consumption, it is best to use the display as measuring it based on tanks of fuel is not as reliable, as you can put more fuel at times than others, etc.

[NickZ]

The Polo gets around 650km to a full tank of 98 octane. I mean I do a lot of Highway driving though. But if i spend lots of time at 60km/h in 5th gear i get very good economy.


I wish i got 650km! I do well when I hit 500..... but I do a lot of peak hour city driving in sydney so I guess that's why.

[MissVuks]

how do you bring up the fuel consumption display??

I dont really drive very far in car each day, highest speed i can hit in my area is 70 so its alot of suburb driving at 50-60km/hr.

We'll see how i go over the next few tanks..

[Koz]

I personally dont get alot of kms per tank in my opinion. I do have APR upgrade and I only use BP Ultimate.

I do alot of stop start driving and I do give it a squirt here and there and on average I get 400kms to a tank - thats when the petrol light comes which indicates there is only 50kms left. The best I have gotten was a tad after the petrol light came on and I managed to get 450kms with a fair bit of highway driving.

The fuel comsumption for me is normally between 8.5L to 10L per 100kms


Koz

[Adam]

I'll be happy to see pass 500+km per tank of fuel. right now, that's the average maximum of what i get. that's with some spirited driving and some granny driving...

highway driving and city driving is VERY different, for highway, i can cruise at around 7l/100km at 110km, or it could jump to and i only did it in one trip of 13l/100km.......(lets just say, the faster you go, the more fuel you will use)..

while in the city, on a good day, i manage around 10l/100km...in rush hour, i can just forget about looking at that...

i only use vortex 98 as well, nothing else touches the tank......so, not sure how other fuel compares.

[Ben_GTI]

Yea the speed you drive at on the highway makes a big difference. When I drive to work in the morning i just sit in on 100 (90 in the real world) and it uses ~6L/100. Driving home i go faster and sit on 110 (100 in the real world) and it uses around 7L/100km

[NickZ]

how do you bring up the fuel consumption display??

I dont really drive very far in car each day, highest speed i can hit in my area is 70 so its alot of suburb driving at 50-60km/hr.

We'll see how i go over the next few tanks..

On the end of your wiper stalk (the right one) there is a couple of buttons. Press them up and down and in the display you will see all the functions, including fuel consumption. I am guessing you didn't realise the GTI has a trip computer!

[WEDEL.1]

Just as a comparison beteen GTi models & the rest of the Polo fleet, our 1.4 auto has used 7.8 L/100 in the 2 fill ups we have had.

This is good considering Julia does alot of short trips.

A good point with the 1.4 is the min. requirement RON is 95, not 98, another 4 cents per litre (min) saving.

Short trips kill good fuel economy.

Maris

[NickZ]

GTI can officially run on RON95, but there is a big difference in economy and performance when on 98. For a lot of cars the difference is negligible, but for some reason it seems to impact our 1.8T a lot more!

[MissVuks]

On the end of your wiper stalk (the right one) there is a couple of buttons. Press them up and down and in the display you will see all the functions, including fuel consumption. I am guessing you didn't realise the GTI has a trip computer!

yeah i did i, i mustve have missed it when i was reading the manual. I eventually ending up finding it so now its all good :)

[FL00DY]

400-450 is my max, that's mostly highway a lil/lot above 110 ;) However I'm on the M4 a lot so that's always a car park. Normally round 7.5-8.5l/100km.

Lots of surprises here bout petrol consumption. I could never get more then 600km from a tank, even 500km would only be drives to Canberra and back. Ben_GTI before I saw your name I thought for sure you were in a diesel.

[insanekiwi]

As you know the consumption depends on lots of factors...
1) wind / weight (passengers) / window being open or closed / air conditionining on / tow bar / high way / city driving....

I hear that if you are going above 90km/h, it's more economical to have airconditioning on at 1, rather than full window open for air resistance reasons.

Tow bar is surprisingly heavier than you guys think..

Highway / city driving -> should really mean what sort of rev you are sitting on at constant speed. For example if you are doing 70km/h on 5th gear, you will probably get the best mileage!

I do lots of city and some high way, and I got around 470km with quarter tank left. And after filling with not the best biofuel from Gull I've done 200km and it's just used a quarter of the tank! this is 50% motorway 50% city.

I find the car very economical, I often get 12km/litres or more...

:)

[DaveMack]

If I drive up to the Sunshine Coast from Bris and back again ... it takes less than 1/2 a tank and a week to use up the remainder of a tank around town. In that situation, I usually achieve approx. 600ks/tank. (Conservative driving? I don't think so. :D)

Dave

[Sharkie]

In steady freeway driving I average 6.6-7.1l/100km so I get about 600km out of a tank. (before reserve light turns on)

In normal commuting I average 9.0l/100km for 450km (before reserve light turns on)

In aggressive use mode I have seen 17l/100km and have had a few tanks empty at 300-350km.

So it all depends on the weigth of you right foot .... :)

My car has only done 16000km and fuel consumption has been pretty steady since new.

[Flaps]

I average about 450 a tank of BP Ultimate.

Only got 220km out of a tank on my last track day haha.

[Eddy]

Hoyhoy.
Well I might be 1 of the oldest on this site but still young at heart, because I'm lucky to get 400KM's before the light comes on.
P.S. I do have some fun though.

[FL00DY]

Don't want to take this thread too far from the main point, but those of you that only use the one kind of fuel, can I ask why? Is it that you had a bad experience with a type of fuel? Or that your have a petrol card for that brand? I can see those being the only reasons, there is know way your bum dyno is that good to tell differences in possible power between different petrol brands. Neither do I believe you get more km from one brand to make it worth while searching around for the type you must have.

Don't want to start an argument, just interested in peoples thoughts on the matter.

[Timbo]

I've seen a lot of 'fuel consumption' threads on various forums, and my only request is this: please, please measure fuel consumption in terms of litres/100km (calculated by litres purchased divided by odo at fill minus odo at last fill), not in terms of 'how much per tank'. There are just too many variables in 'the tank range' approach...eg, how empty was it at last fill; what was the temperature; was the same pump used...etc n:

You'd be amazed how small variations such as these can have significant effects on so-called range measures of fuel economy but if you calculate in terms of L/100k, it will be quite consistent relative to driving style.

FWIW, my long term average fuel economy, over 30,000ks is 8.1L/100k.

I always use 98 (the odd tank of Vortex Racing) and have not discovered any discernible economy or power difference in any brand.

[Flaps]

Paul I always use BP Ulitmate. Why? Because it is 1.1kms from my house and I used to use Shell Opitmax but this made my old Skyline ping.

I will have no hesitation in using other brands because it's really a bee's little fella between them but no point if I have to drive out of my way.

Tim I see the biggest variable being the right foot and considering I never do more then 200kms a week I can't provide an acurate average fuel economy.