What mpg are you getting?

[KernowLad]

I know this is a bit dull but with rising costs and our rather large fuel tanks, I'm a little alarmed at consistently averaging under 20mpg in our Cali (180)!

Okay it's on under 2,000 miles and almost all our driving is hilly/rural with a fair bit of stop starting but it's still rather harsh! I checked a journey to the waves and back today and got 19mpg with a fairly light foot.

The engine feels like it's loosening up nicely but is there a chance the mpg might improve a little as it runs in more?!

 

[Stewart MCG]

Hi, the California is my daily transport it may not be relevant to you as ours is the 140 ps manual, the conditions are mixed, Town and A roads, presently we have only covered 1000 miles, its averaging low 31 mpg and max 42 mpg.

 

[Martin]

Ours has never been that bad but after a year and 12k on the clock we now get around 36-38mpg, that is being used on both country lanes and dual carriageways averaging 60mph.

 

[KernowLad]

Hmm - maybe it'll improve a bit.
Could be partly because as it's loosened up, it's become a much livelier engine. So maybe I'm revving it a little more... I'll keep tabs on it and hope for some improvement!

 

[jamespoxon64]

Owch. I use mine as a daily drive and average 35mpg with 4k on the clock. Mostly longer runs however, but 19 seems very poor. When new, 31 was thw average so it's getting better, which is a plus.

 

[BMVS-Camper-Hire]

They do loosen up, noticeably so at about 20k. However they are heavy, and yours has the 4wd, and the sort of driving you are doing is the worst for fuel economy. I had a demo 4wd 180 off VW and even with motorways etc I wasnt even hitting 30, they just sap the fuel! I feel you won't see much improvement even when loosened up.

On my 3000 mile Eurpoean tour last year, in one of our dsg 180s (10,000 miles on the clock), I was fully laden, 5 people, 2 kayaks, 4 bikes etc, and I averaged 31mpg or so, which I was pleased with.

 

[MKRW]

I've only got 95 miles on the clock. But did 33 mpg on way home from dealer and driving up box hill bends we only dropped to 28mpg.

Admittedly all of it has been well within the speed limits...

 

[dex14]

Again slightly irrelevant to you as mine is the old 174 but...

I use mine as daily transport. It now has 30k on the clock and since I bought it I have averaged a tad over 31mpg. This is recording the data rather than using the trip meter. I find that I get around 28 in the depths of winter and it rises to 32-35 in the warmer months depending on the trips I do.

I do drive it relatively gently but in a lot of town traffic. Overall I am happy with the economy considering the size and weight of the van. My wife's Mini is no more economical ... unfortunately! :headwall

Martin

 

[stephen]

I currently have 650 miles on the clock, on my 4 motion 180 (manual)
The longest run was 145 miles in one journey, and that was from/to' The bird in hand' meet, on the way up there I was getting 37.5, average on the way back I was getting 39..7 mpg, average but the cruise control was set at 65 mph.
At one stage it was registering over 42 mpg overall which I think is more than acceptable considering the engine is still tight, but a number of quite steep hills, brought this figure down somewhat.

On shorter runs to the coast which is approximately 30 miles I'm currently getting anything from 35 to 37 down single track, and a few A roads, but I rarely get into 6 th gear, I tending to keep the speed under 55 mph but on the dual carriageways I tend to keep it at 65 if possible, where 65 seems nowadays rather slow, where most of the traffic is doing over 80mph, which might explain why people will be getting low 20s mpg it's amazing what you can achieve available restraint on the right foot, and the funny thing is all the people that pass you doing over 80 you practically always catch them up, when the inevitable traffic appears further down the road, so I find my overall journey times don't actually make me later then if I caned the hell out of her.
(see most vain drivers) But is not so much fun, as having the delusion, that you are on a racetrack :roll:

 

[IanE]

We've had our 180 manual from new. It will be 2 in September. Our first proper drive was to Toulouse and we were quite chuffed to get 38mpg on a long motorway run - at 60mph with cruise on. These days though, on the motorways we do tend to join in with the masses and travel at 80. Our last c500 mile trip at this speed produced 26mpg. We've done 12,000 miles now. I've heard from several sources, including here, that the engine loosens up considerably at 20,000 miles - looking forward to that!
By the way, the mpg I'm quoting here is using the "brim to brim" method, if we're to make meaningful comparisons, I guess it would be useful for us all to use the same method. How accurate do we think is the van's trip computer? Ours is currently showing an average of c29mpg.

Ian

 

[stephen]

I currently have a Volkswagen 'golf blue motion', which the trip computer is reading very accurate, according to the brim to brim method,
I think the California has the same type of system of accurately metering the fuel supply, as do all of the Volkswagen Audi diesel range is far as I'm aware.
unassuming that the California has a reliable system of calculating how much fuel the system is using, going by the speedometer which I have found is quite accurate going by the GPS estimate, which is quite reliable on a flat road, I currently haven't checked the brim to brim method on the California, but in due course will do so,

My above fuel consumption is obviously based on the vehicles own computer, which should be the same across the board e.g. all vehicles in the range have the same points of reference irrespective of the actual mpg.

I'm surprised 'IanE' that the computer is registering 29 mpg when you say the brim to the brim method is calculating 38 mpg! that would suggest that the computer is underestimating on your vehicle somewhat?
I'm doing shorter runs of around 30 miles at a time at the moment, and I'm getting very consistent fuel consumption figures based on the computer. so I'm assuming that it may not be too far out in our case. and also I filled it up roughly 3 times since new, and as a rough calculation, give or take one or 2 mpg seems about right, I always fill up as much to the top of the fuel pipe as possible, saving unnecessary trips to the fuel station which tends to be off route somewhat.

 

[Californiaman]

We should try and organise a Cali road trip/rallye later in the year - a long weekend, two or three nights camping, a mixture of roads and driving styles, as many different models of Calis as we can get. Brim them at the start and see how we get on..

I seem to average around 32 in my 180 DSG with around 6k on the clock. Last week, I used it for my 30 mile commute and around Milton Keynes was getting mid 20's. In the hills, I regularly see low 20's but only briefly.

I've not done brim to brim - primarily as I very much trust the speedo and usage calculations. I will do it at my next opportunity though (we are off to the west coast of Ireland in a couple of weeks via Fishguard and returning via Hollyhead - should be a reasonable mix of roads).

 

[Tattooz]

Just filled up my cali this morning after resetting the trip counter at the last fill up and after 401 miles of city driving being used as an everyday vehicle I have been getting 29mpg which is around what the cali computer is telling me too. Just under 3K on the clock now so still running in and i'm sure that if i done the same test on a nice long run instead of dealing with busy Birmingham traffic every day that figure would be much better.

 

[GrahamBland]

I have a 174 4wd - so probably the least economical. It is 2008, but with only 14k on the clock. I have had it for a year, 10k so far and have kept a log of each fill / mileage. Averaging 25 to 31 mpg The lower scores are when I am fully loaded with sea kayaks on the roof and bikes on the back. The low mpg used to worry me (even though my previous vehicle was a Defender 110!) but, if you work out what extra you pay on fuel each year against a more economical car it is comparatively peanuts to the cost of the vehicle and the pleasure you get driving it.

So - keep smiling and enjoy

 

[IanE]

Graham - yes absolutely re not fretting about mpg! But still .... on that subject
, re difference in economy between pre and post facelift vans, I have to say I'm not really convinced that the new model (with the new supposedly more economical engines) is noticeably better on mpg. Perhaps there's someone on here with experience of both that might comment?

 

[Californiaman]

I borrowed a 174 auto Caravelle a couple of years ago when I broke my wrist and over 6 weeks, I struggled to get 20 mpg on my commute. The 180 DSG which is heavier gets 30-32 on the same journey.

 

[David Eccles]

have now done 800 miles and the trip comp says my average thus far is 35 mpg (twas 33 at 500 miles) (140PS)
local runs, town runs, longer A road travels and M way cruising. And I dont drive slowly either so not too bad. Compare that to 22mpg on the Split travelling at 55 mostly!

 

[CaliTess]

Cali 180 4Motion manual + 4.3K gives just over 31mpg mixed - new Oct 2011

Linda's T5 LWB Combi 140 4Motion manual + 13k gives around 35mpg hard worked mixed - new Sept 2011

 

[stephen]

I just think I have a reputation amongst my colleagues of being a mean b*****d,
and if anyone can extract every last atom of economy of out these vehicles, I'm sure I will give it more then a good run for its money :grin:

In my opinion;
Fuel economy is not always about going as slow as possible,
I think its more to do with keeping the revs low in 6th gear, without loading the engine unduly, which is in traffic is near impossible if you want to keep the speed limit.

Keeping the engine spinning, In the case of the ('180 manual Cali') at least 1800 rpm to 2000 range, anything over this will incur unnecessary fuel consumption,
And considering the California can just crack a true 70 mph at 2000 rpm, I can't see any valid reason to exceed this amount considering, that's the national speed limit for the UK.
Unless overtaking a slower vehicle would be dangerous, unless one exceeds this range,

Looking ahead anticipating peoples actions, and trying not to use the brakes, because obviously using the brakes is just scrubbing off your fuel economy,
And also town driving is about the worst place for these types of vehicles in my opinion, because of the extra weight, they need quite excessive amounts of extra power just to get them moving! as I've found today in Norwich,

Unfortunately I had to go through the centre,
making my way to Sheringham, and then the coast.

I have found on the short runs under 10 miles you are lucky to see mid 20s miles per gallon!
But as the mileage increases, and everything warms up, the fuel consumption figures drastically improve, as long as you don't find yourself in stop start traffic,
As was the case today when I hit Norwich, my fuel consumption was 37 mpg average on the computer, before norwich but by the time I came out the other side, it was in the region of 33 mpg,
By the time of got to Sheringham, I hardly achieved 35,
Well in fact it was 35.3, mpg which was due primarily down to city traffic,
On the open road with no obstacles, I feel it's completely up to the driver of these vehicles to control their fuel economy, especially on dual carriageways ,where 60 65 mph is good, not to hold-up "white van man" to any great degree as he can pass with ease!
I must admit if there is any long stretches of downhill inclines, I do take advantage of 'coasting' when ever possible,

which some people would probably frowned upon, but I feel I'm still in control, and feel safe doing it. which improves the fuel consumption no end as demonstrated on my commute into London every day, on my golf whereby I regularly exceed 90 mpg!
'All in the name of trying to save the planet' Ha Ha :boohoo

 

[stephen]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17490088

http://www.oecd.org/document/34/0,3746, ... 65,00.html

'Might be worth thinking about saving one or two of our Resources while we still have some!' :cry:

 

[Paulro]

Just came back from Durham to Bristol yesterday. 2007 130 37k Cali averaged 35.8 doing 77mph for most of the time, sometimes 80 other times, low 70's.
I was pretty pleased with that.
However, I did fill up (there was 150 miles in the tank) and put in £98! :crazy

 

[KernowLad]

50 mile trip, two surfboards on the roof, fairly relaxed driving, 28 mpg. Not too bad.

Moved it at one point from a field to a house, about half a mile. 7.8mpg :'(

 

[DavidofHook]

After doing just 524miles I've just done my second brim to brim fill up so this is my first check on mpg. We have a 140 ps automatic and are getting 28.7. I drive very carefully ( running in) but I agree with stephen travelling with alight foot doesn't take any longer.
With a satnav you can set it to time of arrival and you can then see the extra time you gain when you rush....... It's measured in minutes so it really is just not worth it.
However, putting your foot down for a bomb down the motorway is nice in the Cali isn't it?

With my old Westie Cali , measured brim to brim I could get as much as 42mpg and 38 was pretty general. In Hampshire it is nice and flat so it's not like Cornwall which makes it easier to get a good mpg

 

[calikev]

That's a good point David. I have often done the same trip on a Sunday with less traffic
When you set the sat nav it gives you a time of arrival. If you really boot it you only seem to make up a few minutes. So not worth it. Drive steady less wear and tear more comfortable journey.

 

[Fin]

Travelling from Oxford to Folkestone and then onto Ostend (Belgium) last week saw me average 39 mpg and the following day Ostend to Oostakker nr Ghent and then driving right into central Brussels saw us get 42.6mpg, admitedly we just pootle along between 60-70mph and the vast majority of these routes were on Motorways but we regularly get 38mpg+ even between Oxford to Cambridge and then from Cambridge to Eardisley (Herefordshire) using a mixture of mway, dual carriageway and single track routes Loz said that she averaged 38mpg the other week. We've only done just over 1,000 miles so far and have been very impressed with the MPG return on the vehicle a 180 ps with DSG, it appears to be slightly better than the old 130ps manual California that we previously had.