Way above MPG rating

[Andrew1972]

I took my wife's 2018 VW Tiguan 4motion skiing this weekend with daughter. The drive is 105 miles each way and I live at elevation 11' and the mountain base is 2200' above sea level.

The vehicle is rated at 21city/27 highway which gives it all sorts of knocks by reviewers. Reality is we get about 28.5MPG mixed (25%city/75%highway). I see lots of knocks of turbo, 8 speed automatics, direct injection.... on this site but:

The drive at 50MPH average I got 30.5 MPG going to ski mountain but coming back in 65F weather 40MPG!? in a SUV. My only guess is VW was chicken to rate the MPG better under watchful eyes of EPA?

 

[DoubleWasp]

Makes sense. They've rated it 21/27 since the first generation. Not marking their improvement for some odd reason.

 

[tony1679]

30.5? Okay, I tend to do several mpgs above EPA too. 40? Now you're miscalculating

.

 

[skyactiv]

VW has underrated the MPG numbers on some models for many years.
Hyundai does too, since they got into hot water with the EPA on overstating MPG numbers.

 

[gathermewool]

Hand-calculated? Sounds wrong

Return makes sense, coming down in elevation.

 

[jeepman3071]

When conditions are ideal (constant speed, gentle acceleration, good tire pressure, etc) you can get above EPA ratings. My 328i is rated at 27-28 highway I think, and I managed 30.1 mpg non-stop cruising at 78-80 mph on a 2.5 hour trip.

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted by tony1679
30.5? Okay, I tend to do several mpgs above EPA too. 40? Now you're miscalculating

.


Going down hill ?

 

[meep]

I've run into this before. Elevation, tailwind, or a gas pump that clicks off differently than others can all mess with calculations. Trust your average. Something that's way out should be considered as possibly flawed.

 

[CharBaby]

Are these MPG figures coming from the vehicle's computer or your own reading after filling up with fuel?

The reason that I ask is, I have almost never ever gotten(and have only gotten close a few time ever in 19 yrs) as high as the MPG of the vehicle's reading after filling up with fuel and taking the reading myself either with a hand held calculator or my cell phone calc.

My own readings are usually 2-3 mpg lower than that of the vehicle in every car I've had with these in dash vehicle MPG reading/computer. There are very few vehicles that actually get better than the vehicle's computer but, I have heard of them.

TFLcar has done many comparisons between the vehicle's computer and their own hard MPG calc. Their results mimic mine as do many other publications/Youtubers.

I also know way too many people that ONLY use the vehicle's MPG reading as gospel. When I have shown these folks that the vehicle reading MAY be incorrect(even to the greater), they're always shocked and disappointed that their vehicle doesn't really get the MPG that they've been bragging about to their friends.

In other words, I went with them to fill their tank, reset the trip odometer. The next week I went with them again to refill the tank and take ...the miles traveled / the gallons used. They too were ~2+ MPG lower than the car's comp.

The Civic in my signature(daughter's car) is quiet good and within a few 10ths MPG of one another(every time). But, I haven't been able to match the ones that I have had.

I do have one buddy that does in fact gets better MPG on his cell phone calc compared to the vehicle's in dash reading. Neither figure is good mind you(Pickup Truck) but, he does actually get better MPG than the vehicle's dash reading, consistently.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Easy to get 50 MPG level ground 65 MPH in the Jetta steady state.

VW engine management shuts the fuel off pretty quickly when you are off throttle, slight downgrade and it may phase to cams for compression release as I dont feel much engine braking as would be normal I have a stick in the Jetta so its easy to notice.

I am most impressed with the Wife's old Forester easy to get over 30 mixed driving with full time awd. That with either the FB or
the EJ engines. Amazing.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I used to be able to get 50MPG out of my Focus going to and from my parents. A lot of straight stretches of state highway that weren't really popular. I could run along at 45 and get great mileage.

Edit: hand calculated. the computer in the car would report 52.

 

[KrisZ]

What is the lifetime average MPG? That's the only figure that matters, not a one time record because the conditions aligned perfectly.

 

[Patman]

Definitely going down in elevation makes a huge difference. Coming back home from my son's house last summer to my house there is about a 500 ft elevation change and I saw almost 50 MPG in my Corvette! That's not realistic on a flat road.

 

[CharBaby]

As mentioned, the lifetime MPG is what matters in a vehicle. Although for myself, I have never calculated the MPG over the lifetime of any of my vehicles but, I should. However, I do calculate the MPG after(almost) ever tank of gas. And in the summertime it's GREAT and in the wintertime is SUCKS!

 

[double vanos]

If there are no stops or traffic lights etc and all you did was 50 mph I can see your stellar mileage. 50mph cruise is fantastic for gas mpg. On my trips from Az to Houston there's lots of instances where I gas up, hit the highway on cruise and don't release it for over 250 miles. Then stop for gas and do it again. Get fair mpg considering the speed limit is 80.

Mix in some stop and go driving though and there she goes......

 

[mazdamonky]

I mean freeway mileage is rated at 70 mpg. 50 is well under that and will increase fuel economy. In my Mazda 3 that is rated 35/36 freeway, I normally get around 36-37 average at 75, 38 at 70, and 43-44 at 55.

 

[BryanTDI12]

All 6 of the VW/Audi (models from 02-16) my family has under report the mpg when calculated by hand vs computer. 5/6 do better than the EPA rating. Must be a VAG thing. For sure the speedometer reads 2mph faster than GPS but odometer is spot on. I've read many posts that the HP ratings are also underrated compared to dyno. Other evidence, my dad's 03 Toyota Sequoia over reports by ~3mpg and my aunt's Honda Pilot over reports by 1mpg. Don't trust those computer numbers until you verify it at the pump.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by madRiver
I took my wife's 2018 VW Tiguan 4motion skiing this weekend with daughter. The drive is 105 miles each way and I live at elevation 11' and the mountain base is 2200' above sea level.

The vehicle is rated at 21city/27 highway which gives it all sorts of knocks by reviewers. Reality is we get about 28.5MPG mixed (25%city/75%highway). I see lots of knocks of turbo, 8 speed automatics, direct injection.... on this site but:

The drive at 50MPH average I got 30.5 MPG going to ski mountain but coming back in 65F weather 40MPG!? in a SUV. My only guess is VW was chicken to rate the MPG better under watchful eyes of EPA?


My Mazda CX5 is rated at 22/27, and I am getting 27-28 on my daily commute.

Turbo/DI/6 speed auto
https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...4e9113dc99a15d3d3597f01b&oe=5D300516

 

[Vuflanovsky]

There's a lot of mix-in factors involved with the numbers for sure...probably not the least of which is that the on board MPG readout will typically be about 5% optimistic for many if not most vehicles.

I was reading an article that said that X vehicle was one of the few whose actual MPG differed from the EPA estimates in significant terms.....Uhh, that hasn't been my experience. My hatchback gets right at EPA city if the tank is mostly spent driving around town while a long highway trip will typically get 3 MPG over EPA estimate hand-calculated. The sedan version of my car with the same engine has been knocked for getting 3-4 MPG under EPA estimates in some situations.

While everything's relative, I'm not surprised hearing reports about the new 1.4 Jetta with 6 spd. manual getting 43-45 MPG on long trips when the engine is small and 6th gear is really tall at .63

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted by KrisZ
What is the lifetime average MPG? That's the only figure that matters, not a one time record because the conditions aligned perfectly.


Agreed. I think... Maybe not.

What if you have only 5 gallons of gas left and the next gas station is 230 miles away ? ....