MK7 GTD - Real Life MPG

[Skinnee D]

you have to remember all the manufacturers are using the same EU testing cycle, so comparing car mpg A vs B is still true.

Not so - I made a decision in March of this year to not buy a Mk6 but hold of for the Mk7 based on the comparative 10% improvement in fuel economy..

In fact it has proven to be 10% worse so the EC figures are absolutely meaningless...

I wouldn't even support VWs caveat that they are for comparison only as there is no direct relationship between the MPG figures between the MK6 and Mk7 and the actual real world results most people are getting..

A point well made.  Even more misleading when you compare data for two current VW production models - say Scirocco TDI 177 and Golf GTD 184 - which implies a comparative improvement of around 12 mpg for the Golf on the combined cycle...

[mike_f]

I'm going to see how far my complaint can get with VW..

Probably not very far as I imagine they will resist any admission of fault as the wider implications could be huge across all model ranges...

[ajmoir36]

you have to remember all the manufacturers are using the same EU testing cycle, so comparing car mpg A vs B is still true.

Not so - I made a decision in March of this year to not buy a Mk6 but hold of for the Mk7 based on the comparative 10% improvement in fuel economy..

In fact it has proven to be 10% worse so the EC figures are absolutely meaningless...

I wouldn't even support VWs caveat that they are for comparison only as there is no direct relationship between the MPG figures between the MK6 and Mk7 and the actual real world results most people are getting..

I think you are better off buying a second hand mk6 GTD, the cost saving would far out way the 10% rise in fuel economy over many years.

[monkeyhanger]

I think you are better off buying a second hand mk6 GTD, the cost saving would far out way the 10% rise in fuel economy over many years.

Reality is that apart from the inclusion of stop-start tech, the MK7 GTD has little or no mpg advantage over the 170TDI CR unit. That stop-start tech and the fact that 24% of the EU testing cycle is at a standstill is the reason for the 20% quoted gains. Stop-start makes a huge difference to the EU testing cycle but very little to most real driving situations outside a snarled-up city commute. Stick stop-start on a MK6 GTD and there'd be nowt between the MK6 and the MK7.

10% fuel gains seen between 10k and 20k miles that some quote are more likely to be seen as a result of replacing worn OEM tyres with poor rolling resistance for some decent ones than running in gains. At the tolerances modern drive-trains are manufactured to. Biggest gains I have ever seen attributed to running in/loosening up have been from 500 - 1000 miles.

[noobmonkey]

Well, i'm not entirely sure what has happenned, but since my trip to Bucks last week, i'm regularly getting 40-48mpg, even on small trips.

I'm up to lincolnshire tomorrow morning, so might see a few of you northerners - and then coming back sat/sun via the peak district and bucks again. - really interested to see how it handles a nice 600+ mile round trip

It just seems to warm up quicker and sit happier.  It takes 2.2 miles for the water to hit 90, and a further 1-2 miles for the oil temp to get up to 94+.

Not expecting to see 55+, but hoping to get a nice 52/53mpg on the way up / back

Car definitley feels a bit looser now as well. In a good way.

[monkeyhanger]

Well, i'm not entirely sure what has happenned, but since my trip to Bucks last week, i'm regularly getting 40-48mpg, even on small trips.

I'm up to lincolnshire tomorrow morning, so might see a few of you northerners - and then coming back sat/sun via the peak district and bucks again. - really interested to see how it handles a nice 600+ mile round trip

It just seems to warm up quicker and sit happier.  It takes 2.2 miles for the water to hit 90, and a further 1-2 miles for the oil temp to get up to 94+.

Not expecting to see 55+, but hoping to get a nice 52/53mpg on the way up / back

Car definitley feels a bit looser now as well. In a good way.

What mileage are you at? 90c oil temp at 4 miles seems odd. My car takes twice as long to get there, and I'm sure my mpg would shoot up if that was happening for my car on the warm up cycle.

[AlanH]

I think he's pre-heating his oil in a chip pan.

[noobmonkey]

haha, only at 700 miles, but was 10c today/yesterday... warmer then the last month
just took it out, and yup, 4.4 miles into the trip... small roads and then a 60 mph 1mile'ish bit. (Was at 89... but i'll let the 1 degree go )

[mike_f]

I think you are better off buying a second hand mk6 GTD, the cost saving would far out way the 10% rise in fuel economy over many years.

In terms of financials yes but I always buy new cars since there has been no perceived disadvantage of going for the next generation..

Did the EC testing change between the Mk6 and Mk7 GTDs?

Surely all things equal, the addition of a stop start on the GTD would have made the MK6 even better...

[monkeyhanger]

Surely all things equal, the addition of a stop start on the GTD would have made the MK6 even better...

If the MK6 GTD had stop-start then it would be throwing up 60+ mpg official figures on the combined cycle - still wouldn't have been any better in the real world for most users.

Still puzzled by noobmonkey's warm-up times. 10C ambient temp shouldn't cause the time/distance taken to get to full operational temp to halve. Even at 8.5C ambient temp i've seen no appreciable difference in warm-up time. There have probably only been 5 mornings since I bought the car that ambient temp has dipped below 5C.

In the height of summer (20C+) I would expect my car to take 6 miles to get to full operational temp if it takes 8 miles from 5C. 85C temp (to 90C) rise takes 8 miles, 70C temp rise should take about 6.5 miles.

I do wonder how much passive water cooling is going on in my car on the warm-up cycle e.g. due to cold air passing over the radiator even without the coolant at full flow at lower temperatures. Whilst on the warm-up, I can see my oil temp dip a good 2 or 3C when I engage in a little hard acceleration - surely the opposite should be true. It seems as though the extra rush of cold air passing over it causes the radiator to cool the engine, at a time when the coolant shouldn't be circulating much, if at all. Are our cooling systems overactive during the warm-up cycle (except noobmonkey's), causing poor mpg on shorter (<15 miles) trips?