# Anyone else getting bad gas mileage?



## Aonarch (Dec 4, 2006)

http://www.fuelly.com/driver/aonarch/beetle 

I am averaging 23.4 mpg hand calculated. My best was 26.6 mpg. 

Unacceptable, especially since I got 28 mpg in my GTI doing the same driving... and my 2011 Golf 2.5L averages high 20's too. 

This thing must just be a brick.


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## TexasBulldog (Jul 3, 2012)

we are getting the same, according to the DIC we are getting around 24mpg with longer freeway stretches. This is with the AC on though, no extra weight in the car, tires nitrogen filled Cruise Control set at 75. 

Her old 2005 Focus was getting 30 on that crappy PZEV model. Granted its new and the MPG will pick up when some miles get on it like 5-7k but i did expect a little better driving pretty calmly. 

JOe


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## eunos94 (Mar 17, 2002)

Keeping it between 1100rpm and 2000rpm with very few stops/idling I got 36mpg on 1 tank. Next tank I revved it higher and more often. Putting her under full load more often too. I averaged 27.3mpg. 

750 miles on the clock and am quite impressed. Drive it like a diesel and the 2.5 will net you some impressive MPG. Drive it like a Honda (rev the snot out of it) and she will guzzle the gas.


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## cbugrun (Jul 14, 2012)

Aonarch said:


> http://www.fuelly.com/driver/aonarch/beetle
> 
> I am averaging 23.4 mpg hand calculated. My best was 26.6 mpg.
> 
> ...


 I am getting 27-28 MPG (combined city and highway) which is better than advertised. Aren't you giving back your 2012 Beetle and getting a Jetta Sportswagen? Can't for you to move to the Jetta forum so you can stop trashing the Beetle.


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## ltlebug (Jan 12, 2012)

cbugrun said:


> I am getting 27-28 MPG (combined city and highway) which is better than advertised. Aren't you giving back your 2012 Beetle and getting a Jetta Sportswagen? Can't for you to move to the Jetta forum so you can stop trashing the Beetle.


 I agree, especially when Aonarch stated in an earlier post that he only had several hundred miles on his beetle. I am driving a Manual Turbo and have 8700 miles on it and average 28 miles...i drive a lot of highway and put it on cruise control at 74 on sixth gear. It does seem, however, Aonarch got stuck with a lemon...his car had a lot of problems more than others. So, I really hope VW puts his car as a display car only.


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## mjs302 (Apr 17, 2008)

Our 2.0 T with DSG has just over 1200 miles and we have averaged 27.36 MPG. The highest trip average according to the dash display was 33.2 coming back from Waterfest.


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## eunos94 (Mar 17, 2002)

D-Bag: A person that needs to focus all the attention on themselves by either bragging about things/actions or complaining about things/actions. 

It's life. Sometimes things go wrong. Perhaps a slightly different more understanding attitude will encourage others to want to help you. Just sayin.....


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## VR6Now (Dec 31, 2000)

Aonarch said:


> http://www.fuelly.com/driver/aonarch/beetle
> 
> I am averaging 23.4 mpg hand calculated. My best was 26.6 mpg.
> 
> ...


 Your own fuelly page says you don't drive it for good mpg. *You, the driver *are the biggest factor in your gas mileage. Ask your self about how you drive, where your drive, modifications, maintainance, etc. 

With the amount of information you provided, it doesn't sound out of the ordinary.


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## Alvega007 (May 23, 2012)

cbugrun said:


> I am getting 27-28 MPG (combined city and highway) which is better than advertised. Aren't you giving back your 2012 Beetle and getting a Jetta Sportswagen? Can't for you to move to the Jetta forum so you can stop trashing the Beetle.


 I was about to say the same thing. Maybe the Jetta is problem free for him.


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## VR6Now (Dec 31, 2000)

I don't get it either....the OP is getting his car bought back. Enough already! Drive the Beetle until you get the replacement. Its not the end of the world and complaining isn't going to make it go away sooner.


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## Aonarch (Dec 4, 2006)

Lol thanks for the love everyone. I was just curious because driving my Golf gets me high 20's. Driving the Beetle, same commute, same driving style gets me 23-24. 

EDIT: Switched to a PC from iPad. 

This isn't meant to be a Beetle bashing thread... 

I am curious, because I have a Golf 2.5L and I owned a MKV Jetta 2.5L. I get around 28 mpg in my Golf, but in the Beetle driving it the exact same I get 23-24. I was checking to see if I was an outlier and just contribute it to my car, and not the model as a whole. Even highway the most I've ever gotten was 30 mpg, no A/C, tires at 36psi, cruise control at 65 mph. I can get around 33, maybe 34 in the Golf doing the same thing.


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## jpitzer4 (Jul 18, 2012)

*MPG*

I am averaging about 27 all around, but took a r=trip home (750 miles) was getting 38 on the highway doing 75, with the air and cruise on


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## jpitzer4 (Jul 18, 2012)

*Understandable*

I can understand if you have a lemon, but that can happen with any car, Had one in the early 80's It was a mustang, came from the factory with a bent crankshaft, went thru clutches like crazy, got rid of that thing really quick. 
I am new to the VW world, and love my "12" beetle 2.5, I do have the issue with the windows, as most of us do. But that is it. 
I would just like to see a little more help among owners on diy stuff and how fix things like burnt out light bulbs people ask about, was on a forum with my last car and wow, everyone helped with all kind of stuff. 
OK, I getting off the soapbox, sorry


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## Aonarch (Dec 4, 2006)

jpitzer4 said:


> I can understand if you have a lemon, but that can happen with any car, Had one in the early 80's It was a mustang, came from the factory with a bent crankshaft, went thru clutches like crazy, got rid of that thing really quick.
> I am new to the VW world, and love my "12" beetle 2.5, I do have the issue with the windows, as most of us do. But that is it.
> I would just like to see a little more help among owners on diy stuff and how fix things like burnt out light bulbs people ask about, was on a forum with my last car and wow, everyone helped with all kind of stuff.
> OK, I getting off the soapbox, sorry


 Each section here is different. Some are really good, some are really bad, some have a lot of traffic, some barely have any. 

^ Not implying anything. The bad section is the MKI section.


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## vdub10golf (Jan 23, 2010)

I'm getting great mileage with my 2.0T, better even than the 2.5 in my Golf.


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## GTarr (May 17, 2012)

I've been getting pretty good mileage, considering the EPA rating. 

http://www.fuelly.com/driver/gtarr/beetle 

I am somewhat of a hypermiler, though, and the conditions for my regular commute are pretty good for mileage - 45mph speed limit (usually going 50 or so), and not too much traffic or lights. I used to get about 27mpg in my 3.0L Maxima. I'm satisfied with the mileage, though hoping to get a little bit better with breaking in and training on the new engine. It's _not_ a 40mpg car; I test drove some (Focus, Fiesta) and they plain old sucked. The _only_ thing special about those cars is the 40mpg. For a sporty little hatch, I think the Beetle Turbo does ok. 

GTarr


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## Aonarch (Dec 4, 2006)

GTarr said:


> I've been getting pretty good mileage, considering the EPA rating.
> 
> http://www.fuelly.com/driver/gtarr/beetle
> 
> ...


 Wow those are really good numbers!


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## VR6Now (Dec 31, 2000)

Aonarch said:


> Lol thanks for the love everyone. I was just curious because driving my Golf gets me high 20's. Driving the Beetle, same commute, same driving style gets me 23-24.


 My apologies, I didn't know "unacceptable" and "This thing must just be a brick." was a way to express curiousity. It definately doesn't sound like words I would use to get an opinion. 

Is it possible that now you are driving a vehicle with less horsepower and torque harded to get the same results as far as acceleration? That could do it. If you only have a few thousand miles on it, it will be a little more thirsty than after ten or so. For the next two weeks or so, try to be easier on the throttle.


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## the beet (May 5, 2012)

Try driving without the AC on (ugh!). You should get close to 28 -30 mpg, at least in the 2.5L.


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## NotLowEnough (Mar 23, 2011)

cbugrun said:


> Anyone making a comment like " it's still gay " must have serious issues with his masculinity. I guess some people are not happy unless the are putting something down.


 You must be new to the 'Tex...


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## Aonarch (Dec 4, 2006)

VR6Now said:


> My apologies, I didn't know "unacceptable" and "This thing must just be a brick." was a way to express curiousity. It definately doesn't sound like words I would use to get an opinion.
> 
> Is it possible that now you are driving a vehicle with less horsepower and torque harded to get the same results as far as acceleration? That could do it. If you only have a few thousand miles on it, it will be a little more thirsty than after ten or so. For the next two weeks or so, try to be easier on the throttle.


 I have a Golf 2.5L as well. I am comparing my mpg noted in the Beetle to my Golf.


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## NotLowEnough (Mar 23, 2011)

Aonarch said:


> I have a Golf 2.5L as well. I am comparing my mpg noted in the Beetle to my Golf.


 We have a few customers at the shop who've got the new Beetle 2.5L. They've all mentioned lackluster fuel economy; especially the ones who have another 2.5L in their driveway.


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## sethdude (Jun 27, 2012)

On my daily commute, I average 28-29 in the Beetle, 50/50 highway/city, top speed of about 70mph. My '07 GTI averages just about that, 27.5-29. So I can't complain. We got 33 mpg on a 400 mile trip with the AC on, so I really can't complain.


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## cbugrun (Jul 14, 2012)

Just finished my first all highway trip with my 2012 Beetle Turbo. With 2,050 miles driven, I averaged 31.5 MPG. Very pleased with those results. My Fiat 500 that I traded for the Beetle got 41 MPG on the highway but was 99 horsepower less than Beetle. Overall, for a 200 horsepower car, I think 31.5 MPG is quite respectable.


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## VWNDAHS (Jun 20, 2002)

27.5 mpg on the first tank, hoping it'll go up as the car reaches 5k


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## mariowar (Jul 25, 2012)

*What a difference !*

I purchased a new Turbo (DSG) a week ago. Obviously, the tank was full when I got it out of the dealer. Driving mainly on city roads I was averaging a lackluster 14 mpg.... according to the dashboard panel. Only if I got on a highway, after a while I would get around 24mpg average. 

I was really concerned considering that I had been driving without pushing the car at all. 

Then, last night, I filled the tank with Shell Premium and voila, the city average jumped to 24 mpg and Hwy to 35MPG. 

I have the feeling the dealership filled the car with regular low octane fuel...... 

Any clues?


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## cbugrun (Jul 14, 2012)

NotLowEnough said:


> You must be new to the 'Tex...


 
Did I miss understand your comments? What does " you must be new to 'Tex " mean?


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## GTarr (May 17, 2012)

mariowar said:


> I purchased a new Turbo (DSG) a week ago. Obviously, the tank was full when I got it out of the dealer. Driving mainly on city roads I was averaging a lackluster 14 mpg.... according to the dashboard panel. Only if I got on a highway, after a while I would get around 24mpg average.
> 
> I was really concerned considering that I had been driving without pushing the car at all.
> 
> ...


 Almost certainly. I'm not sure I'd expect mileage to be quite _that_ low on 87 (haven't tried it myself), but it is pretty likely that they put low-grade gas in it. My salesman even told me 87 was fine in it, and I just rolled my eyes. 

GTarr


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## Aonarch (Dec 4, 2006)

GTarr said:


> Almost certainly. I'm not sure I'd expect mileage to be quite _that_ low on 87 (haven't tried it myself), but it is pretty likely that they put low-grade gas in it. My salesman even told me 87 was fine in it, and I just rolled my eyes.
> 
> GTarr


 Premium is required for the 2.0T. 2.5L 87 is recommended.


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## katie78 (Oct 25, 2011)

My gas mileage plummets when the AC is on.


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

katie78 said:


> My gas mileage plummets when the AC is on.


 This, otherwise same as my mkv gti was

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## VWNDAHS (Jun 20, 2002)

katie78 said:


> My gas mileage plummets when the AC is on.


 all the same ol same ol essentially. the 27.5 I witnessed on the very first tank was achieved driving through 113 degree (f) heat in AZ with the AC blasting @ 70, intercooler certainly soaked beyond belief. Can't wait to see what mixed driving in 70 degree heat provides


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## LezlieJ (Jul 28, 2000)

*Related ?*

On the in car display of average fuel consumption, is that the average since the last refuel? the last time the car was started? The last time the trip counter was reset? I'm confused about that one 

Thanks, Lezlie


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## mariowar (Jul 25, 2012)

I have a Mini S and the average has barely changed in 2 years. Started on 27.6 mpg, now 26.7 mpg. 

It seems that VW's way to calculate the average is daily. 

Every time I turn the car on in the mornings the average has been reset..... go figure....


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## cbugrun (Jul 14, 2012)

mariowar said:


> I have a Mini S and the average has barely changed in 2 years. Started on 27.6 mpg, now 26.7 mpg.
> 
> It seems that VW's way to calculate the average is daily.
> 
> Every time I turn the car on in the mornings the average has been reset..... go figure....


 I agree that computing the average MPG daily is odd so I do it the old fashion way and divide the gallons consumed into the miles driven to get my MPG. Works every time. I now have over 2,000 miles on my 2012 Turbo and the MPG has definitely improved. Was getting combined city/highway of 24-25 and now getting 27-28. Highway is 31-32.


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## the beet (May 5, 2012)

A lot of things to consider. At first I thought my 2012 Beetle was getting a little less gas mileage than my 2006. But quickly realized than when I wasn't spending so much time in bumper-to-bumper traffic but actually driving to work I got about the same, somewhere around 26-28.


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## Alvega007 (May 23, 2012)

I do the old fashion way to check the MPG, divide the gallons consumed into the miles driven to get my MPG. My week old 2012 Turbo Auto has 477 miles and I am getting 26.5 MPG city. The only highway it has been is a short 7 miles stretch a couple of times to show it off to friends.


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

Alvega007 said:


> I do the old fashion way to check the MPG, divide the gallons consumed into the miles driven to get my MPG.


 This is how I always calculate it, you can't rely on the computer to do it right.


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## jenn02 (Jul 18, 2012)

Just filled up today and figured it to be 30.2, which is making me very, very happy. I do pretty much entirely freeway driving (Turbo, auto) and don't have to deal with the bumper-to-bumper metro traffic until Monday.


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## cbugrun (Jul 14, 2012)

Had the APR Stage 1 ECU flash plus cold air induction kit installed. Drive home from Opelika, Alabama to Atlanta running 80-85 miles per hour got 31.5 MPG. Driving around town now getting 28-29 MPG. Completely satisfied with those numbers.


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## mariowar (Jul 25, 2012)

1550 miles on my Turbo. 

Fuel consumption is getting better  

10 mile trip, 60 mph ( cruise control), most of the time.... WOW : 33.6 mpg 

See pic. in the last posts of this thread: 

http://newbeetle.org/forums/questio...eetle/57099-fuel-consumption-turbo-model.html 


Now I can easily get 20 mpg in city when there is not much traffic.


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## LEBlackRob (Feb 1, 2012)

I have only filled up twice and I have avged 28 thus far in the Turbo Beetle. I would assume that I wont see much better because the front of these cars are like walls.


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## GTarr (May 17, 2012)

It's not the front of the car that's so much the problem, but the rear. Way too steep an angle (though slightly better than the previous NBs). But yeah, the Beetle shape is not as aero as you might think. A bigger wing, or a Beetle RSi sort of spoiler (above the hatch) might help some. I plan on messing around w/ some coroplast at some point to see if there's any shape that helps some, but that would really just have to be a temporary thing for highway driving. I couldn't bear to slap stuff on permanently. But I am curious about it, can't help but tinker...  

GTarr


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## LEBlackRob (Feb 1, 2012)

GTarr said:


> It's not the front of the car that's so much the problem, but the rear. Way too steep an angle (though slightly better than the previous NBs). But yeah, the Beetle shape is not as aero as you might think. A bigger wing, or a Beetle RSi sort of spoiler (above the hatch) might help some. I plan on messing around w/ some coroplast at some point to see if there's any shape that helps some, but that would really just have to be a temporary thing for highway driving. I couldn't bear to slap stuff on permanently. But I am curious about it, can't help but tinker...
> 
> GTarr


 Yup one thing to add in the format because we are lighter then the MKVI Golfs.


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## Cadenza_7o (Jan 23, 2001)

According to VW's website, FatFace ^^^ has the same Drag Coefficient as its big brother the TooeRag at 0.37... 

VW's most aerodynamic vehicle in the US is the CC at 0.284.


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## Beets (Sep 22, 2012)

I've had my 2012 2.5 for 2 weeks and about 900 miles now and average nearly 36 mpg. Mine is a 5 speed and I coast in neutral quite a bit during city driving, with most of my miles being a 65 mph half hour commute. I keep the instant mpg display up the vast majority of my drive time, which really helps with keeping the mileage up.


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## eunos94 (Mar 17, 2002)

I have to admit that since I started using the instant mpg setting my mpg have risen significantly in town. I used to have a BMW 325e that had this feature and I loved it then and missed it on every car since. I could use my boost gauge in much the same way on my former 1.8T but this is even better. It's like VW threw in the one thing I wanted on a scanguage for free. :thumbup:


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## Tvp125 (Mar 4, 2008)

I average 25 mpg in my 6 speed Turbo and thats with a heavy foot. My previous GLI averaged 23 mpg.


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## Cadenza_7o (Jan 23, 2001)

Beets said:


> I've had my 2012 2.5 for 2 weeks and about 900 miles now and average nearly 36 mpg. Mine is a 5 speed and I coast in neutral quite a bit during city driving, with most of my miles being a 65 mph half hour commute. I keep the instant mpg display up the vast majority of my drive time, which really helps with keeping the mileage up.


 Damn... that's really good for a 2.5L motor.


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## Beets (Sep 22, 2012)

I do a lot if "pulse and glide" where I run up to 5-10 mph over the speed limit and throw it into neutral and coast as long as I can stand to during my city driving. I'm fairly certain that I average better city mileage than highway because of this.


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## IHC (Aug 15, 2011)

Filled my wifes 2.5 tank today and on this fill up with 50% highway (not over 65 mph) and 50% city the car got 24.42 mpg.We always use non ethanol fuel. That is the best combined milage from a VW since the Diesel we drove in the 80s.


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## kendalyn (Sep 3, 2012)

Mine has been running about 26 mph. 2.0 turbo 6 speed. 

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2


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## Skimmy290 (Aug 19, 2012)

i was going down a hill earlier today in neutral and it said i was getting 200mpg plus 
can't beat that 

so not sure what all the complaints are about...


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## Beets (Sep 22, 2012)

Skimmy290 said:


> i was going down a hill earlier today in neutral and it said i was getting 200mpg plus
> can't beat that
> 
> so not sure what all the complaints are about...


 That's where I make my average! Catch a hill, or even sustained flat stretch, and throw it into neutral and watch the mileage soar. I purposely didn't coast today driving around town and only managed 24 mpg driving conservatively.


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## Beetle123 (Sep 20, 2012)

I don't know if anyone brought this up, but if you're driving the 2.5 automatic, the transmission is geared for "grandma" driving--you hit 6th gear at about 30mph! That's where your crappy gas mileage is coming from. Pretty sluggish. You can check this by throwing it into Tiptronic at 30mph. But if you want better gas mileage, use the tiptronic, (plus it's actually pretty peppy). I wish I'd gotten a stick, but my wife can't drive one (ahhh...the penalties of marriage). But yeah, the thing flies if you use the tiptronic--very quick. Either way, it's a fun car and the interior (red in my case) is just so cool and the fit and finish first rate. But they should have lengthened the gear ratio for the automatic. On the highway it's pretty good, though--it said 32 mpg for me on 4 hour drive. But if I were worried about gas mileage, I'd have gotten a Prius or some other recycled beer can.


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## LEBlackRob (Feb 1, 2012)

Cadenza_7o said:


> According to VW's website, FatFace ^^^ has the same Drag Coefficient as its big brother the TooeRag at 0.37...
> 
> VW's most aerodynamic vehicle in the US is the CC at 0.284.


 Nice find thanks for sharing. I honestly am surprise on that fun fact thank god the beetle is one of the light weights at this current point in time.


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## eunos94 (Mar 17, 2002)

Beetle123 said:


> I don't know if anyone brought this up, but if you're driving the 2.5 automatic, the transmission is geared for "grandma" driving--you hit 6th gear at about 30mph! That's where your crappy gas mileage is coming from.


 um my instant read consistently shows 50+mpg between 30 and 35mph with the automatic. If you want more pep drop it into S and it will keep your rpms up at the cost of some miles per gallon but a tremendous gain in smiles per gallon. :thumbup:


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## eunos94 (Mar 17, 2002)

Beetles have never been aerodynamic .37 is actually a vast improvement over the .42 of the New Beetle and an even bigger improvement over the .48 of the aircooled ones. Still pretty crappy for a modern vehicle though.


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## LEBlackRob (Feb 1, 2012)

eunos94 said:


> Beetles have never been aerodynamic .37 is actually a vast improvement over the .42 of the New Beetle and an even bigger improvement over the .48 of the aircooled ones. Still pretty crappy for a modern vehicle though.


 Yea well we had to choose to be different and not buy a normal car. LOL its a volkswagen thing


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## Cadenza_7o (Jan 23, 2001)

eunos94 said:


> Beetles have never been aerodynamic .37 is actually a vast improvement over the .42 of the New Beetle and an even bigger improvement over the .48 of the aircooled ones. Still pretty crappy for a modern vehicle though.


 Well, VW does have another Bug with similar Drag Coefficient... 0.41 in normal mode and 0.36 in lower mode. It goes 0-100 MPH faster than stink... 

It's called the BUG-atti. 

One snuck up to me a few nights ago. Pure evil is how I would describe the exhaust note.


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## LEBlackRob (Feb 1, 2012)

Cadenza_7o said:


> Well, VW does have another Bug with similar Drag Coefficient... 0.41 in normal mode and 0.36 in lower mode. It goes 0-100 MPH faster than stink...
> 
> It's called the BUG-atti.
> 
> One snuck up to me a few nights ago. Pure evil is how I would describe the exhaust note.


 hahahaha good one and not often that you get to see a over a million dollar car.


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## kballard72 (Jul 2, 2012)

*Don't use neutral (if manual is right)*

"I do a lot if "pulse and glide" where I run up to 5-10 mph over the speed limit and throw it into neutral and coast as long as I can stand to during my city driving. I'm fairly certain that I average better city mileage than highway because of this." 

When slipping into neutral that stops the hypermiling built into the bug... when it coast in gear according to the manual, it shuts off the fuel supply, and lets momentum keep the engine running... Your best milage should be achieved using COAST when you can. I have seen 35mpg out of my 2.0T 

If in neutral the gas supply continues regardless... Going to neutral "may" hurt the MPG... 


Something I did not see here also is the consumption gauge has three modes 
1. Day (resets after off two hours) 
2. Continuing until reset (accessed by pressing select again when you are looking at the Daily one 

and then Instant that constantly bounces around...


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## Beets (Sep 22, 2012)

I'm aware that coasting in gear shuts off the injectors, but coasting in neutral lets me coast for longer distances without motor drag slowing the car (and display 200 mpg vs. the --- of the cut off injectors, can't imagine that it gets much more efficient than 200 mpg....) I've tried both ways and achieve the best overall average mileage by slipping into neutral and coasting for longer distances. I watch the instant 90% of the time I am driving, and check my daily averages at the end of each jaunt. Keeping tabs on those averages lets me keep a fairly accurate average, which is currently at 35.7 mpg. I also check with the miles/gallons method at each fill up, and have been consistently between 35.2 as a low and 36.8 as a high for 4 tanks of fuel now.


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## LEBlackRob (Feb 1, 2012)

Yea I honestly don't see the injectors shutting completely off. I would assume it would go to a idle mode just to keep the motor on. Now coming from an ex TDI owner I won't lie. I use to push the clutch in and just ride the hills or coast the car from time to time.


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## Herbie3Rivers (Apr 12, 2003)

Like others have said, the biggest factor in MPG is the driver. But just cause a GTI and a Golf are similar in their range doesn't mean the Beetle will too.


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## kballard72 (Jul 2, 2012)

http://ecomodder.com/forum/EM-hypermiling-driving-tips-ecodriving.php 

some eco techniques... not all apply to cars where cruise is a little smarter than just accel decel...


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## moodylucy (Aug 21, 2011)

LEBlackRob said:


> Yea well we had to choose to be different and not buy a normal car. LOL its a volkswagen thing


 True, very true!


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## Beets (Sep 22, 2012)

I just hit my best yet mileage last night for a 1 way commute home (40 minute drive, 5 minutes of city driving, 30 minutes of 65 mph highway, another 5 minutes of city). I managed 37.8 mpg as indicated by the onboard system :thumbup:. I had my cruise set at 65 for the highway portion, and did my usual "pulse and glide" through the city driving. I watched my average mpg display the entire drive, and the last 5 minutes of city drive my average increased from 35.6 mpg to the 37.8 that I parked with. Also noteworthy to state that I did not creep about below the speed limit to accomplish this. I took a picture on my horribly outdated cell phone, will post once I track down my SD card adapter...


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## RedTurboS (Sep 17, 2005)

My best mileage was driving highway, 60mph on cruise, for 38 miles and got 41.8mpg. 
I was pleasantly surprised. There were a bit more downward hills going there because coming back I got about 38mpg. 

I used to drive 80+mph everywhere I went and weave in and out in my Turbo S. Now that I can see my MPG and the Nav tells me what time I will get to my destination, I tend to drive like a grandma on the highway. Usually driving faster only saves you at most 5 mins so that's just one more song I can listen to and enjoy driving/being in my bug!

I get about 29-30mpg per tank though with mixed driving.


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## kballard72 (Jul 2, 2012)

Best tank 29
Best trip 35

Common method Cruise control
COmmon route city/state highway mix


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## kballard72 (Jul 2, 2012)

Now that it has cooled off in texas and I have about 4500 miles on the bug... last few trips have been 37-39 mpg on the consumption gauge.. 

Are these 100% accurate, no. Is it the constant for this vehicle? yes. Where it was 32-33 on average trips to work...


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## Surreyboy (Jun 17, 2011)

On this tank im almost at a 1/4 tank and its on course to hit 420 miles on a full tank. This tank has been 90% hwy i would guess


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## katie78 (Oct 25, 2011)

I'm at about 300 miles with 1/4 tank left. It's a mix of highway/rural/urban driving.


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## cbugrun (Jul 14, 2012)

My last fill up was 50% highway and 50% city. Averaged 30.3 miles per gallon. The computer read 30.1 and doing the math ( dividing the actual miles driven by the gallons to fill the tank ) it came to 30.3 just slightly better than the computer. Considering what I have done to the car ( APR Stage I tune with cold air induction system which increased my horsepower to 265 to torque to 307 ) I could not be happier with my MPG.


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## jerryn63 (Oct 20, 2012)

*I only get bad gas mileage when I am spooling up the turbo and having fun!*


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## Carbon Steel (Sep 6, 2010)

We took a trip on Thanksgiving, about 300 miles, 50 local and 250 on the highway, the car had about 700 miles on it before we left, calculated 30.8 mpg. Very similar to the GTI, maybe after another couple of thousand miles it will improve a little, but i'm very satisfied.


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## RedTurboS (Sep 17, 2005)

Road trip from Atlanta to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving putting the cruise on 70- 35.5 mpg. Very satisfied. Would have made it in one tank but my passengers didn't want to risk it since the range said 490 miles for the 479 mile trip. They didn't want to risk it haha 

Have gotten 42 mpg going 60mph with cruise for a 35 mile highway trip before (mostly flat with very few hills)- best yet!


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## Chris659 (Nov 16, 2012)

Wow that's great RedTurboS! It seems like I can watch the gas gauge go down as I drive my 12 miles to and from work. I think I got 26-27 MPG my last tank and I was trying to be as easy on the gas as I could!


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

I'm stage II and I'm still averaging 32mpg, I'm very happy with it so far.

sent using tapatalk


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## LEBlackRob (Feb 1, 2012)

drtechy said:


> I'm stage II and I'm still averaging 32mpg, I'm very happy with it so far.
> 
> sent using tapatalk


 Looking forward to this.


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## Surreyboy (Jun 17, 2011)

2012 turbo manual 6 speed. Mpg has improved but highway only I am getting 422 miles per tank. That's from a fil up and refilling when distance to empty is less than 20 miles. Last few tanks have been the same.


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## VWNDAHS (Jun 20, 2002)

drtechy said:


> I'm stage II and I'm still averaging 32mpg, I'm very happy with it so far.
> 
> sent using tapatalk


 ^THIS. So blown away by the MPG/Fun factor in this car. I just completed a tank of 1/4 city and 3/4 highway with an average of 30mpg, 35 was seen on the highway. Incredible!


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## VWNDAHS (Jun 20, 2002)

Update: I just drove up to LA and back to enjoy the Peterson Automotive Museum's Vault (truly spectacular, I'd say second only to Leno's collection) and averaged 34.5 MPG on the drive up and 35.0 MPG on the drive down. I'm pretty sure that's the best I've seen across a round trip in any VW I've owned . The amount of pull this car has below 2,000 rpm is astounding, you never really need to surpass it if you're driving posted speeds.


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## the beet (May 5, 2012)

I'm sure someone else has mentioned this, but here goes... 

So far, I've calculated that I'm getting approximately 30 mpg in my 2.5. I would like to conduct a few more tests, but is anyone taking into account things like: 

Are you sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic for any period (Do you drive in NY City)? 

Are you starting your car and leaving it running for any period of time before you leave for your trip? Or leave it sitting running for any reason, before or after?

Jack-rabbit starts and other sudden acceleration during driving (above 60mph)?

Full capacity in vehicle?

Seems to me there are so many outside factors that contribute to the overall fuel consumption that be be overlooked...


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

I can't believe you're getting 30mpg on a 2.5, i'm getting that on my turbo


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## the beet (May 5, 2012)

drtechy said:


> I can't believe you're getting 30mpg on a 2.5, i'm getting that on my turbo


I could be getting better, but my commute is pretty bad, with lots of bumper-to-bumper, back-ups, etc. 

2.5L Beetle specs say up to 31 mpg highway. I'm mostly highway.


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

Anyone keep track on Fuelly.com? I'm drtechy on there as well. I'd be interested to see what others are seeing through there.


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## GTarr (May 17, 2012)

I'm GTarr over there as well, though you probably already noticed me there, Doc. 

As far as Turbo vs I5 goes, it seems like there's not all that much difference in fuel economy (EPA doesn't think so either). All the more reason to go for Turbo IMO (though it does require premium at a markup of ~10% around here). Small turbo engines seem to be where it's at for fuel economy + performance nowadays. The 2.5L I5 is kind of an old dog at this point...

GTarr


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## vdub10golf (Jan 23, 2010)

I think the 2.5 is about to be discontinued with a new 1.8T here pretty soon. Hopefully that engine will get better mpg's than the 2.0T.


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

GTarr said:


> I'm GTarr over there as well, though you probably already noticed me there, Doc.


Cool 



vdub10golf said:


> I think the 2.5 is about to be discontinued with a new 1.8T here pretty soon. Hopefully that engine will get better mpg's than the 2.0T.


It'll be interesting to see where the threshold is on that. Can they create the same power in a smaller package without sacrificing fuel economy. At some point the ratio of size to fuel economy is going to hit a breaking point, where they won't be able to push the same power without using more fuel in a smaller combustion chamber. Where that threshold is, IDK.


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## GTarr (May 17, 2012)

If there were 1.8Ts in 2012, I probably would have looked at them (although, I do think you get a lot for your money going to the 2.0T - IRS, cloth seats, spoiler, wheels). I kind of think a 1.4T or 1.6T would have been a better choice though. I'm kind of bummed the Euro 1.4T isn't sold here. A big part of fuel efficiency is aero though, and the Beetle simply isn't very good in a wind tunnel. I'm wondering how much lowering it would cut down on drag... If I had infinite play time, I'd be doing the things I see over on ecomodders, like wheel well skirts, front air dams, and partial kammbacks to try to see what I could eke out... Maybe I'll get time to play with that some day. But overall, for a sporty-ish fun car, I'm pretty pleased w/ the mileage I _do_ get out of my 2.0T.

GTarr


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## vdub10golf (Jan 23, 2010)

Yeah I don't mind the mileage I get from the 2.0T. My sister has a 2.5 and has complained how I seem to get better mileage lol.

From Car&Driver:


> Coming later—late 2013 for the 2014 model year seems like a good bet—Volkswagen will finally begin to ditch the naturally aspirated five-cylinder engine it uses in the Jetta, Passat, and Beetle. According to one of our sources in Europe, though, the plan right now is to use a 1.8-liter turbo four in all three of the cars. In European installations, the 1.8T makes 158 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque.


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## the beet (May 5, 2012)

vdub10golf said:


> I think the 2.5 is about to be discontinued with a new 1.8T here pretty soon. Hopefully that engine will get better mpg's than the 2.0T.


Yeah,... I think their gonna' replace all of the models with hybrid/electric... no more turbo either... :what:


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## the beet (May 5, 2012)

*Beetster*

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31229_7-57356213-257/vw-goes-greener-with-electric-beetle-jetta-hybrid/


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## NickSarazen (Dec 16, 2012)

I'm shocked every single day by the incredible gas mileage I get in my 2012 Beetle Turbo w/ DSG everyday. I drive about 50 miles a day, a little more than half of which are highway miles, and I average over 30 mpg (well over, usually) going an average of 65 mph on the highway. This absolutely blows my mind, as I previously drove a 2006 Passat 2.0T FSI that averaged 23 mpg doing the same thing. 

And when I'm in the mood to drive in a more "spirited" fashion, I average 25-26. We're talking punching it through a gear and a half rather frequently...I could have never imagined that I would be able to get this good gas mileage in a Beetle Turbo.


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## VWNDAHS (Jun 20, 2002)

NickSarazen said:


> I'm shocked every single day by the incredible gas mileage I get in my 2012 Beetle Turbo w/ DSG everyday. I drive about 50 miles a day, a little more than half of which are highway miles, and I average over 30 mpg (well over, usually) going an average of 65 mph on the highway. This absolutely blows my mind, as I previously drove a 2006 Passat 2.0T FSI that averaged 23 mpg doing the same thing.
> 
> And when I'm in the mood to drive in a more "spirited" fashion, I average 25-26. We're talking punching it through a gear and a half rather frequently...I could have never imagined that I would be able to get this good gas mileage in a Beetle Turbo.


Yes. flabbergasting. Coming from the VR6 I never, ever, saw above 24 except once in winter, and never saw a combined tank above 20. Now i'm almost 100% better and it's insane. But what really gets me about the turbo beetle is the engine and just how far the 2.0t+DSG combination has come since my '06 jetta. If you don't want to exceed 2,000 rpm, say ever, it's not a problem. so much torque down low and given a long enough on ramp you'll hit freeway speeds without ever moving past 2k. Then when you decide to give it the full beans in drive it rarely ever moves past 4k, not until Sport or manual do you really get moving and then the pull is significantly grater than the R32 I came from. It's really an incredible incredibly fun car with few of the caveats the likes of the CR-Z or other 'eco' friendly faux fun cars have.


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## the beet (May 5, 2012)

drtechy said:


> I can't believe you're getting 30mpg on a 2.5, i'm getting that on my turbo


Actually, if you compare the specs, the 2.5 is supposed to get better mileage than the turbo: 

http://www.vw.com/en/models/beetle/trims-specs.html


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## Stu3 (Jul 17, 2012)

Zoiks. You guys are getting some great numbers. 

I just calculated the fuel economy in my 2012 2.5 and am getting 17 mpg. Mind you, this is winter in Stuttgart in heavy stop and go traffic with lots of hills to go up and down. I am driving the car in manual mode with the automatic transmission and not red-lining the engine. 

Other than that, she is doing very well!


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## the beet (May 5, 2012)

Actually, my sticker says up to 34mpg for highway. I mostly drive highway and get around 30mpg, when the traffic is not too heavy.


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## plex03 (Nov 10, 2011)

the beet said:


> Actually, my sticker says up to 34mpg for highway. I mostly drive highway and get around 30mpg, when the traffic is not too heavy.


 I can get 30-35 no problem on my Turbo in daily driving. 

The problem is that I can't seem to keep my foot from pressing the gas pedal.  It's so much fun.


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## SICKVDUB1 (Sep 1, 2008)

Is it normal for the first tank to be so crappy. Wifey got a Bettle 2013 we filled it up 60LTS with 92 and i drove it on saturday, and so far we are down 3/4 of a tank with barely 300km on it. Something is definitely odd and i don't know if this is a normal thing or something that i should make the dealer aware of.


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## Chris659 (Nov 16, 2012)

I am too lazy and stupid to know liter to gallon and miles to kilometers  but my first few tanks were real crappy and then got less crappy each tank after that....

I wanna do a Stage I flash to see if it goes up or down in mileage

Lately I've been experimenting with driving in drive vs manual mode with the DSG to see if mileage varies at all. Haven't proved it yet but seems to be better with me shifting than in normal Drive. Maybe I'm just :screwy: though


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## Cadenza_7o (Jan 23, 2001)

Chris659 said:


> I am too lazy and stupid to know liter to gallon and miles to kilometers  but my first few tanks were real crappy and then got less crappy each tank after that....
> 
> I wanna do a Stage I flash to see if it goes up or down in mileage
> 
> Lately I've been experimenting with driving in drive vs manual mode with the DSG to see if mileage varies at all. Haven't proved it yet but seems to be better with me shifting than in normal Drive. Maybe I'm just :screwy: though


I can do metric-to-standard conversions in my sleep....

60L = 253.6 cups 
300km = 11,811,023.6 inches

hope that helps!!! :laugh:


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## Stu3 (Jul 17, 2012)

I just did check on our 2012 2.5 Auto on a trip from Stuttgart to Kaiserslautern and back to Stuttgart plus a bit of city driving here in Stuttgart. Total of 319.1 miles and the fuel light was on when I filled it up.

23.7 mpg (measure the old fashioned way) of miles travelled divided by the amount to fill/top off the tank.

Transmission was in Sport mode for most of it and some of it in "manual mode" for max power. A/C was on for 90% of the trip (seat heater too) and a good portion of the 319 miles was on the autobahn in the 85 to 95 mph zone. I think I may have kissed 100 mph a few times.

YMMV (pun intended) :wave:


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## jpitzer4 (Jul 18, 2012)

*mileage*

I used to get consistently 38-39 MPG doing 70mph going from Atlanta to Tampa. But am getting now about 37 going from Seattle to Portland, which has a few more hills


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## VRACERW (May 25, 2005)

just got done going thru my first tank and i had 390m on it. it took 13 gal to fill so i avg 30mpg. i did notice that once it starts into the red zone it the needle seems to drop rather quickly.

this is in a 2.0t 6SPD MAN and it only has 390 miles on her, literally the first tank. mostly around town(some "fun" driving) with 1 trip that was 70 miles coming home from the dealer.


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## vdubjettaman (Mar 31, 2004)

I just filled up my 2.0T 6spd with 3,1xx miles on the car. I had 361.8 miles on the trip and it took 12.433 gallons to fill up = 29.099 mpg.

That tank was a combination of all types of driving - a bit less of the spirited twisties, but no shortage of on ramps!


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## GTarr (May 17, 2012)

VRACERW said:


> just got done going thru my first tank and i had 390m on it. it took 13 gal to fill so i avg 30mpg. i did notice that once it starts into the red zone it the needle seems to drop rather quickly.


I have a sneaking suspicion that once the needle gets into the red zone, it moves by time rather than by mileage or gas used. I once hit the red zone, then sat the car in the parking lot, engine off, ignition on (so I could listen to the radio), and it continued to drop as I sat there. The "miles remaining" display also continued to drop with the engine off. I think this is kind of dumb, but don't have a huge problem with it, as once you get to the red zone, you should be looking for someplace to gas up anyways...

GTarr


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## SICKVDUB1 (Sep 1, 2008)

Chris659 said:


> I am too lazy and stupid to know liter to gallon and miles to kilometers  but my first few tanks were real crappy and then got less crappy each tank after that....
> 
> I wanna do a Stage I flash to see if it goes up or down in mileage
> 
> Lately I've been experimenting with driving in drive vs manual mode with the DSG to see if mileage varies at all. Haven't proved it yet but seems to be better with me shifting than in normal Drive. Maybe I'm just :screwy: though


She has the tiptronic and the 2.5l engine



Cadenza_7o said:


> I can do metric-to-standard conversions in my sleep....
> 
> 60L = 253.6 cups
> 300km = 11,811,023.6 inches
> ...


:laugh: i finally got off my couch and did the conversion, basically we filled it up with 15.85 Gallons and so far she has driven 186.411 and has 1/4 of a tank left, there is no way in hell this is right for a brand new car, we filled it up with 92 octane, and she has been driving it really carefully she does 40 to 50mph tops, with the A/C on, i drove it a bit faster somewhere between 50 and 60 mph without the a/C and the damn needle would just laugh at me and go down


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## Anthony_A (Feb 1, 2013)

I'm typically getting around 200 miles (321 km) on a tank of gas. some highway but mostly suburb stop and go. I'm usually filling up with Sunoco 91.


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## Stu3 (Jul 17, 2012)

Hey all, this is a great thread but I wish everyone would say what engine and transmission they have before posting their mpg figures.


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## vdubjettaman (Mar 31, 2004)

Stu3 said:


> Hey all, this is a great thread but I wish everyone would say what engine and transmission they have before posting their mpg figures.


edited my post above


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## Chris659 (Nov 16, 2012)

SICKVDUB1 said:


> She has the tiptronic and the 2.5l engine
> 
> 
> 
> :laugh: i finally got off my couch and did the conversion, basically we filled it up with 15.85 Gallons and so far she has driven 186.411 and has 1/4 of a tank left, there is no way in hell this is right for a brand new car, we filled it up with 92 octane, and she has been driving it really carefully she does 40 to 50mph tops, with the A/C on, i drove it a bit faster somewhere between 50 and 60 mph without the a/C and the damn needle would just laugh at me and go down


Something doesn't sound right... Even on dead empty I've never been able to put more than 13 gallons in my beetle

My car did the same thing for a few tanks and then started averaging 300- 330 per tank. The needle does seem to still drop fast no matter how I drive. I went to the dealer and was complaining right after my purchase because I came from a car that was averaging 350 miles on 10 gallons and then to see what I was getting from the vw... For a minute I didn't think I was going to be able to afford the gas to drive the stupid car LOL


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## PLATA (Mar 15, 2013)

Mine is a 6spd, has close to 3K miles, the car's monitor displays an avg of 26mpg. But I tell you , this bug is very thirsty , that turbo gauge goes up and the fuel gauge down in a hurry


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## MelindaJBZ (Dec 21, 2012)

Well since the weather warmed up I have been averaging 40-41mpg but let the hubby drive a lot on the weekends it drops to 39 lol


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## Anthony_A (Feb 1, 2013)

Anthony_A said:


> I'm typically getting around 200 miles (321 km) on a tank of gas. some highway but mostly suburb stop and go. I'm usually filling up with Sunoco 91.


I have the Turbo / 6MT. I would say I'm not heavy on the gas. The special yellow DOT invitations to pay would say otherwise.


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## Chrisho (Dec 1, 2012)

PLATA said:


> Mine is a 6spd, has close to 3K miles, the car's monitor displays an avg of 26mpg. But I tell you , this bug is very thirsty , that turbo gauge goes up and the fuel gauge down in a hurry


that boost gauge is even addictive for those of us with TDIs

edit: 5/16 fillup, 41.7, this is top down mostly, mornings 65+ provided its dry. Same route my v6 2013 Mustang used to average 24/25 (oddly enough, my first recorded fill up on the Mustang was 5/24)


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