2009 1.4 petrol fuel consumption

[riyazLFC]

Hi
I wanted to ask if any other 9n 1.4 petrol owners can advise me what their fuel consumption is like? I just bought my 2009 1.4 polo a couple of weeks ago. its got 55k on the clock. its in good nick but I'm finding the fuel consumption rather poor. i'm getting around 295 miles to a full tank on motorway and town around 240. Is this correct or might there be something wrong with my car? Any help will really be appreciated.

cheers

[gerinemo]

295 miles to a tank does sound poor
If it were me I would try to get a more accurate figure
the tank in the polo is a little smaller than the norm so your not putting as much fuel in it and consequently seem to be always filling it

Next time you fill up
reset the trip odometer
drive 100 Km ( 62 miles ) then fill it up again and see how many liters it takes ( assuming uk pumps are in liters )
Compare that
Fuel consumption (economy) - urban 8.3 l/100 km.
Fuel consumption (economy) - extra urban 5.2 l/100 km.
Fuel consumption (economy) - combined 6.3 l/100 km

If it is much higher than the stated

Check Tyre pressure
Check Air filter
Check Spark Plugs
Remove unwanted luggage from the boot
Turn off AC

When was it last serviced

From my own experience it may just be driving style ( not criticizing ) just you said the polo is new to you
I found myself changing gear at 3000 rpm when i first got mine as it sounded like a little sewing machine
I too thought mine heavy on petrol till i calculated the exact miles per gallon easier for me in Ireland as the clock is in km and so is the petrol pump

My 1.2 3cyl does 48mpg
i get 640km to a tank full and the needle does not move until i do 120 km and then seems to be in free fall

also make sur nour not getting your petrol here
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/o ... se-6968344

[riyazLFC]

Thanks for that. It has quite a big tank and I've been driving easy not like a maniac lol. But I will try out your tips.

[RUM4MO]

I agree, quotes like "I need to get fuel every 8 days" or "I get 10 days out of £40 of fuel" are not much worse than your "I get 2?? miles out of a tank".

Run until the "refuel now" warning or at least quite near it, fill up to the first "click stop", note the mileage, repeat at the next refuel, noting the mileage and litres of fuel needed to return to the first "click stop", convert litres into gallons by multiplying litres by 0.22, divide that resulting figure into the recorded miles run and you have your answer.

Remember that the 9N3 Polo is quite heavy, heavier than the alter 6R Polo, I seem to remember that my daughter's late 2009 6J (so new shape) Ibiza gets around 45MPGin the way that I used it, my wife's August 2015 6C Polo 1.2TSI 110PS SEL 5 Door tends to return 55+MPG over a tank of fuel.

[riyazLFC]

So far my calculations are roughly 28mpg on the motorway snd roughly 22mpg in town. For a small car I find this really high. I'm not sure if its supposed to be that? I'm thinking to take it for a diagnostic check. Any other 1.4 owner's out there that can shed some light on what their fuel consumption is?

[gerinemo]

Yep 28 mpg is poor for motorway runs
Is there any warning lamps on the dash ( MIL )

Try a different brand of fuel

What speed would you be doing on the motorway ? do you have a lead foot

Is is a stock air filter or KN
What Tyres are on it

Any chance that there is a leak ?
Any smell of fuel ?

Check the plugs and air filter is it clogged / dirty
What about the plugs what colour are they are they black ( running rich ) or brown ( normal ) are they the right plugs

Was there any service history with the car ?

Sorry about all the questions but you need to be methodical in your approach & rule out any of the obvious things

[riyazLFC]

Thanks for the reply mate. I'm in the process of checking all those things. Was thinking odof buying a k&n air filter and some decent plugs and giving it a good service and see hiw it goes from there.

No smell of petrol and ive ben doin 60-70 on the motorway. Lol i don't have a lead foot, maybe if it was a gti i would
It has the standard tyres and rim 195/50 or 55 15 inch. Im not sure of the profile.

Im think of changing thw alloys to 16s. Not sure if thats a good idea.

Cheers

[RUM4MO]

Okay, so I've now found the fuel records from my wife's previous car a 2002 Polo 1.4 16V 75PS 5 Speed, the tank>tank figures for that car range from 48.5MPG (during summer time) down to 37.5MPG (during winter time). It also had 195/50 or 55 X 15 wheels/tyres fitted, sunroof, electric rear windows and some more, so was quite heavy!


So, as that was an older version of petrol engine, a BBY unit, your later car MUST be expected to get more MPG if used in a similar way, which was mainly out of town driving with mainly 10+mile journeys.

If you fit 16 alloys with the correct sized tyres, I'd expect the weight of that combo to increase your alloy+tyre weights and maybe even the rolling resistance, so if it is improving MPG you are expecting to achieve, I'd expect you to be disappointed.

Edit:- just one thing, that 48.5MPG was an exception probably down to ambient temperature and excellent road conditions. 45.5MPG was a more repeatable summer consumption figure.

[littlepolo]

With all being well on the vehicle mpg can vary depending on weather conditions (summer vs winter) and driving style. I have a 2002 1.4 auto. A lot of stop start in winter will drop it to 28mpg, otherwise it's around 32mpg stop start in summer. Mixed driving will generally get 300+ miles per tank. Long distance at steady 65-70 will get 35+ mpg, often 36-38mpg, and it has been as good as 42mpg (downhill on the M40 in summer). I've not had it go much more than 340 miles per tank until the light comes on. Due to the weight of the vehicle any start stop driving will drop the mpg. I'm using standard wheels and tyres.

[riyazLFC]

Thanks for that mate.