UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi all. I picked up a new match 1.4 petrol last month with standard manual gear box and the optional 16" alloys. Been very happy with it although am a little concerned with the fuel consumption. I mainly do 15 mile journeys which are half motorway and half city driving.

The first tank gave me just under 300 miles. I refilled and have driven to the speed limit keeping revs very low to try and improve upon this. This time round I am at 325 miles and the low fuel light has come on saying I have 40 left.

I have been keeping an eye on the average fuel display, which has been showing an average of 45mpg per trip. That would not ring true unless am getting near 400 per tank. I understand the stated range is 475?

Do you guys think this is reasonable mileage or should I be worried ? What mileage do you get. I appreciate am doing fairly short journeys but I can't drive any more gently ! Will it improve as it runs in?

Any thoughts appreciated. Cheers m

Do a proper calculated fuel economy for a tank. Fill it up until the pump 'clicks', reset the trip, drive until the light came on, and then fill up, and note how much it puts in when it clicks. You now have the mileage and the number of litres you put in, and you can calculate your actual MPG. The built-in ones are often a bit inaccurate.

I used to consistently get 400+ miles to tank from mine but that was with mainly motorway driving with a 45mpg average. You need to make sure to brim it full and remember its only a 45 litre tank.

Thanks guys. As long as it's not way below what others are achieving. I appreciate it's a smaller tank and need to drive carefully to get best economy. Will try a more accurate test

Economy will improve over time in any case as the engine beds in

Your economy will improve as summer approaches..

John

john.p.clegg wrote:Your economy will improve as summer approaches..

John

It wont. Its not exactly cold now.

It will however improve as the engine loosens up.

With 2.5K on the clock on my 20 mile commute I regularly hit 50mpg, with a little bit of traffic hit around 47 mpg on the way home. Town driving around 40-41mpg, overall pretty happy with the mpg. As others have said will improve with time.

Thanks for all the advice. Much appreciated

Past two tanks I have run a good 10 miles beyond empty before refilling. Gettin 370 miles per tank

Something really strange just happened. The last fill was 43 litres which would indicate I had 2 litre still left

I just put 54 litres in at quite a cost ! How is it possible to fill a 45 litre tank with 54 litres?!!! I better get more miles for £69!!!

Strictly speaking it's not possible. Something isn't right there. Polos only have a 45 litre tank on all models

You can however probably fit a litre or so in the filler neck, though 9L more than the tank capacity is a fair amount.

With 15 miles of range remaining I can fit 53l in my tank if I brim to the top. So nothing too worry about with regards capacity. This volume gave me 463 miles in a GTI so it sounds like getting 325 in a 1.4 is somewhat low.

Mixed driving in my GTI I get about 35mpg. Different engine I know but give you a yardstick

So confusing. I have driven 110 miles and display still reads full. How come this hasn't happened every other time I have filled to brim?! It's as if the tank has suddenly got bigger lol. Still can't fathom how I could put 54l in 45l tank!

Before her current Polo, my wife used to have a 1.4 SEL DSG version of the 6R (the 85ps version). Over about 20k miles and 2½ years, it averaged about 43mpg. Her journeys were typically about a 50/50 mix of motorway and urban roads.

By comparison, her current and much more powerful Blue GT DSG with 140ps, is averaging 48mpg over 5.5k miles !