Fuel economy GTI 2108 vs 2022

[OomStu_ZA]

While you guys in the rest of the world are awaiting the facelift GTI 2.0L with 152KW, 320NM, and 7 speed DSG, here in South Africa our derivative will have the same engine and gearbox pre-facelift. VW SA mailed me a while back cofirming that fuel in SA is not as good so they decided to keep it same same, just different.

My question is this. The pre-facelift model was listed with an average fuel economy of 5.9L/100KM while the facelift (in SA) with the same engine spec is listed at 6.4L/100KM. is this just VW correcting their earlier (over eager) claims of 5.9L/100?

[SRGTD]

What is the basis of calculation for the 2018 official fuel consumption figures? - NEDC (or the ZA equivalent) or WLTP?

In the UK when manufacturers official fuel consumption figures were restated using the WLTP basis of calculation towards the end of 2018, pretty much all the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions figures represented a worsening compared to the previous NEDC-based figures because the WLTP figures were more representative of real world driving.

Other factors that might contribute towards the differences;

• Does the 2022 GTI for the South African market have a GPF and the 2018 model didn’t?

• In the UK, the % of ethanol in standard unleaded petrol has recently increased from 5% to 10% and the newer E10 formulation gives slightly worse fuel consumption.

At the time I ordered my GTI+ in Q1 2020, the official overall average fuel consumption for the GTI / GTI+ (WLTP basis of calculation) was 39.1 mpg and CO2 emissions were 141g/km. In the Jan 2018 brochure, the equivalent pre-WLTP official figures were 47.9 mpg and 134g/km.

[OomStu_ZA]

What is the basis of calculation for the 2018 official fuel consumption figures? - NEDC (or the ZA equivalent) or WLTP?

In the UK when manufacturers official fuel consumption figures were restated using the WLTP basis of calculation towards the end of 2018, pretty much all the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions figures represented a worsening compared to the previous NEDC-based figures because the WLTP figures were more representative of real world driving.

Other factors that might contribute towards the differences;

• Does the 2022 GTI for the South African market have a GPF and the 2018 model didn’t?

• In the UK, the % of ethanol in standard unleaded petrol has recently increased from 5% to 10% and the newer E10 formulation gives slightly worse fuel consumption.

At the time I ordered my GTI+ in Q1 2020, the official overall average fuel consumption for the GTI / GTI+ (WLTP basis of calculation) was 39.1 mpg and CO2 emissions were 141g/km. In the Jan 2018 brochure, the equivalent pre-WLTP official figures were 47.9 mpg and 134g/km.

There was a news article locally back in 2019 discussing the topic of WLTP in the EU and the impact thereof in SA since we manufacture a number of German brands here for export. Afaik we on Euro 2 standard fuel and there is/was discussion to increase it to Euro 5 standard but not much progress has been made to date.

In SA I believe we use the New European Driving Cycle, so pre-WLTP?

My 2019 GTI didn’t come with a WLTP device and seriously doubt it is fitted to the new 2022 model. That said I cannot account for the other manufacturers models in SA such as BMW and Mercedes.

From what I can glean off the internwebs it seems ethanol accounts for 10 % of the fuel blend in SA since 2012ish.

[SRGTD]

@OomStu_ZA; It’d be interesting to hear the ‘official’ explanation from VW for the worse fuel consumption figures if nothing has changed mechanically; pre-facelift GTI compared to the post-facelift model that’s sold in South Africa.

I suspect it is down to the testing procedure used to measure and calculate the fuel consumption, but perhaps VW South Africa could confirm this?

[OomStu_ZA]

No worries, I will email them now and reply here once they've responded.

EDIT: in live chat with the factory now.... what a hoot.. here is the text so far XD

You are chatting to Esti. Please note that we may need to share your personal information with our Dealer Network and partners in order to assist you. How can I help you?
Stuart 15:12:31
hello
15:12:52
I have a question re Polo GTI
15:13:50
The 2018 GTI model is rated at 5.9L/100KM while the facelift is rated at 6.4L/100KM (has same drivetrain as pre facelift)... why is the new model rated a high fuel consumption?
Esti 15:14:13
Wonderful choice in a vehicle, Stuart.
15:15:04
Cant complain, I got mine in 2019 but since the new car is the same (mechanically) no reason to trade it in
Esti 15:16:23
The new Polo GTI has a 147 kW 2.0 TSI engine.
15:16:51
thats not my question
15:17:05
my question is: The 2018 GTI model is rated at 5.9L/100KM while the facelift is rated at 6.4L/100KM (has same drivetrain as pre facelift)... why is the new model rated a high fuel consumption?
Esti 15:17:19
The increase in engine size, does mean I slightly higher fuel consumption.
15:17:44
there is NO increase in engine size, are you not understanding my question?
Esti 15:18:55
I am sorry, Stuart. I miss understood the question.

[dash09]

While you guys in the rest of the world are awaiting the facelift GTI 2.0L with 152KW, 320NM, and 7 speed DSG, here in South Africa our derivative will have the same engine and gearbox pre-facelift. VW SA mailed me a while back cofirming that fuel in SA is not as good so they decided to keep it same same, just different.

My question is this. The pre-facelift model was listed with an average fuel economy of 5.9L/100KM while the facelift (in SA) with the same engine spec is listed at 6.4L/100KM. is this just VW correcting their earlier (over eager) claims of 5.9L/100?

So I actually reach or better the advertised 5.9, but my daily drive is 50km 1 way with about 90% of that on the highway. About 6.2l going and the return trip is between 5.5-8, but this is "optimal" driving conditions with more downhills than up and barely any stops. Bear in mind I'm not driving miss daisy, I do boot it on the highway but I dont do fast take offs and drive solely in normal mode.
In and out of town though its a different story, the car will never reach the claimed figures. Even the 6.4 on the new model will require a very light foot

[SRGTD]

While you guys in the rest of the world are awaiting the facelift GTI 2.0L with 152KW, 320NM, and 7 speed DSG, here in South Africa our derivative will have the same engine and gearbox pre-facelift. VW SA mailed me a while back cofirming that fuel in SA is not as good so they decided to keep it same same, just different.

My question is this. The pre-facelift model was listed with an average fuel economy of 5.9L/100KM while the facelift (in SA) with the same engine spec is listed at 6.4L/100KM. is this just VW correcting their earlier (over eager) claims of 5.9L/100?

So I actually reach or better the advertised 5.9, but my daily drive is 50km 1 way with about 90% of that on the highway. About 6.2l going and the return trip is between 5.5-8, but this is "optimal" driving conditions with more downhills than up and barely any stops. Bear in mind I'm not driving miss daisy, I do boot it on the highway but I dont do fast take offs and drive solely in normal mode.
In and out of town though its a different story, the car will never reach the claimed figures. Even the 6.4 on the new model will require a very light foot

The figure of 5.9l/100km will be an average overall figure obtained under laboratory test conditions, so in some real world driving scenarios it might be possible to better the official overall average figure - e.g. steady highway driving when engine oil is up to optimum operating temperatures - and in other conditions such as short town driving, actual fuel consumption will be considerably worse than the official average.

I never pay that much attention to manufacturers official fuel consumption figures, as in most instances they’re hypothetical figures that many owners will never achieve in real world driving conditions. IMHO they’re only useful for comparing the relative fuel consumption of one make / model of car to another (e.g. to establish whether a Polo GTI is more or less economical than, say, a Fiesta ST), rather than paying heed to the actual official fuel consumption figures themselves.

I drive a Polo GTI+, so good fuel consumption wasn’t top of the list of priorities for me when I bought my car. Having said that, the GTI does have good fuel economy for a small performance car.

Back to the original question raised by @OomStu_ZA; I’d be surprised if VW give a plausible explanation for the differences in the official fuel consumption figures for the mechanically identical pre- and post-facelift GTI sold in the South African market, unless the differences are due to WLTP test procedures having been adopted for the facelift model.

[OomStu_ZA]

Still no feedback from VWSA and will give them the benifit of doubt for now and follow up with them again next week.

Last night on my way home I drove ±70KM on the N1 and achieved a return of 5.6L/100KM @ 80KM/h all the way. The best figure I've seen is 5.3L/100KM but then it is just as the movie title says, Driving Miss Daisy.

I do a lot of city (start/stop) and long distance driving leaving me with an avg. of 7.6L/100KM which is better than my old 2008 Polo 1.4 with an avg. of 8.2L/100KM. I also disable the auto stop/start feature because it annoys me to no end. What I can conclude is that the auto stop/start has no impact on my fuel usage.

@SRGTD: True! I always add at least 2L/100KM more to the figure supplied by the manufacturer.

P.S. I only drive in Individual mode - everything in Normal except steering which is set to sport.

[OomStu_ZA]

VW SA have called me twice in the last few days, still no answer but they're at least following up. The call centre lady let me know she is waiting for a reply from the product development team wrt my question.

[SRGTD]

VW SA have called me twice in the last few days, still no answer but they're at least following up. The call centre lady let me know she is waiting for a reply from the product development team wrt my question.

I’m intrigued to know what the response is .

[OomStu_ZA]

Still no official update on this topic from VW SA (they call me weekly stating production has yet to reply t them) but while servicing my car yesterday spoke with the sales manager about it. He is of the opinion it has to do with emissions being updated, or rather, corrected. He further went on to say it is unlikely the production team at factory would reply as it implies they miscalculated the numbers back in 2018. Anyways, will update here once there is more info.

[OomStu_ZA]

I received this official reply from VWSA today:

Screenshot 2022-05-06 144647.png (102.78 KiB) Viewed 875 times

[SRGTD]

I received this official reply from VWSA today:

Screenshot 2022-05-06 144647.png

Thanks for updating. At least they’ve replied, albeit with a fairly standard generic-type of response.

I doubt the weight of a facelift GTI differs much (if at all) to the pre-facelift car, as they’re essentially the same car, bearing in mind the facelift car for the South African market retained the 6 speed DSG used in the pre-facelift model. External design changes are limited to very minor cosmetic tweaks, which I doubt would have much effect - if any - on air flow and drag coefficient.

I’d still put my money on the reason(s) for the worse South African official fuel consumption figures being a different test procedure for fuel consumption (and emissions) has been used;
- pre-facelift car; NEDC (or the South African equivalent)
- facelift car; WLTP (or the South African equivalent).