Buy all your VW California Accessories at the Club Shop Visit Shop

35.5mpg in a 180 manual.

Ajspicer

Ajspicer

VIP Member
VIP Trade Partner
Messages
537
Vehicle
T5 SE 180
Hi,

We drive a 200 mile trip to see my partners parents from Bristol to Newlyn Cornwall at least once every couple of months, as this trip is predominantly motorway and dual carriageway I thought I would take a steady trip down to see what mpg we could get without driving at a snails pace.

I tried to drive steady up the long hills on the A30 and keep to a steady 60 to 65 mph without using cruise control.

The result was an average of 35.7mpg.

The spec is 180 manual with bike rack and awning. we also had a boot full of pots pans and bags of clothes etc.

Does this average mpg sound about right given the driving style and if a bit low what have others managed to achieve?

Thanks,

Andrew.
 
we only get around 28-30 max in a 180 DSG
 
Thanks for your response, who cares about mpg when you have a van that looks as good as yours!
 
I'm only used to 30 max in my T5 174 anyway so not too bad in my view.
 
Sounds about right. A recent drive up to Scotland, with an overnight detour to the Lake District, saw 37MPG when we had to fill up. I do tend to use the cruise control a lot and believe it helps with the MPG but in fact moving up to 70mph does not affect the MPG (on the dashboard display) too much but on holiday the 65mph feels right and the van seem's to be really quiet and unstressed. (180 manual with awning but no bike rack).

Andy
 
We've done a similar trip a few times but from Cornwall with low 30s. Seems to get better past Exeter (where the M5 starts). 180 manual but 4motion.
 
KernowLad said:
We've done a similar trip a few times but from Cornwall with low 30s. Seems to get better past Exeter (where the M5 starts). 180 manual but 4motion.

That is exactly what we found, low 32's / 33's from Newlyn to Exeter then the average was boosted to mid 35's by the time we had done the M5 upto Bristol. I might try cruise next time to see if it makes any difference.
 
The A30 is pretty hilly and we do find hills REALLY kill the mpg in a Cali (our local mpg is diabolical!). I use cruise a lot abroad but not much in the UK - just seems a bit busy much of the time.

How new is yours? Ours improved a fair bit when it reached about 8,000 miles. Both mpg and performance.
 
Ajspicer said:
Hi,

Does this average mpg sound about right given the driving style and if a bit low what have others managed to achieve?

Thanks,

Andrew.

35 on a run is about right for our 180DSG. Although I normally sit around 70-75mph

If we use it for local runs around town then 28-29 is normal.

Our lowest ever is 26mpg and personal best is 36.

All of these are old school method of filling the tank and measuring the distance between full tanks and then doing the sums.

We have had the van for 12,800 miles and our overall average is 31.5 (so you can see from this that our usage is slightly skewed towards local use - including local trips while on holiday)

I am this sad so you don't have to be :)

T
 
I've got an app on my iPhone (MPGCalc) that I have been using to record "brim to brim" over the last two and a half years (not religiously I forget sometimes). It's currently showing an average of 32.49. Over that period we've probably covered about 20,000 miles. We do 80 generally on the motorway but otherwise aren't crazy fast.
 
Oh should've said, we're based in Cumbria so have plenty of hills to get up! Ours is a four year old 180 two wheel drive manual. In a way I wish I could stop recording this stuff and just drive, as others have recommended!
 
My personal best is 40 mpg over 100 miles in my manual 180 with awning and bike rack. That was from north Wiltshire to Sussex going across country rather than M4, M25 etc. I had a lot of time and it was a very sunny day so I just took my time :D Having said that I was driving to the speed limit and not building a huge queue behind me.

Doug
 
I haven't paid much attention to mpg yet as the engine has only done 5500 miles in the 6 months since new. However, after a 96 mile trip yesterday, dual carriageway and motorway, I checked the on board computer and was pleasantly surprised to see ave 40.8mpg in our 180 DSG. Husband drove back and though we had a few short stops and he used cruise control ave was still 38.6. Well chuffed and hoping will continue to improve with more miles on the clock. :D
 
Back
Top