I collected this last night.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-ot-vw-passat-estate-perfect-bike-car

I drove it back from SW London to Fife in Scotland, at motorway speeds on less than a tank of fuel. I figure if I'd driven carefully you could get 600 miles out of a tank.

Our Subary Legacy driven in the same way needed filling twice and was nearly dry on arrival.

lol…i think ull find most diesel cars r like that…

Came back from France a couple of years ago 750 odd miles on less then a tank & half – car fully loaded with cases etc two teenagers in the back & roof box

I've got an old Escort Diesel i use for lugging stuff around with sometimes, i filled the tank a while back right to the very top – fuel nearly coming out kind of full and got 730 miles out of it before i needed to fill up 😀

Diesel's are great!

does depend on the size of the tank though.

my golf is only a 40l tank, my old pug 405 had an 85l tank. guess which one went further on a tank….

We did Albertville to Zeebrugge in mine on a single tank last summer, driving at, ahem, autoroute speeds. It's a big fuel tank, but even so I was impressed.

You should get 40+, maybe up to 50 on long A-Road trips. A fairly powerful diesel is a very good thing.

I've had nearly 68mpg on my 306 HDi, over a half-tank, and managed a total of 780 miles to a single (60 litre) tank once without really trying.

Yup, been running a Passat TDi 130 for a couple of years now, quite happily get 600miles out of a tank, averages about 51mpg. Great cars.

Yes – but you had to drive a Peugeot, not a Teutonic mile eater. And doing half your journeys on the back of an AA flatbed is bound to boost your MPG. 🙂

Bugger!

I'm just around the corner from Hampton Court, and have been looking for a replacement for my old jalopy. How in hell's teeth did I miss that! 😡

Looks like you got a corker of a buy there mcmoonter 😀

last year we got over 54mpg out of our Rover 75 diesel and used £85 of fuel on our camping holiday in Cornwall.

a few mates like their big petrol engines but I just can't work out how they can afford to run them.

Our diesel Audi and Honda both get over 50mpg easily, great engines. Both have plenty of power too.

I figure if I'd driven carefully you could get 600 miles out of a tank.

Saying something like that means precisely zilch. You need to quantify it:

How big is the fuel tank? And how much fuel have you used out of it?

A car that does 600 miles on a 15 gallons isn't as efficiant as one doing 500 miles on a 12 gallons…..

I did Plymouth to Fife on one tank in old diesel Mondeo, at motorway speeds, 80-ish. Fuel light came on at Kincardine bridge but no problems.

PP Im aware there are some 'officeurs of the leur' on here. Lets say the average speed was 71 mph. There were a lot of roadworks and I drove in fog from Carlisle to Fife.

I filled the tank full in London

My VeeDub's currently doing 48 O/A with 180K on the clock, but I'm only doing 15 miles each way for work. On a long journey I get 53 ish.

i had a passat TDi 130 and i was averaging 58 miles to the gallon, and i wasn't really conservative with my right foot

it's gone now due to losing my job and i'm running a volvo v40 POS 😥

a 130hp mondao can travel at 110mph while doing 40mpg…probly the same for the passat and any other car in that class…

I drove a 6-speed diesel Golf like it was a petrol. Still got well over 50mpg. Same with a Altea TDI (however rode the torque better on this one).

a 130hp mondao can travel at 110mph while doing 40mpg…probly the same for the passat and any other car in that class…

Yes, but with precisely zero style. 😉

yes I know diesel cars are economical, have loads of torque etc etc BUT it was interesting that after driving my new diesel company car and then getting into my 110bhp petrol Corolla I suddenly really didn't want to sell it. You just don't get the throttle response, and the smooth sound/running of the engine. And wait till you need your diesel fixing/servicing, it's more expensive. And they don't handle as well with the big lump of iron up front. And they sound stupid. And they cost 10% more to buy, which buys you a lot of fuel.

It's not just the mpg you know.

Diesels are old hat, horribly polluting, heavy and uninspiring to drive.

Petrol is where it's at now – just you see, now they've got us all driving diesels the taxation levers will go back the other way. EU refining capacity also makes petrol cheaper.

Cynicism aside, the new Alfa / Fiat multiair petrols look like the revolution in petrol technology that will make petrols as tax / fuel efficient, but with all the driver appeal associated with petrol engines.

Mrs rkk01 likes this – and who am I to argue

The key figures include maximum power of 168bhp at 5,500rpm, up to 184lb.ft of torque at 2,500rpm (if you've pressed the Sport button), 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds, 139g/km of CO2 and 47.1mpg on the combined cycle.

Had Diesels for years my new MkVI Golf is the fastest and most powerful of them and yet also the most economical 57MPG average and the record hit 93MPG the other week but driving efficiently is usually high 60s.

I have an itching for the new Focus RS but reckon I'd go off it within weeks.

yes I know diesel cars are economical, have loads of torque etc etc BUT it was interesting that after driving my new diesel company car and then getting into my 110bhp petrol Corolla I suddenly really didn't want to sell it. You just don't get the throttle response, and the smooth sound/running of the engine. And wait till you need your diesel fixing/servicing, it's more expensive. And they don't handle as well with the big lump of iron up front. And they sound stupid. And they cost 10% more to buy, which buys you a lot of fuel.

Depends on driving style, i can't be doing with reving crap out of engine and downshifting to find the power to get up a hill or overtake.

Servicing, i don't really think there is much in it, particularly when you start looking at turbo petrols which are a more correct comparison to a turbo diesel and are getting more common.

The amount of fuel 10% buys you, depends on how much you spend on the car, and to base purchases on what the fuel will be in foolish, try and guess what fuel will be this time next year. and come back in twelve months and see how close you got. Then consider the life expectancy of a car and do the same guess over the lifetime of a car.

When i was looking i could get a faster more powerful diesel for the same insurance costs.

As for handling, your talking about a car that will get driven well within its capabilities, unless you a) are probably breaking the law, b)indulge in track days.

Yes – but you had to drive a Peugeot, not a Teutonic mile eater. And doing half your journeys on the back of an AA flatbed is bound to boost your MPG.

Seems fine to me, leather interior, climate control, decent stereo, the odd vibration that annoys but otherwise has done me proud for the past 30000 miles, I replaced a crankshaft pulley for £28 though I have to admit.

139g/km of CO2 and 47.1mpg on the combined cycle.

If you've not pressed the sports button and drive like a old man.

PP Im aware there are some 'officeurs of the leur' on here. Lets say the average speed was 71 mph. There were a lot of roadworks and I drove in fog from Carlisle to Fife.

I filled the tank full in London

Eh??? Where did I mention speed? I didn't, did I? I don't think you read what I wrote did you?
My point is that you need to know how much fuel was used, not just ONE TANKFUL because tanks are different sizes you know! 🙂

139g/km of CO2 and 47.1mpg on the combined cycle.

If you've not pressed the sports button and drive like a old man.

Well that applies to pretty much everything you might drive 🙄

I had a Gof GTi MkV that out performed most of my colleagues diesels for fuel economy – for the simple reason that they drove their diesels with a very heavy right foot. The Golf on the other hand would do 35mpg when driven hard and easily do 40mpg at high motorway speeds.

Ohh, and BTW, I wasn't arguing against the efficiency of diesels – I currently drive a Ford S-Max TDi, and very good it is too.

Just observing that the next generation of petrol engines should bridge the gap on economy / CO2 emissions – but without the SOx / NOx / PM10 air pollution caused by diesels

Depend on what you use your car for. I have a long commute on the motorways and have no real interest in going fast, throwing the car around or other such things. What i do want is a car that will do this journey as cheapy as possible with the minimum of fuss.

With this in mind i drive a 1.5 diesel Renault Megane, yes is is boring, yes it is French, but it does 60mpg and i get nearly 800 miles out of a tank.

Wow, boring family cars do 50+mpg shocker!

My 2 seater sports car does 33 if I'm sensible!

"168bhp at 5,500rpm, up to 184lb.ft of torque at 2,500rpm (if you've pressed the Sport button"

Is that all? TDi all the way, 187bhp (4000rpm) & 290lb/ft torque (@ 2200rpm), 50mpg+ on work run, mixed running and traffic. Big estate car too, so fits in plenty for those weekends away – 4 people, 4 bikes, full weeks kit recently.

pffft. My '6 Volvo gets 45mpg on the motorway*

*at 50mph 😛

I had a Gof GTi MkV that out performed most of my colleagues diesels for fuel economy – for the simple reason that they drove their diesels with a very heavy right foot.

Why don't I believe that.

Why don't I believe that.

That's fine – you'll choose to believe what you want.
The Golf would sit at 80 in 6th gear and do 40-42mpg all day. Yes a diesel will typically do 50+mpg – but not the clowns that you see charging down the MWay slip roads with a black cloud billowing out behind them 😉

Mrs rkk01 doesn't understand how to drive a diesel, and I know many other folk who don't. I'll drive our S-Max day in day out and get high 40s / low 50s mpg. My wife will have it for a day ot two and the average (for that tank will be down in the low 40s…. She uses the rev range as she would in a petrol car, and won't use the lower range torque and gearbox to change up. Loads of drivers do this in diesel cars – my boss has a new "Efficient Dynamics" BMW 3 Series – and doesnt rate it's performance. Having been out with him it clear that he just wont adjust to the diesel engine's strengths and expects best performance in the top 25% of the tacho.

An idiot driving an efficient car won't get good efficiency, something I've come across many times in my work career with colleagues using turbo diesels and then complaining that they don't return the claimed mpg.

The Golf would sit at 80 in 6th gear and do 40-42mpg all day. Yes a diesel will typically do 50+mpg – but not the clowns that you see charging down the MWay slip roads with a black cloud billowing out behind them

So you had to give an example of the GTi on a motorway not the average.

I drive quick and rarely I get below 50mpg if I do it's still high 40s and that would be through traffic on B roads.

Mrs rkk01 doesn't understand how to drive a diesel, and I know many other folk who don't

What she can't drive? There isn't any difference really now is there.

What's the old adage – "don't argue with idiots – they'll drag you down to their level; and then beat you with experience"

I don't dispute diesel efficiency – my previous post was to point out that your

Why don't I believe that.

comment was either ill informed or prejudiced

My original comment re the Golf was that it would do mid 30s driven hard and low 40s on the motorway – I made no attempt to hide that, and my figures corrsepond well with VWs offical Combined and Extra Urban mpg figures of approx 36 and 45.

My example was highlighting the effect of driving styles rather than a straight comparison of engine efficiency.

My fuel consumption in the Golf was generally better than many of my colleagues driving turbo diesels because of the way in which they drive

I still fail to see why that should be a source of disbelief

Why because I've driven Diesels now for years and none of them driving hard have gone as low mid thirties and none certainly much below mid 40s. You examples were where used to try and wind you case by giving the best of your Golf and the worst of a Diesel not the average of both. The modern Diesels just get better and better economy with the add bonus of some performance.

I also know someone who switched from MkV Golf GTi to a Diesel because the GTi cost way too much to run.

you havent driven them hard enough then. quite easy to get them that low….

Many years ago I was forced to have a diesel by the Company Car Manager, on account of how many miles I did. I had a Xantia TD; it did 40mpg no matter how you drove it, fast or slow. Covered 160k in 4 years on just normal servicing with just one breakdown at 100k (£200 for a suspension sphere).

I use to get real pissed off that the office 'boys/girls' drove around in petrol Mercs/Beemers/Audis – because they did low mileage – so purely on principle, I've never had a diesel since, but a diet of +2.0 petrols, mainly V's.

My current car manages 400 miles on a tank, unfortunately its a 20 gallon tank…, but boy is it fast/smooth/quiet/peaceful/pleasant/calming etc.

I have to admit I am looking at Passats as we are going down to one car next year. My Mrs tdi Polo has to go and as my Octavia vRS isn't amazingly economical we need a boring family mobile. We looked at Octavias but they seem to be holding their cash????? Whereas you can get some right bargain 130 tdi Passats.

get an Audi, its a rebadged Skoda but cheaper 😉