RiverC0il Goes for a Test Drive: CT 200h, JSW TDI, Mazda3, & Elantra

riverc0il said:

38.3 MPG after 3 fill ups (calculated, not the car's comp). Just had my best tank of 41.3 MPG. This is generally going 5-10+ the limit. Four 4+ hour round trips. The first 1000 miles I worked the engine pretty well once warmed up (enthusiast recommendations are to "not baby it" during the break in). Definitely was not "trying" for high MPG so far, that is for sure. Not much traffic driving so take that for what it's worth. Suffice it to say that the official EPA ratings for this vehicle are a total crock.

Driving to work really kills the MPG since it barely gets warmed up in the 3.5 mile drive (MPG is pretty bleak before the engine is warmed up). But I can still usually get it up to 35 MPG even during the commute. Got 46+ MPG this past weekend on the way home from MRG... starting on a downhill helped.

Mini-road trip vacation starts Friday. Can't wait to put some more miles on this thing... even if it'll be mostly highway. I bet I average at least 45 MPG this weekend.

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Thats a lot better then i am getting with my Jeep at 19.5 MPG:lol: How big is the tank? You must be getting something like 450 miles between fillups?

13.5 or 14 gallon, I think? Last tank I got 536. I could easily get 600 and with careful driving 700 would be easily achievable. Some hypermilers have gotten 800 even with some real stupid folks actually getting 900. I think 500 is going to be very dependable per tank regular season and 600 per talk during ski season when almost all of my miles are highway.

riverc0il said:

13.5 or 14 gallon, I think? Last tank I got 536. I could easily get 600 and with careful driving 700 would be easily achievable. Some hypermilers have gotten 800 even with some real stupid folks actually getting 900. I think 500 is going to be very dependable per tank regular season and 600 per talk during ski season when almost all of my miles are highway.

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800 to 900 miles between fillups is just crazy...With the mileage I drive I would only fill up once a month :blink: Even at 500 to 600 would only be twice a month....I am starting to hate my 19.5....340 miles to a tank driving like I am 90 years old Jeep :lol:

riverc0il said:

13.5 or 14 gallon, I think?

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My fuel tank is supposed to be 14.5 gallons. I've put 15 gallons in it a couple of times.

The filler tubes can hold upwards of a gallon or so.

Subaru Impreza is well pretty damn awesome. Let me explain. Last winter at 2am in the morning we already had 20 inches of new snow on the roads with high winds that had not been plowed since 9pm. No problem I am at home at sleep. I was at home sleeping until the volunteer fire dept. pager went off. :smash: time to wake and move my a$$. Anyway my daughter was home that night and I grab the keys to her Subaru Impreza that was blocking the driveway. I am driving down the road in this tiny Impreza in 20 inches and more of snow. The car is taking powder shots over the hood in the snow drifts. I have never ever driven a car like this Subaru that handled this good in deep powder. Just awesome. After about 4 miles to the fire I take a turn and get behind one of our fire trucks. Thank god I got behind the fire truck when I did. There were two large trees across the road. The trees were no match for a large fire engine filled with water at 60 MPH. House was saved and the Subaru Impreza was extremely impressive.

That is all nice and all. I got my eye on the VW Jeta TDI with 6 speed standard. I may end up with a Subaru. I got a few years to decide. My 2003 Honda Accord has 167,000 miles on it and has not had one major mechanical problem. Then again there is no way that Honda Accord would have made it to that fire.

riverc0il said:

Mini-road trip vacation starts Friday. Can't wait to put some more miles on this thing... even if it'll be mostly highway. I bet I average at least 45 MPG this weekend.

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41.8 and 43.4 on my two tanks during the trip. Those numbers also include some cold engine around town driving both before and after the trip and a trip up to Franconia Notch and back... so they are probably a little on the low side for just the trip. I am still trying to figure out how much my car's MPG comp is off by but I think I actually got better than 45 MPG on the way home. Hard to tell since I didn't tank up immediately after we got back. Also, we took the 84 down through the hills and 95 back along the coast (slower due to lower speed limit also) so the way back was much more efficient.

Overall, I am at 39.9 MPG average which is 2.9 MPG better than the EPA for highway and WAY better than EPA average expected. Still a little less than I was expecting, though. This thing has a sweet spot between 1-2k RPM. 2k is about 60 MPH. Once you go above 2k RPM (excepting downhills), the MPG drops off substantially. So highway led foots won't see the MPG benefits. This car is most fuel efficient on side roads and county roads with 50 MPH limits and least efficient on long highway up hills at 70+ MPH. I don't think 50 MPG is attainable at highway speeds but potentially possible on back roads, especially with long pulse and glide downhills.

Snow tires just went on and winter diesel should be hitting the pumps soon so we'll see what that does. In the meantime, I am starting to drive for efficiency rather than fun (usually ), so I suspect my average MPG will continue increasing into the low 40s even with snows and winter diesel.

Clicked in expecting smug hypermiler post. Left satisfied.

You're going to lose a couple of MPG in the winter between less energy in the winter mix (much less paraffin) and increased wind resistance from the cold air. I think you'll notice the MPG spread between 50 mph and 70 mph increases.

How many miles on it? My Jeep jumped up 5mpg better after I hit around 8k miles. Not sure if that happens with a diesel engine though.

ALLSKIING said:

How many miles on it? My Jeep jumped up 5mpg better after I hit around 8k miles. Not sure if that happens with a diesel engine though.

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Just over 2k miles. I don't expect any bump. I'm satisfied with what I am already getting.

@Geoff... no hypermiling here. If I was hypermiling, I wouldn't have driven at 65-70 during much of the drive. Much as I love fuel efficient driving, a couple extra bucks ain't worth loosing half an hour or more on a long trip for a couple extra MPG. I don't hypermile. I just drive efficiently. Hypermilers do some F'd up stuff...

riverc0il said:

Just over 2k miles. I don't expect any bump. I'm satisfied with what I am already getting.

@Geoff... no hypermiling here. If I was hypermiling, I wouldn't have driven at 65-70 during much of the drive. Much as I love fuel efficient driving, a couple extra bucks ain't worth loosing half an hour or more on a long trip for a couple extra MPG. I don't hypermile. I just drive efficiently. Hypermilers do some F'd up stuff...

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Congrats on the car! I love VW's. My Wife's 2009 TDI SW has been averaging 44-45MPG for the past two years but she doesn't have a heavy foot. I wonder what highway speed would give you the best MPG? I can't stand to go much under 70 and never get over 30MPG with my Golf (gas) 2L.

BTW What are you doing for snow tires? In the first picture the VW has Toyo's on them, the second pictures Conti Contacts...... I think I'm going to puchase some Blizzack WS70's next week.

skidmarks said:

BTW What are you doing for snow tires? In the first picture the VW has Toyo's on them, the second pictures Conti Contacts...... I think I'm going to puchase some Blizzack WS70's next week.

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I went with General Artic Altimax. I've ran the WS60s on my previous car and loved them. But I was stunned at online reviews of the Altimax. TONS of former Blizzack owners praised the General's as being superior AND costing a ton less. They got their first work out today climbing and icy K Access Road. Not a full work out for sure, but two thumbs up so far. Can't even hear them, sound just like my all seasons.

riverc0il said:

I went with General Artic Altimax. I've ran the WS60s on my previous car and loved them. But I was stunned at online reviews of the Altimax. TONS of former Blizzack owners praised the General's as being superior AND costing a ton less. They got their first work out today climbing and icy K Access Road. Not a full work out for sure, but two thumbs up so far. Can't even hear them, sound just like my all seasons.

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I was amazed at how the traction on the WS60 went to hell at less than 15,000 miles. I ditched them for Nokians a year ago even though they had tons of tread left.

The Nokians I had on my first GTI lasted the life of the car (I sold it with 145,000 miles). I gave them away to a friend with a beater Jetta a few years back and he ran them for a winter.

My first car was a VW Golf, then I had a VW Passat. The passat... I loved the car's driving and interior but f-in despised the repair bills on that thing. I think VW has had some serious improvements though in qulaity since that car (a 1995 MY).

Looking at a Tiguan now for my wife.

Just picked up a 2012 Golf TDI this morning. This thread was a very big factor into getting the car.

Cool, enjoy it!

Over 8000 miles so far and still loving my TDI. Averaging 39.1 MPG since inception (actual recording, not using the car's computer) and that is with 4+ months of winter tires and a little less than that on winter diesel. Just scored a best tank of 45.9 MPG recently, I can tell winter diesel is out and regular supply is back in. Should be able to get an even better best tank with regular tires back on. With the summer coming up, I am expecting to get the overall average over 40 very quickly.

Interestingly enough, I am not impressed with highway miles (for the record, I have the extra weight of an auto). It is difficult to keep the MPG much over 40 when driving 65-70+. My best MPG is all country roads with 40-55 MPH, especially the hills where I can pulse and glide.

Panoramic sunroof is amazing. I haven't closed the shade once since I got the car.

I think after 6 months the honeymoon phase may be over. But it is hard to be unbiased after dropping $28k on a new toy. Of course I am going to love something after sinking that type of money into it. And I do have a few criticisms of the car, notably I could have used another inch or two of floor space in the back for my skis (they fit, but cramming four pay diagonal (with a pair of 186s) isn't as easy as it should be for a wagon (they all fit, but the tips occasionally stuff up the passenger door--okay, perhaps that is a vain criticism). The biggest issue is not enough places to put stuff in the front. The front passenger area needs more trays, cubbies, and holders. A sunglasses holder on the roof would have been great (okay, sunroof dials are there). And of course, highway MPG at 40-42 MPG when doing 65-70ish on the flats isn't awe inspiring compared to 50-60 MPG on back country roads. But that difference is par for course with any car, still I was expecting better on the highways when doing 70. I just don't drive 70 any more. The SD/Media player is complete and total rubbish. I can't handle big SD cards (I think 8 or 16 is the limit, I wasted money buying a 32 without reading the fine print) and sorting isn't great. Very surprising this isn't better quality in this day and age.

Any ways, I love the car still and am looking forward to having it for a dozen years or more and pushing the odo well over 200k.

MR. evil said:

Just picked up a 2012 Golf TDI this morning. This thread was a very big factor into getting the car.

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Pics?

MR. evil said:

Just picked up a 2012 Golf TDI this morning. This thread was a very big factor into getting the car.

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Curious why the Golf over the Jetta. Was there a substantial difference in price? I seem to recall part of the reason of wanting a new car was you wanted more space than what you had in your Accord Coupe. Speaking of which, is the Coupe for sale? :lol:

riverc0il said:

And of course, highway MPG at 40-42 MPG when doing 65-70ish on the flats isn't awe inspiring compared to 50-60 MPG on back country roads.

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Your highway MPG should improve quite a bit with the warmer and more humid weather.

Geoff said:

Your highway MPG should improve quite a bit with the warmer and more humid weather.

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Yea, I attribute my recent MPG jump not just to regular diesel but also to the warmer weather. It is astounding how much MPG drops off when taking short trips in the winter during which the car barely warms up during the trip.

Drove to Boston last night to see Les Mis and for kicks I tried to average around 60 MPH or so. Computer shows 50 MPG (actually was closer to 51.5 on the way down and those numbers are both counting a few minutes of city driving) both ways which is more likely 48 real MPG or so. So Prius like MPG is possible even on the hghway if you drive just a little under the limit and really work the accelerator with the topography.