How to improve mpg?

N77A

Active Member
Nov 8, 2019
87
4
I have 1.6 tdi leon which is supposed to boast 60.1 mpg in urban areas but I’ve found mine is only doing about 39 mpg which is not what i expected. How do I improve this to be more fuel efficient? I’m never heavy on the accelerator and have a dsg so gear changes are smooth.

I’m considering using a diesel additive like redex or carlube when i next fill up to see if this helps, has anyone tried these before?
 

zeffania

Active Member
Nov 4, 2016
479
159
I would have thought that was the extra or combined figure. Driving in cities never return great economy. All that start, stop, accelerating, etc. Best return is always going to be on a run with a steady speed.
 

Mikertroid

Active Member
May 31, 2019
142
39
Urban driving doesn't suit modern diesels. Even more so if it's doing that all the time. You'll be burning extra fuel in DPF Regen and the DPF will pack in well before time.

Small capacity turbo petrol or, dare I say it, electric cars make sense if urban is what you want.
 

BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
690
249
You'll never get the advertised mpg, no matter how well you drive, but you can get closer by changing your driving style and a few other things.

Acceleration is only one aspect: always lift and coast instead of braking, drag & mass reduction by increasing tyre pressure and only filling the fuel tank half way, are a few others.

If nothing else it can make town driving a bit more interesting, instead of accelerating then braking to a halt with everyone else.
 

LR231998

Alor Blue 290 Cupra
Jan 21, 2019
485
188
I get 39mpg on my Cupra if I try hard enough so I would be very disappointed if I only got that on a 1.6tdi :bounce::blink:
 

BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
1,069
Sounds about right. It is winter and diesels take forever to warm up, plus we are now using winter fuel so i would be happy with 39mpg in urban areas
 

Kirky

Copper Cupra Advocate
Apr 10, 2019
1,042
497
Not in urban only driving you wont not a chance be about 19mpg
Yep. I can vouch for that. I get around 18mpg driving through Edinburgh and usually average a shocking 10mph! I'm best just cycling.
 

stu_m

Active Member
Aug 14, 2014
606
37
Hull
www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk
the wife averages 52 mpg in our 1.6 manual on an 8 mile trip to work in a mix of flowing and stop start traffic with a max speed of 40mph on one road! the rest is a 30 if she manages to get to that!
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
As @BigJase88 has said, at this time of year, filling stations will be selling winter diesel, which has additives in it to stop the fuel ‘waxing’ (solidifying) when the temperature drops below freezing. Winter diesel isn’t as efficient as non-winter diesel, so will be a factor in the OP’s current lower than expected mpg. Other factors likely to have a detrimental impact on the OP’s fuel consumption;
  • longer warm up period during colder winter months. If the OP’s urban motoring is mainly short journeys, at this time of year the engine probably isn’t getting up to normal operating temperature, which won’t be good for fuel consumption.
  • Increased use of the car’s electrical systems and heating / ventilation / air con at this time of year is also likely to have a detrimental impact on fuel consumption.
  • Time of day and volume of traffic, especially if the OP is travelling at peak times in heavy stop start traffic.
  • Frequent DPF regeneration if mainly urban journeys.
As @Mikertroid has said, a small engined turbo petrol engined car, petrol/electric hybrid or electric car would probably be better options for the OP if good fuel economy is a priority for the OP.
 
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N77A

Active Member
Nov 8, 2019
87
4
My 1.9 tdi diesel golf returned far better economy despite it being advertised as more expensive to run, that’s why i assumed maybe the car needs a shot of redex or any other diesel cleaner.

I also only fill up with bp or shell too and stay away from supermarkets
 

KXL

KXL
Dec 15, 2016
1,581
197
London, UK
I get about 37-42mpg in London city when i had the 2.0TDI DSG. Highway @ NSL, I get just shy of 60mpg. I rented an A3 once in Portugal with the 6 speed manual 1.6TDI. with about 80% highways (speed limit some areas were 130kmh), and 20% city, a trip of about 6-700 miles, it did 54mpg. So 39mpg in city, is not absurdly poor mpg. try the same 'city' run in the middle of the night, where you only have to stop at the lights, accelerate to 20/30mph, and hold that speed till the next traffic lights, I'm sure you can get close to 50mpg. On a quiet Sun AM run at 9am, from East London to West London, 13 miles trip, I have done a 50mpg run on both my 2.0TDI and 1.0TSI Ibiza, city driving. But when there is traffic, mid to high 30s is decent.
 

BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
1,069
My 1.9 tdi diesel golf returned far better economy despite it being advertised as more expensive to run, that’s why i assumed maybe the car needs a shot of redex or any other diesel cleaner.

I also only fill up with bp or shell too and stay away from supermarkets
Thats because smaller engines are a false economy in a car the size of a leon the 1.6tdi will have to work harder than say an older 1.9tdi.

My 1.5 tsi is similar. Any speed over 60mph and gentle throttle the mpg falls off the side of the earth. Probably get similar mpg from the 2.0 tsi in the real world
 
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Moe

Active Member
Dec 15, 2019
11
2
I have a 2.0 tdi Leon 184 with a stage 1 remap, I'm getting 37.3, I try and drive very economically and it doesn't go higher then that.. Any ideas of what it is?
 

KXL

KXL
Dec 15, 2016
1,581
197
London, UK
I have a 2.0 tdi Leon 184 with a stage 1 remap, I'm getting 37.3, I try and drive very economically and it doesn't go higher then that.. Any ideas of what it is?

Try a tank of Esso/Shell's finest diesel, and see if their cleaning properties work their magic (eg...like descaling a kettle). I mean, if you go on a 40-50mph road, free flowing, check your 'mpg since start.' I'm sure you can get 55-60mpg.
 

Paulo16

Active Member
Jun 13, 2019
77
45
Huddersfield
Get around 48 from my manual 2013 2.0 tdi150 around town and occasional motorway runs. Before it got colder that figure was around 52-53.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

MH0

Active Member
Aug 7, 2019
45
6
My casual commute to work and back is about 20 miles combined. Its all dual carriageway driving and I don't go beyond 70mph. I get around 20-22mpg everyday on my Cupra. This is something I've gone use to but I see comments of other cupra drivers hitting 30mpg+. How the hell do you guys manage that?
 
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