385 miles on tank @80
- Thread starter Antjhony
- Start date
i bought this car because I figured I would be getting around 40.. My friends have Jetta tdi and Chevy cruze and a Kia Optima gdi.. The diesels get 45mpg going 80
And the optima gets around 33.. The new Mercedes cla 250 gets Better than the Corolla on highway. The diesels will go 700 miles on a tank.. I wish I would have got a nicer car, this car has horrible wind and road noise and gas mileage at freeway speeds drops because this car has no power and constantly downshifts uphills. I could be paying $100 more a month and driving a bmw or Mercedes over this piece
And the optima gets around 33.. The new Mercedes cla 250 gets Better than the Corolla on highway. The diesels will go 700 miles on a tank.. I wish I would have got a nicer car, this car has horrible wind and road noise and gas mileage at freeway speeds drops because this car has no power and constantly downshifts uphills. I could be paying $100 more a month and driving a bmw or Mercedes over this piece
Yep, wrong car if you're comparing it to a new diesel or to a new Mercedes with comparable mileage.
You'll get 40+ mpg at 70 mph or less on the Corolla, which is where most humans drive.
Corolla is an economy car. You pay substantially less, you get less. Although in my opinion, not much less in terms of what matters to me (reliability, mileage, comfort).
You'll get 40+ mpg at 70 mph or less on the Corolla, which is where most humans drive.
Corolla is an economy car. You pay substantially less, you get less. Although in my opinion, not much less in terms of what matters to me (reliability, mileage, comfort).
Completely agree with DTG
Any car is a compromise. The Corolla is a general purpose commuter econobox.
Indeed it might be the the wrong choice if your driving involve mostly highway at 80 mph and money is no object.
(Although 32 mpg at 80 isn't that bad).
Diesel are great in those conditions : compact diesels are rated around 30-46. If your drive is mostly city, go hybrid (around 50-46).
Both involved a few to several thousands price premium over a Corolla (plus diesel and urea cost for the first ones).
That fact alone could put a serious dent in the fuel economy factor.
You don't chose a car only on expected mpg, as it varies considerably under each different driver's foot.
The CLA250, for instance is rated at 26-38, but Car and driver couldn't get any better than 25...(as for the Corolla by the way !)
Disappointment over mpg would only make other aspects of the car neglected at buying more unbearable.
You shouldn't only buy a "monthly price" either (yet so many do !) : What about deposit, resale or residual value and, with some luxury brands, cost of maintenance (not to mention reliability).
Couldn't be happier with my LE Eco. Some offers were a tad more quiet or comfortable. A regular LE would have cost slightly less.
But none of those offered a lower price for the equipment I wanted and other aspects of the car were OK, if not stellar.
I didn't even considered the alleged superior mpg (30-42 vs 29-37 for LE), knowing that it is all relative.
Yet, for my style/needs of driving (no 80 limits where I live), it ended up giving me 30-50+.
Any car is a compromise. The Corolla is a general purpose commuter econobox.
Indeed it might be the the wrong choice if your driving involve mostly highway at 80 mph and money is no object.
(Although 32 mpg at 80 isn't that bad).
Diesel are great in those conditions : compact diesels are rated around 30-46. If your drive is mostly city, go hybrid (around 50-46).
Both involved a few to several thousands price premium over a Corolla (plus diesel and urea cost for the first ones).
That fact alone could put a serious dent in the fuel economy factor.
You don't chose a car only on expected mpg, as it varies considerably under each different driver's foot.
The CLA250, for instance is rated at 26-38, but Car and driver couldn't get any better than 25...(as for the Corolla by the way !)
Disappointment over mpg would only make other aspects of the car neglected at buying more unbearable.
You shouldn't only buy a "monthly price" either (yet so many do !) : What about deposit, resale or residual value and, with some luxury brands, cost of maintenance (not to mention reliability).
Couldn't be happier with my LE Eco. Some offers were a tad more quiet or comfortable. A regular LE would have cost slightly less.
But none of those offered a lower price for the equipment I wanted and other aspects of the car were OK, if not stellar.
I didn't even considered the alleged superior mpg (30-42 vs 29-37 for LE), knowing that it is all relative.
Yet, for my style/needs of driving (no 80 limits where I live), it ended up giving me 30-50+.
Last edited:
I expect you researched the car before buying it, lots of sites out there for reviews of this vehicle, all state that low 40's is best case scenario, and that's with borderline hypermiling.
The economy on a diesel cannot be compared to a gas vehicle of the same size if you're driving conservatively. Hell, my 8700lb Excursion diesel gets 20mpg at 65mph, hit 75 and I'm down to 15. It's a matter of finding a sweet spot, which is 70 or below with these cars.
www.fueleconomy.gov is a great website for real world mpg figures.
I peeked at the MB out of curiosity, it's averaging 30mpg... https://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=mpgData&vehicleID=34455 &browser=true&details=on
and the Kia is roughly 36, review from one owner"Around town I get 26 to 29mpg and driving to work (a 35 mile one way highway ride) I am getting 38 to 39 mpg (that is with cruise set to 65mph, traction control off and climate control off"
So you could pay $100 more for a more comfortable vehicle, but I'm pretty sure most of the people here bought the car because they could not afford another $100 a month, or simply wanted an inexpensive gas sipper, which it certainly is. Slow down a bit, get better mpg. Or maintain speed, and realize that it's doing what every vehicle does, and economy drops as speed increases.
The economy on a diesel cannot be compared to a gas vehicle of the same size if you're driving conservatively. Hell, my 8700lb Excursion diesel gets 20mpg at 65mph, hit 75 and I'm down to 15. It's a matter of finding a sweet spot, which is 70 or below with these cars.
www.fueleconomy.gov is a great website for real world mpg figures.
I peeked at the MB out of curiosity, it's averaging 30mpg... https://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=mpgData&vehicleID=34455 &browser=true&details=on
and the Kia is roughly 36, review from one owner"Around town I get 26 to 29mpg and driving to work (a 35 mile one way highway ride) I am getting 38 to 39 mpg (that is with cruise set to 65mph, traction control off and climate control off"
So you could pay $100 more for a more comfortable vehicle, but I'm pretty sure most of the people here bought the car because they could not afford another $100 a month, or simply wanted an inexpensive gas sipper, which it certainly is. Slow down a bit, get better mpg. Or maintain speed, and realize that it's doing what every vehicle does, and economy drops as speed increases.
Yeah, go ahead and buy that BMW or Mercedes. You'll cry when it's in the shop because it's unreliable and too expensive to repair because every part has to come from Germany. Just because the speed limit says 80 doesn't mean you have to go 80. I drive 65 on the toll road on 45 and 130 in Texas and piss everyone off. I stay in the right lane and I get over 40 mpg. Anything above 70 mph, the gas mileage starts decreasing substantially.
This car is the best 20k investment I've bought. My 1990 Accord barely had 110 hp and it got around places. This car has even more power at 140 with my Eco Premium. I think you're expecting BMW like performance out of a pure economy car which just isn't going to happen. You will never get 40 MPG at 80 mph in any car unless you maybe get a diesel which even then at that speed is a longshot. If you want gas mileage, keep it under 70 mph and your foot from mashing the gas pedal. That's the secret.
This car is the best 20k investment I've bought. My 1990 Accord barely had 110 hp and it got around places. This car has even more power at 140 with my Eco Premium. I think you're expecting BMW like performance out of a pure economy car which just isn't going to happen. You will never get 40 MPG at 80 mph in any car unless you maybe get a diesel which even then at that speed is a longshot. If you want gas mileage, keep it under 70 mph and your foot from mashing the gas pedal. That's the secret.
Average User MPG: 38.0
Range: 33 - 42 MPG
Updated On: 08/31/2015
assuming the average speed limit is 70(and that's on the high side)
a quick google search shows the tdi getting roughly 38 at 80mph..+/- 3 mpg for stick vs auto
diesels of any sort are not happy at higher rpms
So yeah, short of a hybrid or a scooter, you're getting normal numbers.
Car makers base their numbers normally on controlled courses, no climate controls(AC) on at a low cruise speed. That way the EPA numbers always look better
Range: 33 - 42 MPG
Updated On: 08/31/2015
assuming the average speed limit is 70(and that's on the high side)
a quick google search shows the tdi getting roughly 38 at 80mph..+/- 3 mpg for stick vs auto
diesels of any sort are not happy at higher rpms
So yeah, short of a hybrid or a scooter, you're getting normal numbers.
Car makers base their numbers normally on controlled courses, no climate controls(AC) on at a low cruise speed. That way the EPA numbers always look better
Me I'd rather say "I have to drive the speed limit at most!...
Here we actually have minimum and maximum speed limits : 60-100 though 110 generally won't get you into trouble. Don't get too excited, I'm in Canada so those are kilometers... (that's roughly 40-60-70).
For the Jetta mpg, you may rely on your friend who says his Jetta does 45 mpg @ 80, a figure also reported in a couple of reviews (but for 80 mph peaks, not at constant speed for hundred of miles).
MPGomatic tested a Golf TDI at between 52 and 56 mpg (but at 70 mph), which is about what I get in my LE Eco.
You could also look at the Fuelly site ( http://www.fuelly.com/car/volkswagen/jetta/2015?engineconfig_id=103&bodytype_id=&submodel_id= ), where owners report their own MPG.
In all cases you'll notice a huge discrepancy from one owner to another as driving style and conditions plays as much as a role as the car itself in fuel economy (not to mention different versions of the same car : MT - AT4,5,6,7,8,9... - CVT - DCT- wheel size (the smaller the more efficient) - Aero gimmicks and what not.)
Here we actually have minimum and maximum speed limits : 60-100 though 110 generally won't get you into trouble. Don't get too excited, I'm in Canada so those are kilometers... (that's roughly 40-60-70).
For the Jetta mpg, you may rely on your friend who says his Jetta does 45 mpg @ 80, a figure also reported in a couple of reviews (but for 80 mph peaks, not at constant speed for hundred of miles).
MPGomatic tested a Golf TDI at between 52 and 56 mpg (but at 70 mph), which is about what I get in my LE Eco.
You could also look at the Fuelly site ( http://www.fuelly.com/car/volkswagen/jetta/2015?engineconfig_id=103&bodytype_id=&submodel_id= ), where owners report their own MPG.
In all cases you'll notice a huge discrepancy from one owner to another as driving style and conditions plays as much as a role as the car itself in fuel economy (not to mention different versions of the same car : MT - AT4,5,6,7,8,9... - CVT - DCT- wheel size (the smaller the more efficient) - Aero gimmicks and what not.)
The problem with the German cars is just how unreal upkeep and maintenance can become once you are out of warranty. Toyota goes the other route and are usually very cheap to maintain when out of warranty. The exception can be some of the Japanese built ones like the 4Runner which is extremely expensive to repair out of pocket, but even then above average reliability makes up for that.