Realistic Gas Mileage Figures -- by Consumer Reports
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09. 6.05
The recent controversy over EPA estimated MPG versus what new car buyers actually get has not escaped our attention. Seems as if Consumer Reports may have heard the TreeHugger war cry: "Un-Pimp My Ride". In their just-published October 2005 issue, they report that "If more-accurate mpg figures were used to rate CAFE compliance, most automakers would fail to meet the standards our study shows". Praise the Lord and pass the ammo. The article goes on to say "The exaggerated EPA and NHTSA estimates forestall demand for more fuel efficient cars and alternative fuels". Consumer Reports offers, in closing, that "you can learn more about our fuel-economy test vs government tests, and see results for 303 vehicles, available free from Sept. 7 through Nov. 2 Click on Autos, then select "fuel Economy". We'll tell you only which car was the winner in the Family Sedan category, the one we think is most likely to be a good alternative for the SUV crowd. Get the rest from CR.
Consumer Reports tested vehicle mileage using a protocol designed to reflect the stop and go driving most of us endure. They ranked the Volkswagon Passat GLS TDI (pictured above) as best in "Overall Miles Per Gallon" (28).
History threatens to repeat itself, as VW prepares to infect US car culture (again) with a fast replicating bug. As for the VW TDI product line in general, we hope Volkswagon gets it's quality program right where they want it, installs particulate filters on engines, and hauls plenty of wagons to the showrooms ASAP, because the biodiesel trend is fast approaching the tipping point.
TreeHugger especially appreciates the "just do it" mindset of Consumer Reports who, while the various Agencies and Congress mire themselves in the K-Street tar pit, will briefly put their testing resources where reality based thinkers want them most: in the public domain. CR shows plenty of other signs of "getting it". Let's raise our glasses TreeHuggers.
On the other hand, it's quite possible* to exceed the EPA mileage estimates for some cars, just check out the GreenHybrid Mileage Database. And I know it's not likely to catch on soon, but I smile when I think how much could be saved by everyone just driving a bit slower.
*It's possible with careful driving, avoiding traffic jams, and routes that favor steady speeds. Sometimes unfavorable conditions will make it impossible to meet or exceep EPA figures no matter how well you drive.
(It's easy for me to beat EPA estimates in my car on the highway, but among the stop signs and lights of the dense metropolitan Boston area, I only get the EPA rated city mileage on the luckiest and most careful of days. I think EPA city mileage is probably more like 'suburb' mileage)
The image you posted is for the new Passat wagon that hasn't been released in the US yet. In fact, VW hasn't announced a TDI engine for the US market in the new Passats in general. I drive a 2004(.5) Passat TDI that I love. I fill it with B20 when I can. I've been doing a lot of town driving lately, which means my mileage has taken a dive to the low 30s, but when I'm on the highway I get high 30s or even low 40s if I drive at a reasonable speed. For a full size sedan, that's great! Previously I drove a Jetta TDI and would regularly get 50+ mpg - a bit less with biodiesel.
Interesting information. My elderly (now dead) 1984 Mercedes 300D consistently gave me 25 mpg of diesel happiness. After it died a couple months ago, 600 mi. short of 300,000 miles, I got a 2005 Toyota Matrix.
I had considered getting a Prius, but the price and waiting list was more than I could bear.
I'm getting a consistent 30 mpg out of the Matrix, and my commute is 30 miles round trip, with a fair amount of stop and go in there. I'm pretty happy with the fuel economy, and would recommend it the car to others. The cargo space is vast, so it makes a great alternative to an SUV (and most SUVs have pretty crappy cargo capacity for their size - ugh! what a waste!).
I miss the Mercedes - its death thwarted my plans to play with bio diesel... (and trust me, it's really really dead) I'd love to hear about alternatives to gasoline. There's probably nothing as attractive or as easy for a DIYer than biodiesel, but what else is out there?
Also, any other real world reports of fuel economy?
I just unpimped my ride last friday. Audi S8 (mega-pimped, but 14.5MPG) traded in for a Jetta TDI manual. The EPA figures on the car are 36/43. I suspect that I will get lower fuel mileage as the highway tests are done at 55. Traffic here is routinely 70-75.
That said, I am very happy with my new car for many other reasons besides gas mileage, but that was a major driver.
On the biodiesel front, I have access to agricultural areas of Virginia and can actually purchase (provided I buy a storage tank) in bulk biodiesel fuel. I will be trying B99 soon and see how things go. It is a very liberating feeling to know that I will have my own pump and what comes out of it is (for the most part) grown locally.
Of course the best fuel economy is walking or biking, which I did for 26 of the first 28 years of my life. Then I got a job 36 miles away, without good alternative trans options. Like Chris above I went with a Toyota Corolla, because for a much better price than the Prius, I get about 36 to 37 mpg (at 70 to 80 mph --- yes, I should drive slower), and about 32 mpg around town.
Some former roommates and acquaintances got the Boulder Biodiesel Co-op going a few years back, and a local gas station now sells their Biodiesel at the pump. They are an awesome resource for anyone anywhere looking to convert to Biodiesel or make it themselves:
http://www.boulderbiodiesel.com/
My dream is to drive biodiesel when needed and use my own power the rest of the time, but for now I need a car that fits my budget and is RELIABLE on the highway to get me to and from work, which is a problem many of us face. We need economical and reliable forms of alternative fuel/energy vehicals!
We have a 2000 Jetta TDI and just drove cross-country in July. We got between 50-51mpg the whole way. If all in-town driving we get in the low 40's. I didn't see a Jetta TDI in the CR page? Why not?
On the biodielse front, When we got this car, we ran biodiesel in every mix from 100% - 20% in 2001 and 2002. Caution - in early 2004, we replaced the fuel injection pump at 40k miles and later that year the glow plugs. I believe that both of these early failures were due to the seals, hoses and other fuel components not being solvent resistent enough for biodiesel. If you are just running B20 - you might never notice. But be careful if you want to run B100. On the plus side, running B100 is great! No nasty diesel exhaust smell.
Last note on VW quality. We have had numerous problems with this car - especially since the warrenty expired. I wish I had purchased an extended warrenty as it would have saved me thousands. VW needs to work on their quality - it is certainly lacking. Trust me, I'm a quality engineer - I know what should break and what shouldn't. VW is not doing a good job.
Frankly - since the price of Diesel hit over $3/gal yesterday - I'm just going to use my bicycle.
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Great comments: thanks much. I'm guessing CR is using the freebee online information to attract new paying members who want to see all the ratings. There's a lot of mileage-focused car shopping going on these days! If CR had put all the new mileage data in the hardcopy magazine, this strategy (assumed) would be less effective.
As for VW quality, there seems to be some momentum for improvement. If it does not happen fast enough, one day we'll look back at the VW TDI line as a proof of concept prototype thata slipped away. Some other maker with an established quality reputation will adapt the diesel to small and mid-size vehicles and steal the market share.
My 2005 Focus may not have the best mileage possible, but one feature I do like is that it's extremely clean. (It's the California version of the car, which means it has a PZEV engine.)
Its EPA air pollution score of 9.5 is pretty darn good for a gasoline vehicle. It emits less than one gram of carbon monoxide per mile (and less than 0.02 grams of nitrogen oxides per mile).. plus it has zero evaporative emissions from the fuel system.
As to VW quality, I purchased the 6 yr/100K warranty extension for about $1,200. ($100 deductible on repairs after 4yr/50k.) Sure glad I did it after reading the above post on VW quality.
On the replacements, were those under warranty? My understanding is that even VW does not recognize biodiesel as a viable fuel above B5 mixtures and that biodiesel use will void the warranty.
For ages I drove a 1986 Ford Escort Diesel, I routinely got 50+ MPG even in the coldest Maine winter! Sure i sacrificed alittle (ok a lot) of style for economy but it was well worth it. I saw many of the diesels in the categories getting only 30MPG or so. I'm sorry but why go diesel if your only going to get 30MPG?
My Honda Civic gets 35 to 45 MPG on the highway and 35 MPG city. I would expect that any diesel that I purchase to do that or better
Perhaps we should move back into the trend of small cars with smaller and more efficent engines and realize that it's possible to not need 700 horses under the hood.
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You it the diesel on the head Less. Over the last ten years average engine power in new cars has approximately doubled. The marketing wonks that "steer" US vehicle designers must sit around all day looking at sales figures, emailing everyone on the design team to insist that more horsepower be incuded. The really sad thing is that they will keep doing this until some unexpected source starts selling appropriate technology and steals their market share. It's the constant obscession with quarterly returns on capital invested that makes this monkey climb.
I'm surprised it took this long for bio diesels to gain the press coverage they've long deserved. I believe a lot of the current and past worthwhile inventions that were proven to work, were simply stifled by the oil companies. I truly hope this is not the case. It's time alternative fuels takes off, and it's too popular now to be stifled by anyone!
I was wondering if you get better or worse gas mileage with biodiesel than regular diesel fuel??
Hello I have a program that answers all your questions regarding your vehicles average miles per gallon. GasDandy is available for download at http://www.gasdandy.com. GasDandy tracks your gas mileage, creates graphs, remembers how much you have spent on fuel, reminds you when it is time for oil changes etc. Knowing these details will reduce waste.