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Hatchbacks Volkswagen Rabbit Volkswagen Rabbit MPG - real world numbers
103 messages, Last post on Oct 16, 2008 at 8:33 AM
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I have had my Rabbit for about 2000 miles now. I really like the car, but am extremely disappointed in my mileage. The sticker had and EPA range of 22-29. I made the transition to drive conservatively a while back as gas prices went up, and am doing the same with this car. During my approx. 8 fill-ups since I owned the car, I am consistently getting around 19.5 mpg. I do mostly city driving, but expected to get at least the published mpg minimum. I replaced my 2006 Passat , which I loved, at the end of the lease to the Rabbit to get improved mileage. The Passat was getting about 22 mpg in the city (31-32 on the highway). Prior to that I had a Jetta. Of all the 3 VW's I have had, this one gets the worst mpg, hands-down. I have been hoping that this problem was just because the car needed to be "broken in". However the mpg is staying the same on every tank. Other than driving more conservatively, which I don't think is possible for me given that I already make a concerted effort to drive that way, is there anything else I can do to the car to save some $$$ at the pump? Thanks |
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I have the 2008 Rabbit 4-door for only about 600 miles now. Three fill-ups. First two fill-ups: both 24 mpg, driving extremely conservatively, due to breaking in the new engine, which is completely unnatural for me, coming from a BMW 545i. Third fill-up: drove more my usual way, but still not all-out: 22.6 mpg. Conclusion: I would rather sacrifice some mpg and have some fun, so I would expect my future mpg to be mostly in the 21-22 range. I am resigned to the fact that mpg with the 2008 Rabbit will be disappointing. At least it takes regular fuel. One review I read somewhere from a guy who owns a 2008 VW GTI stated his mileage noticeably got better at around 5000 miles, so maybe there is some hope for us down the road. We'll see.
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Replying to: hpowders (Aug 02, 2008 10:26 am) Im driving a 2008 vw rabbit and just got myself a scangauge 2. Im getting really bad milage even with very gentle driving. In the city im averaging around 20L/100km (11.7mpg)... i havent done much highway driving yet, but i have done some mixed driving (city/highway and the best possible average i was getting was 14.7MPG. This car is rated at double that... why am i getting such poor results? Im not gunning the car, im coasting whenever i can. Im not idling in traffic that much. I try and press the pedal only enough to get the car moving, and no aggresive driving. Is this a normal result?
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Replying to: vio1 (Aug 27, 2008 7:49 pm) Don't rely on any gizmos to do your mpg. Do it yourself!! Record the miles or km driven since the last fill-up and the gallons or L used which you can read right off the gas pump. I always do it myself. I use a hand calculator to divide the miles traveled by the gallons pumped. It's the best way to do it. You have a trip odometer which can be set to zero miles or km. after you fill-up to keep track for you until the next fill-up. Keep setting it back to zero after copying down the distance traveled, after every fill-up. I just got 29.2 mpg, yesterday, mostly highway. I'm averaging just over 24 mpg with 1400 miles driven. I have my 2008 Rabbit 4 door automatic for 6 weeks now and my mpg findings are right in line with what it should be. Try doing it by hand calculation. If you still get 11-15 mpg, take it back to the dealer's service dept. I have a feeling it's the scan-gauge that's defective and not your Rabbit! Most folks are averaging around 23-24 mpg. |
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Replying to: vio1 (Aug 27, 2008 7:49 pm) Pull out your manual for the scangauge and reread the section on setup and fill ups. You will want to fill up, reset the gauge, and then make sure you have it set for the right size engine and tank. Then drive througn your next fill up, use the fill up function without adjustment, drive again. At the next fillup you can adjust using the fillup function. Once you have that you'll get a much more accurate picture of the mileage. I found that for the most part the scangauge was within 4% of my hand calculated mileage on my last car. |
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Replying to: Sylvia (Jul 20, 2006 5:59 pm) My car already has over 22,000 miles on the clock (I bought it brand new in January of 2008) since I drive all over the place and my fuel mileage in mixed driving with my heavy foot has averaged around 25/26 miles per gallon. My best fuel mileage came about on a 63 miles per hour road trip to Indianapolis, Indiana, the drives in the city there, and a 63 mph drive back to Coldwater, Michigan in which my car averaged 30.5 miles per gallon, or roughly 31 mpg! Could efficiency be better? Of course. But it's not nearly as bad as others have claimed here. Bring on the TDI's! |
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A reporter is interested in talking with owners of a 2008 or 2009 Volkswagen Rabbit who are also parents. If you are interested in commenting on your experience, please reply to jwahl edmunds.com no later than Monday, November 3, 2008 and include your city and state of residence, the model year of your vehicle and the age of your child/ren.
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