T32 204 DSG fuel consumption

[T6Micky88]

Evening all, just looking to get an average of what people are getting with their fuel consumption, specifically on T32 204 DSG. Mine is a Kombi so not particularly heavily laden. 2 plus weeks in to ownership and less than 300 miles done of mixed driving and already need to fill up.
The trip computer when bought from previous owner was reading average 38mpg... now I'm getting around 25mpg!
That is with pretty reserved driving.
Any others around the same?
I went for the 204 as i wanted the extra poke but didnt expect it to be this bad...sold an Audi S3 to buy this and even that wasn’t as low as 25mpg and that was with spirrted driving and 300hp petrol!
The van is 2017 with 48k miles on clock.
I have had it lowered but that was only a couple days ago and done about 80 miles since....the tank was half empty and already reading low so it can’t be that.
Any info much appreciated

 

[Andyf]

Heavy right foot syndrome

 

[Mysticboer]

@T6Micky88 I have the 6.1 199 DSG (so obviously not direct comparison) and will admit that, much as I am falling in love with my van for various other reasons, it certainly is not for its fuel efficiency....I am getting around 30.3mpg on average over the last 1,000(ish) miles and don’t think I am a particularly harsh driver, even if I do enjoy the novelty of a 2.5t van that can accelerate like a (middle of the road) hatchback at the moment.

Obvious differences aside, 25mpg for your van sounds low, whilst 38mpg sounds aspirational/fictitious based on what I have seen and heard

 

[Andyf]

Possibly last owner driving like miss Daisy

 

[huw169]

I have 199 too. Averaged 30 last tank. Lowered with 20’s. I think on a long journey with cruise it’ll do 35+. Yet to demonstrate that though.

 

[T6Micky88]

@Mysticboer thanks mate. Yeah it does sound low doesn’t it. I’m pretty sure it was around 35-38 mark when i got it...I remember thinking that was pretty good. Could be wrong though.
A tyre pressure light came on after a couple days which i then topped the tyres up to 38 all round i think and reset the computor, currently on 18s sportline wheels.
I know the previous owner ran it on Shell VPower diesel, which i plan to as well but I did fill it up the first time with BP premium as it was running on fumes and that was the closest garage...pretty sure that one tank of different fuel wouldnt make that much difference.
Will keep an eye on it over the next few tanks.

 

[VanDamMan]

Hi... ( my18 204 dsg ) .... So yes it’s a heavy lump to drag around , hates short journeys ....but boy fun to drive ..
but have you thought about giving the engine a pull through so to speak....Engine performance cleaner...it might be new to you but you’ll have no idea how it was driven... clean injectors and alike may improve things...

 

[T6Micky88]

Possibly last owner driving like miss Daisy

Possibly but he kept going on about the sport mode so i presume he liked to open it up a little bit from time to time. I will keep an eye on it...

 

[Mysticboer]

I have 199 too. Averaged 30 last tank. Lowered with 20’s. I think on a long journey with cruise it’ll do 35+. Yet to demonstrate that though.

Sounds very similar...I am on 20s too, but not lowered yet (coming very soon)...I would be pleased to reach 35...not expecting it though as my current consumption figures already include regular runs between Hampshire and Devon...my other long runs typically include French motorways where I have historically tended to record my worst ever figures on my Range Rover (which the van has now replaced) due to higher cruise speeds.

 

[T6Micky88]

@VanDamMan i have heard of that before actually but never needed to do it. You recommend it yeah? Whats the cost of that sort of thing if you know?
It has been on quite a few pottering about trips round town by the wife....
I have had it on a few motorway stretches at around 70 mile per hour and i felt like i was just watching the fuel gauge go down!
It is decieving though as the gauge is big so it will show movement more than a smaller gauge but still feels like im just tipping my wallet out the window as it goes down

 

[T6Micky88]

I will say though that me and my wife borrowed my parents 102 Highline conversion around 4 years ago. My wife commuted around a 50mile round trip each day to work in it (all motorway) and we thought that was horrific on fuel at the time...one of the reasons i ruled that option out when we looked at getting a van.
To clear up im not expecting huge numbers, but i did expect minimum 30mpg. The last 3 cars I've owned have been high performance both diesel and petrol and they have been higher.
Still love it though and it has to be...it has to be

 

[huw169]

I’m on shell v power.
Typically short journeys as my mk1 is off the road. Was about 22 mpg on dash. Then longer journey to Swindon and back from Portsmouth area, and dash came up to 33 av.
Pump calc showed 30 bang on allowing for 5% offset for tyre diameter. 245/45’s.
Im not going to put money down, but I think 35 should be easily achievable cos I wasn’t being careful.
Also, giving it some beans is better. Gets you up to cruising speed quicker.

 

[Mysticboer]

@T6Micky88 I would hope that you would be able to get to 30 or so..much lower than that with a sensible driving style would probably raise some flags for me, but as you already recognise, you should not expect any miracles to the upside as they are not exactly known for their economy

 

[Andyf]

I have a 102 with revo tune
Recommended by Oli
wow what a tune
lovely to drive responsive
Fuel up, achieving mid late 30,s if drove steady
Totally different driving experience

 

[Mysticboer]

Sounds interesting @Andyf
I suppose I didn’t buy my van for its amazing consumption figures...bought it because I wanted a van, but didn’t want to be frustrated as I was moving from a spirited SUV and knew that a sluggish performance would spoil the experience for me. I am therefore happy to live with it, knowing that I should be able to improve performance if I am more sensible more of the time.

 

[ThreeBridgeT6]

204 DSG full camper conversion, lowered on 275/40 19s. Averaging 32.5 according to Road Trip app. Try to avoid using it as a daily driver for short trips but it does its share. And Daisy doesn't get a look-in!!

 

[Ali-G]

Mine’s a204 DSG with camper conversion.
Daily driving I’m getting low to mid 20’s.
On a recent trip to Scotland fully loaded I got it up to 35. That was on the motorway with the cruise set at 65mph.

On a separate note, see how you get on with a different fuel. My previous motor was a 240 Tiguan R-Line BiTDI and I found my mpg dropped a fair bit when I used BP fuel, I stopped using it and only use V-Power now.

 

[Phil Blackburn]

I run a mapped 204 Kombi on air with either 19's or 20's depending how i feel and an average i'll get low/mid 30's with general round town general driving behaving myself, motorways high 30's low 40's on a long drive again behaving myself, as soon as you go into the playtime/fun zone i see mid to low 20's.
Doesn't seen right at 25 with general driving to me.

 

[Tourershine]

I agree with Phil above. My 2017 204 DSG has also been mapped, and mine is a work van with pretty much a full load at all times, and i'm showing pretty much exactly the same as @Phil Blackburn Wheel sizes makes no difference to my figures and i've run 17-18-19 and 20s.
I will add that the Revo map gave me better economy, pushing my average figures from late 20s to mid 30s instantly and my recent TVS DSG mapping done by @BognorMotors has only proved to further improve this average figure.
On a very recent drive to a job in Scotland and back to Leicester, I actually got 600 miles out of my 70l fuel tank and i've never been able to get over 510 miles to a tank of fuel since owning the van from new. I drive hard, brake late and never let anyone beat me off the lights so i'm not what you'd call an efficient driver either.

Oh and I run premium fuel 100% from new, not a drop of anything else. V-Power or BP Ultimate.

 

[BognorMotors]

They are thirsty heavy vans, and you really have to drive them like a Saint to get the best out of them. Recently on my 4Motion 199 I got 400 miles out of the 80litre tank. This included two longer trips sitting at 70mph on the motorway. I do tend to drive my van harder and just accept its heavy on fuel.
I do notice how much better a 150ps manual is on fuel, driving the same way will see well over 500 miles a tank.
Remaps help as have been pointed out it but won’t transform your mpg.