A dream come true for a VW nut!

[ik04]

Howdy all,

I am in Germany for a while and I have seen all those great high MPG cars everyone talks about. I have always wanted to drive/own a true high MPG car just to get a good perspective of how things should be in the less enlightened USA.

With that said, I am now driving my very own 2001 Volkswagen LUPO 1.7L SDI Diesel! So far, it seems like any other small car except it gets nearly 80 MILES PER GALLON! I will post my mileage as I learn how to drive this thing better to squeeze the max MPG out of it.

It is not a race car and requires very different driving technique to avoid getting squashed on the autobahn. I grew up driving low-powered cars, so I am adapting very well...

It also has a Bin 4 sticker, so it is super clean also! That is not my main concern though, as I believe the total fuel consumed is more important to reduce than the emissions produced per KM/Mile...

Anyway, I'll let you all know how much fuel this thing is using as soon as I put some Diesel in the tank. That may take a while at the rate I am going!

We'll see!

[euromodder]

Welcome to ecomodder.
Is that 80 mpg (US) ?

You'd be at the top of the Lupo fuel efficiency on spritmonitor.de - beating a good many Lupo 3L drivers !

Regular Lupo
Overview: Volkswagen - Lupo - Spritmonitor.de

Lupo 3L
Overview: Volkswagen - Lupo 3L - Spritmonitor.de

[Daox]

Welcome to the site. I'd love to get my hands on a small diesel...

[JasonG]

You have such wonderful cars there. Sigh........
Why can't we get them here ?

[Phantom]

I was wanting a Polo for a while still do but do not feel like dealing with the hassle to import one.

[SwamiSalami]

awesome! I'm not surprised @ 80mpg out of a lupo whatsoever. I hate how it seems like we Americans "have" to use more gas as a result of the cars available to us. Just look at Canada! Their VWs are known for getting better gas mileage than their U.S. counterparts.

I know that this concept is intertwined with emissions standards, etc. But, that explanation is kind of lame to me. It doesn't make sense that we would make emissions standards that ultimately lower the efficiency of an automobile, which, (i would think) would then raise emissions to their original levels!!!

I mean c'mon!!!

Can anyone offer new and exciting insight here?

[mnmarcus]

nice, congrats! lupo sounds cool. @ 80 mpg forget any hypermiling and just have fun with it!

[JethroBodine]

HA! Shoot for 100 MPG. You could put it in your carry on luggage when you come back.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by mnmarcus

@ 80 mpg forget any hypermiling and just have fun with it!

It takes some serious hypermiling to get at 80 mpg, even in small diesels.

This isn't the Lupo "3L" version - which doesn't get up to 80 mpg all too easily either, despite all the mods VW made to it - but the run of the mill SDi Lupo.

[ik04]

Originally Posted by euromodder

It takes some serious hypermiling to get at 80 mpg, even in small diesels.

This isn't the Lupo "3L" version - which doesn't get up to 80 mpg all too easily either, despite all the mods VW made to it - but the run of the mill SDi Lupo.

Yep, this car is a FOUR cylinder direct injection Diesel and it is not a TDI. The Lupo/Polo TDI is a three cylinder 1.2L engine. I looked at buying a 3L until I read the reviews of how the engine shuts off automatically and the gearbox shifts at super low RPM to save gas. Very uncomfortable to drive.

My 1.7L engine is pretty low on power and has reasonable torque, but I can compensate with driving technique. I am well on my way to finishing my first completely full tank and it looks like I will be getting over 1300 KM out of around 36 Liters of Diesel. That averages over 80 MPG, as far as I gan tell...

My first MPG check was not accurate because I did not fill up the tank completely. I figured it was between 55 and 70 MPG based on guessing the amount of fuel in the tank. I will know for sure when I finish this tank!

Besides the crazy gas mileage, this car is fun to drive and is very comfortable for such a small car. I can drive the 30 KM speed limit in third gear at 1100 RPM all day and the engine is just loafing along...

Stay tuned for more info as I collect it!

Kevin