Quote:
Originally Posted by Piwoslaw
Thanks for all the info!
I've been looking for a deal on the Lupo 3L for over a year now, but their price doesn't seem to go down over time  One of the worst things I've seen in a used car lot was a 3L tuned for performance. That's one efficient car less 
I read somewhere (lost the link) that the 3L's engine is so efficient that it needs the help of an electric heater in the winter.
A hypermiler's dream would be to ditch the auto trans. Were there any produced with a manual? I've seen ads for 3L's with a manual transmission, I wonder if that's not just the owner not knowing. Though in one picture of the cabin the stick did look like a manual. I also read on some forum that someone did a swap.
Ah, but the fun is not about not using a lot of fuel, it's about using even less |
It is not just a 3L thing all TDIs hold there value and tabel off and for good reason really because they are worth that value. What sort of price are you looking at and where have you looked?
People Know there is no point in selling the car below a certain point as they can brake the car and make more that way. If it had not been for me buying it i really do not think my car would have stayed in one piece for long. For £500 someone could have made at the very least 2K on the parts.
The only other option i can see that would get you close is to what the 3L can do in such a neat car is to get a smart CDi and aero mode the crap out of it with a boat tail
It does have an electric heater but i do not think that is so uncommon anymore. It was likely one of the first to have that but as diesels have become more efficient it takes quite some time to get heat flowing into the cabin when it's cold.
You would have to have stunning hypermiling skills to do better than the 3Ls computer. VW designed it with this system to be better than a human as it has all the sensorts to tell it what exactly is going on and in relation to that what is the best gear to be in. The 3L hypermiles for you when you lift off so there would be no need to get rid of the auto just work with it as intended. Of cause it can be converted to a stick shift and there is a topic on the subject on clublupo.de i think it is. I have only looked at the pictures but apart form the ECU needing some different software i don't think looks its such a hard mod. I cant see much point in doing that as the auto is what most people find so amazing about the car. No joke it feels like you have a monkey under the hood shifting for you. It is at first a very strange experience and i half expected if i had jumped out and poped the hood i would find a cheeky little monkey there grinning back at me.
Come for a holiday in London / Surrey and try to get a significant gain from all your hypermiling skills you will soon tire
. In more centralised London stop start is the only feature that will benefit you greatly other than an already very efficient car. Around Surrey you really do find keeping on the power in the right gear will net you a better return that trying to coast. There is hardly a stretch of road i can think of that is flat or particularly straight for very long its all over the place. When you coast you do not have the power to pull you around corners or up hills so where ever you gain you just go and lose it again due to the nature of the roads. People Love diesels here for a reason they have so much pull at low rpm so you can keep on the power as the roads require and still get a fantastic return. Obviously if you are na eco driver you will get more out of the 3L than someone who is not but you do not have to go to all the effort to get that gain as you would in a stick shift
VAG have heavily invested in DSG now and its not a gimmick hardly anyone can shift a stick and get the gains that can be had form the DSG box.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robchalmers
How big is the 3L's fuel tank? mine is a paultry 45litres including reserve, but that will last 9days with 5-6 of those commuting.
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I am sure its 34L my Sport gets around 200 -250 miles before i chicken out and fill the tank but that is anything but eco. I have not yet run the 3L until the light comes on as i just fill her up as and when i am in a good place to fill up. As the fuel goes so slowly i feel its not a bad idea to have fresh fuel going in regularly just to inhibit any bacterial growth how ever slim the chances of that happening i just do it as 'good practice'