Henning (2014 VW Passat, 1.6 TDI Bluemotion)

[Arragonis]

Ahh, I see.

Probably too narrow to fit - a guy at work has a Polo so might check though. Quite expensive. I've inspected behind the grill to get an idea of what would be needed to block it up and where to leave it open though when winter comes, maybe if needed.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

That seems to be a nice car, too bad this version is not available back here...

[Arragonis]

Yep still good. Checked the service docs yesterday and the selling dealer stated it had been serviced but nothing there. Will need to enquire with VW.

[Arragonis]

Minor update.

This tank is still alive! I passed a kilo kilometre tank (620 miles) the other day and have a predicted 165 miles left. I think this is probably optimistic and the tank will be a 750 miler based on how the fuel level needle is moving, otherwise 800 is realistic without effort and maybe 1k miles is a new goal. A nice feature is that the fuel gauge sweeps through 290 degrees, so very precise.

I tapped earlier about the longer gearing and it is still something to work around. Part of the problem, sorry, concern is that the engine lacks boost until 1700-ish rpm which is around 55 in 6th. I'm getting used to using more revs except when cruising, something to expand on.

I also need to play with tyre pressures. I have them higher and grip levels are quite low. I should have left them but I was keen to experiment - the tyres could just be useless anyway.

Can't find out anything on the service I mentioned before so booked it in for oil, filters, scan and check over. Mrs A's Octavua (same engine) is quieter after a service 3k miles ago. Better safe I suppose.

Good news though. Here in the UK cars are taxed based on CO2 levels, and when you sell or trade a car you get the unused tax (full months only) back. So I was happy to get the refund of tax on Hermann yesterday - which will pay for Henning's tax, a full tank and the oil and filters change! Might even have change left.

[Arragonis]

First fillup with no effort (except when bored) resulted in 54.2 Imp MPG which more or less matches the urban figure for the car rather than the overall - I use that as the overall is unrealistic for me - most of my trips are in Edinburgh and the traffic management is cr.., er, leaves something to be desired.

Interestingly this also closely matches the on board tank display (54.7) which I expected to be more optimistic.

Its a good tank for me (1/2 the cost of Hermann for the same distance) and beats my previous Aygo which was much smaller (1.0 Hatch). Also a good baseline.

[RunningStrong]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Minor issue is that the super long gearing does overwhelm the little 1.6 sometimes - it can be "off boost" at 70 (the motorway limit here) needing a change down to climb a steep hill for example. It will be interesting to try on the M74 - the road to England and civilisation of course - which is full of steep climbs and dips.

Having driven one of these several times in the company car pool, I can agree on this.

It also makes moving into gaps in the traffic an absolute nightmare, and not something you expect from a relatively large, supposedly comfortable motorway muncher.

Great car otherwise.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by RunningStrong

Having driven one of these several times in the company car pool, I can agree on this.

It also makes moving into gaps in the traffic an absolute nightmare, and not something you expect from a relatively large, supposedly comfortable motorway muncher.

Isn't there any readily-available upgrade to overcome this issue without any harm to the fuel-savings?

[Fat Charlie]

Being off the boost at the speed limit is a wonderful economy feature.

I wished so much that my Subaru had a tall 6th gear so I could putt along at 70 without being in the boost. So what if I couldn't lauch without thinking? That's what other gears are for.

[RunningStrong]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Isn't there any readily-available upgrade to overcome this issue without any harm to the fuel-savings?

A remap might help, as might using premium diesel fuel, or a diesel fuel additive. It helps my TDi in the lower revs, but it's also a far older engine.

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Being off the boost at the speed limit is a wonderful economy feature.

I wished so much that my Subaru had a tall 6th gear so I could putt along at 70 without being in the boost. So what if I couldn't lauch without thinking? That's what other gears are for.

It's great on a clear road, but trying to work through traffic, including HGVs doing only 56 mph meant I spent most of my time in 5th and let the business cover the extra fuel cost.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Isn't there any readily-available upgrade to overcome this issue without any harm to the fuel-savings?

3rd gear.

Unfortunately the road profile in Scotland is usually only 2 lanes including motorways, and quite a few hills. This means little chance of being able to P&G or DWL so I just try to find a slow truck and coast in neutral when I can.

This tank (no. 2) will probably have a few experiments in it.