Alltrack MPG

[Harrigan]

Hi folks -- new to the forum, glad to find it and sign on.

I have a 2018 Alltrack DSG SEL which I'm digging pretty hard... except for the city fuel economy. Short stints (to the grocery store, or to the school to drop off my kids, for example) where I've got idle time at lights is pretty brutal, and I sometimes don't break even 20mpg on those trips, regardless of the type of gas I'm running. Anyone else seeing that? My car is idling at about 950rpm. That sound right?

(I'm in the US, Colorado, for the record, and tested the car in some brutal snowstorm conditions this past weekend... flying colors!)

 

[asp125]

Does sound low, 'bout the same as my Audi 2.0T (19/24mpg). My '17 Alltrack SE M6 gets 29+mpg on average. Idle sounds in the right ballpark. Mine idles ~1200 fast and then drops to about 900. Colorado too, south of Castle Rock.

 

[Arm&Hammer]

The mpg is about right I get 20-22 mpg in city driving and can get 34+ if I'm careful and keep it under 70 mph on the highway.
I too thought the idle at 850 rpm was a tad high and did some research. Our AC compressor works differently and is on all the time and that is what keeps the idle high. The AC is variable and the load on the AC compressor varies depending on how much cooling required. If you turn off everything/fan you see that it drops to 750rpm which is what we typically see in other cars with a conventional A/C compressor with a clutch. I try to keep it off and would probably get slightly better gas mileage, but if I do that then the windows fog up due to my Pano sunroof leak. Don't get me on that topic because the car has been in for repair for 33 days and counting so far for the leak and the electrical problems its causing. It's a great car and I get great gas mileage but VW failed on the Pano sunroof.

I also forgot to mention that with my car I was very gentle the first few thousand miles of driving and the engine break-in period for me was about at 3,000 miles. After that my mileage increased slightly.

 

[Harrigan]

Thanks for the replies -- very helpful. I think it's down to that compressor, and that the city driving I'm doing is actually very much city driving. It's all lights and intersections... and I really can watch the mpg drop when I sit at a light and the car idles. I'll mess around with shutting down the HVAC and see if that helps -- I have mine on pretty much all the time. I did see a sweet spot with it recently in bad weather -- was moving along with traffic for about ten miles at 45mph, and that produced about 35pmg -- pretty impressive! My trips to the airport, going 75mph, are less impressive at something like 28-29mpg. Was hoping for better there, but I'll see what messing with the AC does.

The sunroof -- ouch. Mine doesn't leak, but I did my my car in the shop for over two weeks getting the motorized cover completely replaced after it failed. I don't know if it's just a VW thing -- as cool as pano sunroofs are, I think they are going to be problematic in all brands after 4-5 years of use. The seals, the motors, etc. And *everyone* has gone to them now...

 

[Lew Bob]

The mpg is about right I get 20-22 mpg in city driving and can get 34+ if I'm careful and keep it under 70 mph on the highway.
I too thought the idle at 850 rpm was a tad high and did some research. Our AC compressor works differently and is on all the time and that is what keeps the idle high. The AC is variable and the load on the AC compressor varies depending on how much cooling required. If you turn off everything/fan you see that it drops to 750rpm which is what we typically see in other cars with a conventional A/C compressor with a clutch. I try to keep it off and would probably get slightly better gas mileage, but if I do that then the windows fog up due to my Pano sunroof leak. Don't get me on that topic because the car has been in for repair for 33 days and counting so far for the leak and the electrical problems its causing. It's a great car and I get great gas mileage but VW failed on the Pano sunroof.

I also forgot to mention that with my car I was very gentle the first few thousand miles of driving and the engine break-in period for me was about at 3,000 miles. After that my mileage increased slightly.

Does yours have the automatic climate control? I have the S with manual. Is the compressor always on with the manual AC?

I only have 800 miles on mine. With the AC on I am getting around 20-21 in suburban driving, much worse than my 2016 Sportwagen that I traded in on the Alltrack. I am hoping that will improve with break in.

 

[Lew Bob]

I should add that the AC on the Alltrack is blowing at least 8 degrees cooler than with the Sportwagen, which had underwhelming AC. Can you explain a bit more on how the AC knows how much to cool if it is a manual on/off or were you only referring to auto climate that has a thermostat?

 

[Harrigan]

My car (again, 2018 DSG SEL) has broken in nicely. The AC does make a pretty big impact to the overall mpg, but I've also noticed as I'm passing the year mark of ownership that fuel economy is improving a little on short, city-driving runs. It's still not great, but I need to remember I'm driving an AWD turbo, even if it's a small one.
Other things I've noticed:

• The powertrain definitely prefers premium fuel, at least at altitude. I get better fuel economy with 91, but what I really noticed is that a lot of the DSG lag and lurching at low speeds is gone. That only is worth the higher price of the fuel.
• When going around corners at speed, I've noticed that the driver's seat has a tiny amount of lateral movement. There's a kind of very light clunk or click as the seat shift from time to time from right to left, and left to right. It's not often that it happens, but it's impossible to miss it when it does. Anyone else experiencing that? I'm going to mention it next time I'm in for service. Maybe it has something to do with the loose screw I found on the floormats after the last time I had the car cleaned...

For reference, here's that screw. Looks a lot like the ones in the door, and in the frame securing the latch for the rear doors.

 

[Lew Bob]

One other factor in our gas mileage: the 17 inch wheels. The extra rotating weight does effect mileage and acceleration. Car and Driver actually did a teat a few years back. My 2016 came with 15" wheels. I upgraded to 16 inch Enkeis, but they actually weighed less than the stock 15s. These 17s must be a good five pounds heavier than the Enkies...

 

[Harrigan]

True enough. I've got 18s. Unsprung weight and all that.

 

[Lew Bob]

Yes, my dad explained unsprung weight to me in my youth. I don't like the look of ultra low profile set ups. Big pickups with wheels that look like they belong on a stagecoach. Must be a smooth ride! NOT.

 

[steveinarizona]

I got the car for my daughter and it was only a couple of weeks ago. So no experience yet. However...the Alltrack performs much better on road tests (see Car & Driver and Consumer Reports) than one would expect from its rated HP and even better than cars with much more HP (like the Outback). I think the reason is how the car is tuned. I think the Alltrack is tuned more for performance whereas the Subaru (e.g.,) is tuned for economy. But the tradeoff is you will get much lower fuel economy than its competitors. As the saying goes: There is no such thing as a free lunch. My daughter and son in law don't put a lot of miles on the car so I was more than willing to take the mpg hit in return for a car that doesn't make me yawn every time I get in it.

 

[Arm&Hammer]

My car (again, 2018 DSG SEL) has broken in nicely. The AC does make a pretty big impact to the overall mpg, but I've also noticed as I'm passing the year mark of ownership that fuel economy is improving a little on short, city-driving runs. It's still not great, but I need to remember I'm driving an AWD turbo, even if it's a small one.
Other things I've noticed:

• The powertrain definitely prefers premium fuel, at least at altitude. I get better fuel economy with 91, but what I really noticed is that a lot of the DSG lag and lurching at low speeds is gone. That only is worth the higher price of the fuel.
• When going around corners at speed, I've noticed that the driver's seat has a tiny amount of lateral movement. There's a kind of very light clunk or click as the seat shift from time to time from right to left, and left to right. It's not often that it happens, but it's impossible to miss it when it does. Anyone else experiencing that? I'm going to mention it next time I'm in for service. Maybe it has something to do with the loose screw I found on the floormats after the last time I had the car cleaned...

For reference, here's that screw. Looks a lot like the ones in the door, and in the frame securing the latch for the rear doors.
View attachment 455

Harrigan- That screw l
kind of looks like the sunroof frame screw they forgot to put on my car when the dealer(s) were trying to fix my never ending leaky Pano sunroof. Did anyone work on your sunroof?
But you can judge for yourself attached is a picture of my sunroof frame there is suppose to be two screws next to each other there above the side air bag but only one was present when the dealer took off my headliner.

 

[Harrigan]

Arm & Hammer -- that could certainly be it. I never had the leak with the sunroof, but the electric motor for the shade failed and the whole thing had to be replaced. Took several days, as the first time they fixed it, it failed again immediately. Unfortunately, with the headliner back in place now I won't know if this is where the screw is from!

 

[Lew Bob]

This is a serious bummer: VAG cheated again, this time on mileage tests. BTW, Consumer Reports got 16 mpg in city driving, but 36 on the highway, with the Alltrack. My sticker says 22 city and 30 highway. I can't see anyone getting close to 22 in the city.


Volkswagen Used Special Software to Exaggerate Fuel-Economy Claims, EPA Says
The German automaker must restate mpg estimates on eight models from 2013 to 2017 and pay consumers.

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/ep...volkswagen-correct-fuel-economy-labels-number

 

[steveinarizona]

This is a serious bummer: VAG cheated again, this time on mileage tests. BTW, Consumer Reports got 16 mpg in city driving, but 36 on the highway, with the Alltrack. My sticker says 22 city and 30 highway. I can't see anyone getting close to 22 in the city.


Volkswagen Used Special Software to Exaggerate Fuel-Economy Claims, EPA Says
The German automaker must restate mpg estimates on eight models from 2013 to 2017 and pay consumers.

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/ep...volkswagen-correct-fuel-economy-labels-number

The VW mileage deviation is pretty insignificant to me. Once I went to the link, it is the ford hybrids and the Kias and Hyundais that showed the greatest mileage differences. The rest, to me, looked insignificant.

I would be more concerned about the pollution issues but I didn't see any details on those other than the VW forfeiture of certain clean air credits.

 

[Lew Bob]

Agreed that the differences were mild, and didn't include Alltracks. The problem is that they cheated again and in a similar way, by using software to game the tests.

 

[steveinarizona]

Again, I agree. I was very hesitant to buy the Alltrack because I have been so upset about the VW defeat device scandal. My biggest problem is that they didn't cut off the head which is ultimately repsonsible and instead blamed mid level folks. If they had said essentially "we were wrong. We should not have done what we did. We are sorry and we are determined to rebuild your trust and accordingly we are replacing our top leadership immediately". But...of course, they did the opposite of this.

 

[love2drivestl]

I drive in St. Louis with mild traffic and regular stop and go, light to light conservative city driving. I get anywhere between 22-25 mpg's in the city and 33-36 hwy usually at 75-80 mph. In my case, I believe the mpg's were understated...

 

[Lew Bob]

BTW, I upgraded to some Enkei wheels that weigh 7.5 pounds less. They improved the ride, but despite the lighter wheels and the cooler weather with less AC on, my mileage sucks.

 

[Lew Bob]

I drive in St. Louis with mild traffic and regular stop and go, light to light conservative city driving. I get anywhere between 22-25 mpg's in the city and 33-36 hwy usually at 75-80 mph. In my case, I believe the mpg's were understated...

I got 18.5 calculatiing myself on my last tank. That was suburban driving... The computers always read high.