A3 fuel consumption

[PatrickW]

I have so far driven 627 miles in my 1.5litre A3 which I took delivery of a month ago. I don’t seem to be achieving anything like the fuel consumption quoted by the manufacturer or in the reviews online. Allegedly I should be getting 40 to 60 mpg depending on conditions. Today I went for a leisurely drive in the Surrey countryside, mostly cruising at 50mph with very few stops, and the car’s dashboard only showed around 38 mpg. Surely these driving conditions should have produced 50 to 60 mpg if the official figures be believed? In urban conditions I am only getting around 20 to 25mpg.

I previously had a 1.5litre Honda Civic Sport for 3 years (which I now wish I had kept, given the SOS fault and related software issues with the A3) which regularly achieved 55+ mpg on extra-urban trips and 30-35 mpg around town.

just wondered what other people’s experience of fuel consumption has been with the current A3? Incidentally I have the ‘economy’ drive mode selected.

[Steve Q]

Can't speak for the new a3, but usually what ever the manufacturer quotes for fuel consumption you can take at least 10mpg off that. 

[Magnet]

Hello Patrick, 

Unfortunately, as Steve points out, the manufacturer’s claimed figures are universally unrealistic, and are generally conceived ‘in laboratory’ under simulated road conditions. It is common knowledge that they are virtually unachievable under normal use. It must also be borne in mind that the car is still tight - at <700 miles - and may take several thousand miles to get optimum mpg for your journey and driving style. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Daniel43CR]

Hello, I have driven my car recently (35TFSI 150bhp s-tronic) and got over 46mpg on a short 13 mile trip. The delivery driver got over 50mpg from an 80 mile or so trip. As for the drive select button - I have no idea what it does as there is nothing on the car telling me about the different modes it may have (for reference I have the Sport model). Cheers, Dan

[Daniel43CR]

Just to add my car has done 6000 miles, so well run in. Car is running on 17" pirelli cinturato P7 tyres. Just now after a short 12 mile drive I have achieved 59mpg (deliberately driving as economical as I could). Cheers, Dan

[PatrickW]

Since I originally posted this topic, I managed to get just over 50mpg on one long motorway journey (London to Manchester and back) but normally in the South London suburbs I seem to average around 25mpg.

Anyway the car is basically a lemon due to the frequent SOS error messages and the MMI screen almost daily going blank whilst “loading user settings” or some such. This is apparently a ‘known issue’ which VW/Audi are unable to fix, so I have formally notified Audi Finance that I wish to reject the vehicle and have my money back, or most of it anyway. This was the first time I have owned a German car, and I guess it will probably be the last. Previously I owned various Honda models for over 20 years and they were pretty much 100% reliable so once I’ve got rid of the A3 I’ll be looking at a Japanese car again.

[Daniel43CR]

1 hour ago, PatrickW said:

Since I originally posted this topic, I managed to get just over 50mpg on one long motorway journey (London to Manchester and back) but normally in the South London suburbs I seem to average around 25mpg.

Anyway the car is basically a lemon due to the frequent SOS error messages and the MMI screen almost daily going blank whilst “loading user settings” or some such. This is apparently a ‘known issue’ which VW/Audi are unable to fix, so I have formally notified Audi Finance that I wish to reject the vehicle and have my money back, or most of it anyway. This was the first time I have owned a German car, and I guess it will probably be the last. Previously I owned various Honda models for over 20 years and they were pretty much 100% reliable so once I’ve got rid of the A3 I’ll be looking at a Japanese car again.

Sorry to hear of your dreadful experience and hope you can get your money back. I am having a few teething troubles too. The driver select button does nothing and there is no sat nav in the car I just bought. Hopefully these are just software/set-up issues. Did not realise the car does not have cd player in, apparently music can be downloaded and put on a stick thing lol. Good luck and I hope you get a full refund. Cheers, Dan.

[PatrickW]

Did you buy second hand? Pressing the drive select button should bring up the five options on the MMI screen; if it doesn’t then I reckon something must be wrong. As to the satnav, I thought that came as standard, but there may be a subscription issue - I know mine came with a three year subscription which includes free map updates and live traffic info. Even so if the subscription runs out you should still get satnav, but the map will gradually become more and more out of date. To give credit where it’s due, the Audi satnav is in my opinion pretty good and it is one area where Honda lags behind. And as to the lack of a CD player, I think these began to disappear from new cars several years ago, and now they are not even available as an optional extra on most models.

[Daniel43CR]

12 hours ago, PatrickW said:

Did you buy second hand? Pressing the drive select button should bring up the five options on the MMI screen; if it doesn’t then I reckon something must be wrong. As to the satnav, I thought that came as standard, but there may be a subscription issue - I know mine came with a three year subscription which includes free map updates and live traffic info. Even so if the subscription runs out you should still get satnav, but the map will gradually become more and more out of date. To give credit where it’s due, the Audi satnav is in my opinion pretty good and it is one area where Honda lags behind. And as to the lack of a CD player, I think these began to disappear from new cars several years ago, and now they are not even available as an optional extra on most models.

Yes, it was an ex-demo (not entirely advertised correctly as the mileage was 20% higher than that quoted - naughty). Have tried pressing the drive select button several times now but with no luck. Sat nav is standard so possibly a subscription issue as you say. Cheers, Dan

[Daniel43CR]

On 6/28/2021 at 8:51 PM, PatrickW said:

Did you buy second hand? Pressing the drive select button should bring up the five options on the MMI screen; if it doesn’t then I reckon something must be wrong. As to the satnav, I thought that came as standard, but there may be a subscription issue - I know mine came with a three year subscription which includes free map updates and live traffic info. Even so if the subscription runs out you should still get satnav, but the map will gradually become more and more out of date. To give credit where it’s due, the Audi satnav is in my opinion pretty good and it is one area where Honda lags behind. And as to the lack of a CD player, I think these began to disappear from new cars several years ago, and now they are not even available as an optional extra on most models.

Think I might be having the same problem you have, the SOS warning came on together with a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in. Switched off car for an hour and it went, I guess something to ignore. Wonder if Audi can uninstall all this useless, unnecessary tech stuff ? A dacia sandero might be a better option as will come with very little tech (but possibly a cd player lol). Cheers, Dan

[Steve Q]

On 7/2/2021 at 4:39 PM, Daniel43CR said:

Think I might be having the same problem you have, the SOS warning came on together with a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in. Switched off car for an hour and it went, I guess something to ignore. Wonder if Audi can uninstall all this useless, unnecessary tech stuff ? A dacia sandero might be a better option as will come with very little tech (but possibly a cd player lol). Cheers, Dan

This is the problem, the more tech they cram into cars the more unreliable they become. Which is a shame as the engineering aspect of cars and mechanical components have come on leaps and bounds. But now being let down by electrics abd computers. Good news though you can still buy a new lada niva if you want something simple and less boring than a Dacia lol 

[PatrickW]

If you are getting the SOS warning, then I would go back to the dealer with it if I were you. I have now had Audi finance come back to me and they have acknowledged my complaint and I expect to have the car taken back in a week or so. I have to wonder, what happens to these rejected cars, because mine is certainly not the only one - do they use them as demonstrators perhaps?

[Daniel43CR]

This a very common fault within the VAG group it seems. A fix is on the way hopefully by the end of the year according to some users on another BB. As for the drive select not working - turns out that is also another software issue that has had a fix out (only my vehicle must have missed the software update). The dealership is going to rectify some other faults soon so I will see how that gets on. Otherwise I do enjoy the car with its smooth ride and great economy (58mpg today on a 13 mile trip). Mine is an ex-demo btw. Cheers, Dan

[j3bnl]

Picked up my car ( S-Line 35TFSI DSG) 3 weeks ago and I’m impressed with the fuel economy.

Spent last week in the Lake District and every single day my fuel economy was over 50mpg and the 220 mile return journey I averaged 57.4mpg.

[fraserrg]

Had my 35 tfsi S-Tronic a few weeks now. Done 340 miles and getting 32-35 in town driving in eco. Had expected more if I’m honest 

 

 

[bealine]

I have had my 2020 model 1.0L petrol A3 (30 TFSI) for 11 months.   It is manual transmission as I prefer to be in control.    My usual run is semi-rural (Wallingford to Didcot 7 miles away, Wallingford to Reading 12 miles away or Reading to London Paddington station - if there isn't a train to get me home at night - 52 miles away).

Using E5 fuel, I regularly get over 50 mpg driving at road speeds without being "Captain Slow".   However, right back from my army days in he Royal Corps of Transport, I was taught to drive well in my instructor expecting me to "make good progress but anticipate events up ahead early" avoiding unnecessary braking - I have had it up to 60 mpg.   Running on E10 fuel, the mpg drops considerably - anything between 42 mpg and 48 mpg but I cannot, for the love of all things mechanical, get it up to 50 mpg.

As soon as I fill up with E5 fuel again, back up goes my mpg so I refute the government scientists' and the petrol companies' that you hardly notice any difference in consumption!   You damned well do!

You use a bit more fuel if you have an automatic gearbox, if you use the cruise control or speed limiter or if you use the air con (and you should use it at least once a week, even in winter, to keep the system fresh and in good order).

My car goes in for service in a coupe of weeks ad there is an "Engine Management System Software Update" due, according to the My Audi App, so I hope that doesn't affect either performance or fuel economy adversely as I love my car as she is even if she is boring, plain white!

Edited November 9, 2021 by bealine

[Magnet]

Hello Ian,

Many thanks for a very enlighten post. 
It seems that increasing the ethanol content to 10% results in a weakened mixture, which can manifest itself as a lowering of performance, and an increased consumption. 

Others may disagree and have better evidence than me that the consumption is not affected to any noticeable degree - it would be interested to hear of these experiences. 

Your post was of particular interest to me, since my 3ltr non-Audi was 3/4 filled with E10 and this seems to be disappearing at a rate of knots greater than when last filled with E5. Very limited, and not very scientific experience, but I intend to return to E5 and see what happens. 
Many thanks again for your post.

Kind regards,

Gareth.