VW Polo Mk.IV (9N3) very low mpg

[Donquixote]

Hi AB-ers,

My girlfriend has a '56 plate VW Polo Mk.IV Facelift (Type 9N3), 1.2L 3-cylinder. It's very low mileage, was bought from the VW main dealer, but is only achieving an average of 15-18 mpg!!! VW say there is nothing wrong with it...but it MUST do better mpg than this, surely?!?
We've run the tank to empty, filled it to the brim with good quality fuel, and run it until empty again - repeatedly, over a period of 3 months - and that was the average mpg figure we achieved.

Pleeeeeeease, anybody any ideas?!?!? :os

Thanks!
DonQ

[kereney]

Hi, I don't know if this helps with regards to your car, but try reading this and see if its any help!

http://uk.cars.yahoo.....2-range-1003314.html

at the bottom is the fuel consumption for the 1.2 range - i do not know what year this refers to though!

hope it helps!

[chas2008]

doesnt sound to good, but a lot depends on the type of driving, short stop & start town driving absolutely kills MPG figures. When i worked for a Ford dealer there was a peice of kit that we would attach and it accurately monitor MPG, it was used when a customer had a similiar issue as you i would of thought VW must have something similiar.

[Donquixote]

Thanks for your help, guys. I know the combined figure is around 47mpg (35mpg urban/58mpg extra-urban) but this is achieving nowhere near this.

Zacsmaster: We've run the tank down to the bottom of reserve, filled it to the brim (45l/9.89gallons), made a note of the volume of fuel displayed by the pump, reset the car's tripometer, and run it right down to empty again. We've done this repeatedly for 3 months, and each tank has averaged between 15-18mpg (eg. the first time we did this the tank took 43.8l (9.63gallons), and was right down at the bottom of its reserve again after 169.5 miles, which equals 17.6mpg).
My girlfriend uses her car mainly for shorter trips - to university and back through town centre traffic in a round-trip of about 12miles per day, and a few shorter trips in the evenings and weekends (to work and back) which equates to around 4 miles each time. So, in total, around 80 miles per week at the most. Working on the urban 35mpg published figure, she should be getting around 350 miles from each full tank - but at the moment she's getting more like 150-180 miles.

I've shown my VW dealers the figures - including fuel receipts as proof! - from the last 3 months, but they're adamant that the car is running fine.
Perhaps I should try another dealer?
The car is still under the warranty given by the dealer (the same dealer we've been to see), and they seem reluctant to do anything. I just wonder whether they'd be more willing to help if the car wasn't still under their warranty.

Thanks again for all of your help, it's really appreciated.
DonQ

[chas2008]

round trips in town centre traffic is the worst sort of driving, my wife and daughter both had identical vehicles (Peugeot 106), my wife got double the MPG compared with my daughter and it was all down to my daughter doing short journeys. This is how the urban cycle is calculated-

The urban test cycle is carried out in a laboratory at an ambient temperature of 20°C to 30°C on a rolling road from a cold start, i.e. the engine has not run for several hours. The cycle consists of a series of accelerations, steady speeds, decelerations and idling. Maximum speed is 31 mph (50 km/h), average speed 12 mph (19 km/h) and the distance covered is 2.5 miles (4 km).

It is only intended as a guide, no 100% guarantees as there are too many variables involved ,it will never match an individuals style of driving or jouneys

[Donquixote]

I appreciate that... but seriously, 15mpg??? That's sports car territory. I drive a 2.2 BMW saloon that weighs twice as much, and has 1000cc more and an extra cylinder over the Polo, and I still average 30ish mpg around town!

[oldhamfan]

For the sake of a tank of fuel I'd book it in to the dealer and fill it up, let them have it for a few days and see how many miles they get out if it. Make a note of the mileage before you go so there's no jiggery-pokery!

At least they can see for themselves.

Don't let the warranty they provided expire or they won't want to know at all.