Test-driving the S3. Something wrong with consumption?

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sebtomato

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Hi,

I have been very lucky to be given an S3 on test for 5 days. I think the car is great and it is surely the best car I have ever driven.

However, fuel consumption is quite poor. So far, I seem to average between 22 and 24 mpg on any trips, even if it is a mixture of town/motorways.

Tonight, I was driving on a motorway in 6th gear at 80 mph, and the DIS was still showing around 23 mpg!

Since those numbers are quite different from the Audi official ones, I am wondering if there is something wrong with the test car (the car has done around 1600 miles).

Apart from consumption, nothing else to complain about. Ride, handling, engine are fantastic, and the car on loan looks great (black, black grille, black rear windows, sat nav etc...).

If it was giving me 25-30 mpg, then I would order one right now, but with 22 mpg (and petrol price set to get to £1.5/litre by the end of the year, according to some experts), it will be expensive to run!
 
reset the mpg trip and try again

more than likely, since you have a demo car, people have been driving it quite hard therefore the low mpg!
 
Have a look at this thread. Lots more info. I easily average over 30mpg whenever i drive on the motorways.
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?t=46983

sebtomato said:
Tonight, I was driving on a motorway in 6th gear at 80 mph, and the DIS was still showing around 23 mpg!
Click to expand...

21-03-08_1251-1.jpg
 
I get around 28mpg as a combined figure. If I reset the computer and do a motorway only run I have had a maximum of 34.1mpg.
 
boggysv said:
Have a look at this thread. Lots more info.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link and the info. I guess therefore the below-average consumption is due to the car being fairly new, and the engine no run-in yet.

I have noticed something else. When I start the car and drive for about one minute, I hear some clicking sound (as if I had use the turning indicators) for about 10 seconds, then it stops and I don't hear it again.

Anybody knows what this could be?

Thanks,
Seb
 
low mileage cars have much worse consumption. everything is so new that it needs to bed in and loosen up.

is the clicking within the cabin or outside of it?
 
One of the meny reasons why you should run your car on hard load as soon as you've left the forecourt. ( once warm ):yes:

p
 
sebtomato said:
I have noticed something else. When I start the car and drive for about one minute, I hear some clicking sound (as if I had use the turning indicators) for about 10 seconds, then it stops and I don't hear it again.

Anybody knows what this could be?

Thanks,
Seb
Click to expand...

This could be the air con, & the ventilation flaps, try changing the temperature & see what happens.
Often hear noises myself when switching off.
 
mine is averaging 24mpg over 10000 miles... so it should be OK, computer 2. Air con always on and I don't drive thinking about it... normall driving with lots of motorway blasting.... not trashing the thing but driving as its manufacturers intended...

But I can get a good average if I really try hard...lolol
 
warrencox said:
is the clicking within the cabin or outside of it?
Click to expand...

Hi,

Clicking is seems inside the dashboard, on the driver side. Some ticks like the noise when using the indicators, for about 5 seconds...

I am sure it is not A/C or ventilation, there are regular, clear clicks/ticks.
 
my first thought is its the air con system sorting its airflow out and opening and closing certain vents in the heater matrix

the only other things that tend to click behind the dash are relays, but for them to be clicking there would have to be an issue.
 
Around town I get about 24-25 average but on Motorways it goes higher. A recent trip to Gatwick showed 36.5 when I arrive although some of it was stuck in 50mph traffic.

Mine has 5k on the clock, no idea if it will get any better.

It's actually about the same as my Leon Cupra R, considering it has 50bhp more and 4wd I think it's ok. Does make you wince when super unleaded is £1.16 per liter though!
 
I'm a very LUCkY man i get a free fuel car from work , so i don't really look at MPG TBH!:w00t:

p
 
Phantom I would keep that quiet... we never know when you cross walking in the front of my car..... lololol

Pedro
 
I think it depends alot on driving style. I never managed some of these figures form my 2.0TFSIQ and thats 60bhp down on an S3. I used to get about 22-24mpg around town and on a run(cruising speed of 90-100) it would nudge to about 30ish mpg. It was driven fairly hard though without a thought for the fuel consumption.
 
phantom said:
I'm a very LUCkY man i get a free fuel car from work , so i don't really look at MPG TBH!:w00t:p
Click to expand...

It's not really 'free' though, is it, assuming you use it for personal use too.
Fuel benefit is calculated using the Co2.
The S3's CO2 is a whopping 217 g/km.
Which means you are in the 31% bracket.
So you're paying tax on 31% of £14400.
For a 23% tax payer that's £ 1026.72 a year.
For a 40% tax payer that's £ 1785.60 a year.

So, you're actually paying a minimum of £85.56 a month, or a maximum of £148.80 a month.
Only you can tell whether this is a benefit.
For me, it's borderline.
The only real benefit is the convenience of the card.

Bottom line, you are affected by the car's MPG, in a way.
Less MPG = more Co2 = more tax.
 
well, it can work out free.... but you have to really hammer the private mileage... I think last time I looked for work I needed about 30k private a year to make it worthwhile.

Of course theres also those that fill up other cars on the card...
 
bowfer said:
It's not really 'free' though, is it, assuming you use it for personal use too.
Fuel benefit is calculated using the Co2.
The S3's CO2 is a whopping 217 g/km.
Which means you are in the 31% bracket.
So you're paying tax on 31% of £14400.
For a 23% tax payer that's £ 1026.72 a year.
For a 40% tax payer that's £ 1785.60 a year.

So, you're actually paying a minimum of £85.56 a month, or a maximum of £148.80 a month.
Only you can tell whether this is a benefit.
For me, it's borderline.
The only real benefit is the convenience of the card.

Bottom line, you are affected by the car's MPG, in a way.
Less MPG = more Co2 = more tax.
Click to expand...

It's free for me and thats all i'm gonna say! LOL

p
 
sebtomato said:
If it was giving me 25-30 mpg, then I would order one right now, but with 22 mpg (and petrol price set to get to £1.5/litre by the end of the year, according to some experts), it will be expensive to run!
Click to expand...

It's a 2 litre engine thats on par with 3 litre performance so 1.8 fuel enconomy won't come in to the equation.

My average is around 22 mpg, never seen more than 31 mpg and often see 18 mpg around town.
 
Kris said:
It's a 2 litre engine thats on par with 3 litre performance so 1.8 fuel enconomy won't come in to the equation.

My average is around 22 mpg, never seen more than 31 mpg and often see 18 mpg around town.
Click to expand...

Well said , don't buy a S3 if MPG is a major concern! :icon_thumright:

p
 
Thank you all for the details about consumption and the experience with the S3.

I had one for 5 days on test, and the average was 24 mpg, which is apparently typical, but well below Audi figures of 31 mpg.

Looking at other performance cars, 24 mpg does not seem very good for 260 bhp, so I guess I will order the 2.0 TDI 170 instead.

I could afford 24 mpg, given that the rest of the car is great, but spiraling cost of petrol could make it really expensive quickly. All we need given the current climate is another political crisis in Middle East, and petrol cost would soar.

I guess that's probably why I haven't seen many S3s on the road so far... It's a shame.
 
24mpg avearge is pretty good for a 260bhp car i was only just getting over that with the 200bhp one. Don't believe the official figures for the TDI 170 either they like too drink and(mid to high 30s i believe) with deisel being more expensive they arent a cheap car to run. Get the 140TDI if economy is your thing.
 
I would say that's average of a 2lt Turbo car, none of my previous turbo cars have bettered that. My 3.2 has averaged 27mpg over the last 4 months I've owned it. At a steady 70 - 80 it will show 30mpg average for the trip but on short a journey can drop to 21mpg without trying.

However, the Alfa GT (JTDm) I had previously would return an overall average of 38mpg, and with the cost of Diesel being so high I don't think I'm much worse off. I just have an even bigger grin on my face now!!

Rob
 
All this talk about the cost of diesel is nonsense!
It's only around 4%-6% dearer than petrol, depending where you shop.
Yet a diesel will give 30%-40% more miles per gallon, maybe more.
Look at the figures above as an example.
The blokes Alfa GT diesel averaged 38mpg.
His 3.2 averages 27mpg.
So he's nearly 40% worse off, in mpg terms.
Take a 6% difference in fuel cost, he's still 34% worse off.
I bet a 3.2's roadtax costs a damned sight more than a diesel too.
 
I wasn't saying deisel isn't any good just that if the OP is concerned that 24mpg isnt good mpg from a 260bhp 4wd car then he may be dissapointed with the cost of running the 170TDI as they are a fair bit juicier than the 140bhp dervs which themselves are a fair bit juicier than the 130s.
 
No, I know you weren't having a pop at diesels.
I'm just pointing out that those who think a large difference in MPG is somehow 'offset' by fuel cost are a bit misguided.
 
Well, if you believe trip computers I was getting around 11mpg gallon more from my Alfa. On a motorway run if I sat at 70 I'd probably get 44mpg, a little more than 30mpg but not that much.

Where I live Diesel is currently 10p per litre more than 95 Ron petrol (116.9 to 106.9) It used to cost £65 to fill the Alfa to the top, the Audi takes about £55.

The real clincher for me is that my daily commute has halved and involves no traffic. Hence the reason to chop in the Diesel. Don't get me wrong, diesels are amazing engines, but in certain circumstances they don't have that much advantage over petrol in terms of cost.

You're right about tax though, its gonna hurt! I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, in the mean time I'm just going to enjoy my car while I can.

Regards

Rob
 
I'd have to agree re service intervals, I think they are about the same as petrol these days and certainly cost no more in terms of parts and labour.

Re the cost of Diesel over petrol, if you work it per mile, my Alfa was costing 0.32p per mile (38pmg 1.17 per litre) against my Audi at 0.25p per mile (27mpg 1.06 per litre) About 25% more? Thats not to bad, if you take into account the grin factor which has got to be worth 10% :yahoo:then I'm actually better off:applaus:

Rob
 
Relaxitscool said:
I'd have to agree re service intervals, I think they are about the same as petrol these days and certainly cost no more in terms of parts and labour.

Re the cost of Diesel over petrol, if you work it per mile, my Alfa was costing 0.32p per mile (38pmg 1.17 per litre) against my Audi at 0.25p per mile (27mpg 1.06 per litre) About 25% more?

Rob
Click to expand...


That's quite a difference in fuel prices you've got there.
There's nothing like that gap between petrol and diesel here.
Petrol is around £1.06, as you say, but diesel is readily available for £1.13 (actually £112.9 at shell and Sainsbury).
 
Dandle said:
24mpg avearge is pretty good for a 260bhp car i was only just getting over that with the 200bhp one. Don't believe the official figures for the TDI 170 either they like too drink and(mid to high 30s i believe) with deisel being more expensive they arent a cheap car to run. Get the 140TDI if economy is your thing.
Click to expand...


Low to mid 40s for me.

But yes the 140 is better for economy.
 
That's Tesco prices, and the rest seem to follow suit. And I was under the impression that the Supermarkets were supposed to be cheaper!!

Regards

Rob
 
Dandle said:
Get the 140TDI if economy is your thing.
Click to expand...

Hi,

actually, I currently have a 2.0 TDI 140 bhp S-line DSG, so I am looking for something different. I like the car, but it is quite noisy and not gentle. The S-line suspensions and 18" wheels make the ride quite hard (surprisingly, the S3 feels more composed and less hard), and there are quite a lot of vibrations when the engine is cold.

I had a TDi 170 SE S-tronic on test drive for a few days, and I thought it was a very good car, and an improvement over the 140. The cabin was much quieter, no vibrations and the car was quite fast (kept going in 6th gear). Even the DSG gear box (now S-tronic) was improved, with no lag between gear changes.

To be honest, it didn't feel like driving a diesel anymore.

Of course, nowhere near the S3 in term of performance and handling, but I think a good compromise between running cost and performance. It will probably cost me a few litres of diesel per month more, but it's worth it.

If the S3 had done the mpg declared by Audi, then I could have been tempted, but for now, the 170 TDI is my choice as I want to keep the running cost under control...
 
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