MPG a bit low on 2014 S60 D4 auto?

[montecarlos]

Bought a used S60 R-Desgin D4 Auto recently, it's 14 plate so it's the 4 cyl 181ps engine model.

I noticed the fuel economy is aobut the same as my 3.0TDI Audi A4 with 272hp... And worse than my friends 2L diesel Seat Ateca which is surely heavier and less streamline.

I've been keeping my eye on it and accelerating out of a junction from stand still is just so horrendously bad MPG wise, it's like the car is having a major trauma when you so much as think about pressing the pedal. Current MPG figure drops to 10-15mpg while accelerating from 0mph and at higher speeds it's dropping to 20-30mpg when accelerating.

Obviously I know MPG will be low during acceleration, however when cruising along the MPG seems to sit at a reasonably good figure so it leads me to believe the reason for my overall disappointing MPG stems from just how much effort the engine makes for slow, routine acceleration. So I'd be intrigued on what you guys get during similar acceleration in your volvo's so I can compare?

So far, during my 33 mile drive to work the best I've managed is 51.5mpg and 53.5mpg coming home. This is the car computer figures, so probably worse in reality.

This morning after filling up with Shell V-Power I managed just 48mpg.

Genuinely, I was getting the same figures from my 272hp A4, which has 2 extra cylinders operating. I had a 2.2L Mazda 6 which I could hit 55mpg on the regular (when it wasn't doing a DPF cycle which was every other day...) and a golf mk7 2.0L which again, was seeing 55mpg at least.

The Volvo being the worst seems unlikely, which makes me wonder is it clogged up with soot or something?

Is there a way to know if the car is running a DPF regen cycle?

[Buckshot61]

I have the same Volvo but it´s from 2017.
My experience is that i have never been close to to official numbers which is 65mpg combined. I usually get´s about 53mpg and i drive mostly highway.

If i compare to my previous car 2012 Honda Civic 2,2 d it looks like this:
The official numbers was the same but in real live the Volvo is a little thirstier.
Driving on the highway is about the same, but driving in the city is a big difference. Combined i got ca 56mpg with the Honda.

The Volvo is a bigger car with more hp so it´s not surprising.

My driving is mostly distances of 15 to 50 miles with a speed between 50 to 75 mph.

[Pointer7]

I also have an S60 D4 Auto on a 14 plate... Just been to centre parcs in Nottingham from Norwich and with 2 passengers and fully loaded luggage, still managed 58mpg.

I'm guessing the little things helped, tank of premium diesel, cleaning the MAP sensor, checked tyre pressures and had the tracking done as well.. Very pleasantly surprised!

[Ashmere]

I think 50+mpg is very good for a car in excess of 1.5 ton regardless of make
Book figures are always optimistic I think.
At least your Volvo actually works.

[montecarlos]

Maybe I should lower my expectations! Just when comparing it to other cars doing the same 33 mile drive it seems somewhat lacking, even my GFs petrol 1.0TSI Ibiza managed 52mpg when I borrowed that, so it's a fairly economical drive, typically sat behind other traffic 55mph all the way with some 30 zones in there.

[Stroudy]

Probably not far off, apply a few hypermiling techniques and you'll get it up to around 60 no problem. I have a manual 2014 V60 D4, usually get around 60mpg without trying too hard. You are right that the figures drop when accelerating, but level out nicely when cruising. They are also pretty pap on the mpg around town, def a motorway car economy wise.

[Rocinante]

I think you would need one of the OBD readers to tell you about the regen cycles.

Something else to look at, while far from being accurate and has a lot of issues but may give a feel, is the honest john mpg.

The Volvo's "real" MPG comes in at 46.2mpg, while the Audi's "real" is at 43.2, not that far apart, even though you're getting better it's maybe something for comparison.

If you are driving the car harder to make up for the lost hp you're used to, you'll use more fuel. Driving style has a big impact.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg...-d4-geartronic

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg...ttro-tiptronic

The Golf also seems to have similar figures, if not better, but it is a smaller car.

If you have a look at the Mazda, you might find that similar as well.

[Ulrikas PA]

I think it's partly to do with power / torque delivery.

The Audi V6 3.0 TDi is very smooth and there's a lot of torque delivery low down.

My old A6 Allroad (Revo remap from 240 to 285bhp) was easier off the line than my V60 despite similar torque figures (diesel hybrid 470 lbft).

My personal opinion is that you can lift off the throttle earlier in the Audi than the V60 as it gets up to speed with less 'effort' so you feel you are having to work harder in the Volvo for similar mpg ?

I put some of the Miller's diesel eco Max stuff in every tank - I've done this with every diesel I've owned rather than buy premium diesel. (I saw my very old remapped V6 2.5 Tdi A4 quattro being advertised on eBay last year with 340,000m on the clock...)

[SnineT]

This is where forum chat can go wrong, it all works until Johnny Whizzbang-Twohundredmpg of the Bullalott Twohundreds appears with his magic motor that puts fuel back into the pump the longer he drives it,


Your 2014 car returning anything over 50 mpg on a run is running right and other brand owners who try to convince you theirs return 25% more are just delusional talkers,

Take my car, it's an S90 D4 190, the day I picked it up I was in a 60 mph zone for 20 miles out of a 30 mile trip, got home showing 64 mph, the driver performance showed 75 mpg at one point in it's graph, then from cold stuck in a jam up it will drop to 18 mpg, my last £30 worth has returned 190 miles of which 120 are between home and the dealer as I've had to have a couple of bits sorted on it, it means the average is just over 50 mpg of which I'd estimate some of it was returning 60 mpg while urban probably dropped it to 30 ish,

The cluster isn't always correct, I got loaned a 1.0L VAG supermini, I did 60 miles and gave it back after adding a tenner to it as it was reporting 57 mpg the gauge had gained a notch over what was in it when they gave me it, again it was stuck at 60 mph in a speed restriction zone for most of the 60 miles,

My final advice to you is there is nothing wrong with your car, I once had a B6 Passat DSG that everyone else who had either one of these or a Touran with the same engine was getting 38 mpg urban where I was averaging 28-32 depending on the traffic, always remember this no matter whose 2000cc it is it still needs 2000cc's worth of squirt per cycle, the only differential is weight of the car, heavier means more unless you are cruising at 70 where in my experience the extra weight actually helps carry the car better, that could be a placebo or air temperature thing though, and a bit of technique helps as well, reduce engine braking, learn to carry speed without the pedal, correct tyre pressures anticipate the flow and the junctions and coasting whenever possible,

Rule of thumb for mpg is look what any car maker claims and deduct 22% and you'll be exactly where the car is come filing up time, hth.

[treidlia]

Hi

I’d say if these are prosper brim-brim figures, nothing based on the dash computer readout, you’re doing well.
I get tired of people quoting dash readouts as peak values or point values, which are just meaningless nothingness. You need to look at the area under the curve over time with proper brim to brim values averaged out to correct for differential brimming.

In answer to your question about dpf regen, in my 2013 pre facelift, not VEA, 5cyl D4, in the dash computer/software if you go into e-drive and start/stop is gores as not available due to engine management system when dpf is undergoing regen.