VW Golf records near 100mpg run on normal road conditions

• New Volkswagen Golf TDI BlueMotion uses less than three litres per 100 kilometres on the “Think Blue. Eco Ride.”
• 1,602 kilometres – from Nantes to Copenhagen without refuelling
• DEKRA-supervised test value shows: actual consumption figures below the standard value are possible

On a DEKRA-supervised test run, the Volkswagen Golf TDI BlueMotion has proved itself to be a real three-litre car. On the trip from Nantes to Copenhagen, the Golf with the 110 PS TDI engine used only 2.92 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres (equivalent to 97 mpg). The distance between the two cities – 1,602 kilometres (995 miles) – was completed on a single 50 litre tank of fuel.

Simon Thomas, Head of Marketing of the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand: “This is a really impressive result. The trip shows that the interaction between fuel-saving BlueMotion efficiency technology and a well thought-out proactive driving approach allows economy figures that are hard to match.”

The highly varied route of the trip went from Nantes in the West of France, the “European Green Capital 2013”, via Paris, Antwerp, Bremen and Hamburg to the Danish capital Copenhagen, situated on the Baltic, “European Green Capital 2014”. The “Think Blue. Eco Ride.” shows that the standard consumption figure based on the NEDC driving cycle, which is already extremely low at 3.2 litres per 100 kilometres (88.3 mpg) and 85 grams of CO2 per kilometre, can even be beaten. Drivers from the Volkswagen Driving Experience succeeded in reaching a verified value of 2.92 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres in normal traffic over a driving time of 20 hours and 45 minutes. The standard 50-litre tank was filled in Nantes, where it was sealed by a DEKRA inspector. At the end of the trip, 46.92 litres of diesel were filled into the same tank under the supervision of the same inspector.

The Golf TDI BlueMotion is one of the technical highlights of the Golf family. Like all the other Golf models, it has a standard start-stop system and regenerative braking mode. In addition, the perfected aerodynamics, the low weight of the vehicle, the modified six-speed manual gearbox and especially the tires, which have been optimised for low rolling resistance, contribute to the high efficiency of the Golf TDI BlueMotion.

“Think Blue.” Is the internationally-based holistic environmental sustainability strategy of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand. The initiative includes innovative, environmentally compatible products with various powertrain technologies and is intended to encourage people to rethink and join in. Simon Thomas: “Through ‘Think Blue.’, we show that low consumption driving can be combined with driving pleasure. This is why Volkswagen offers fuel saving training in a number of countries, for example ‘Think Blue. Ecotraining’ in cooperation with ‘Naturschutzbund Deutschland in Germany.’”

* 96.74 mpg – converted from 2.92 l/100 km