[elampumpkin]

Hello readers! My household's VW Passat B8 was closing in to cross 100k, so I thought what better way to fly past that milestone than having my first go at Hypermiling!

For those who may not be aware, hypermiling is referred to a driving style wherein you drive extremely sedately and sacrificing on certain creature comforts to attain a very good mileage: Upto 70% more than claimed FE.

With the basics out of the way, let's get to the good part, the drive!

My journey was from Kothrud, Pune, to Kharghar, Navi Mumbai; It usually takes around 2hr15mins with Traffic and is around 120kms of driving. The usual mileage I get on this route is ~20kmpl.

On 15th July 2024, at 10PM, I commenced my drive back to Kharghar. The first thing I did was switch the driving mode to ECO. On a Passat B8, switching the car to this mode changes the shift points of the gearbox significantly to keep the revs below 1900RPM all the time. Additionally, it also enables eco coasting, which basically slots the gearbox into neutral when you let go of the accelerator pedal. ECO mode would also reduce the air conditioning power, but I had turned off the AC completely since the weather was quite decent.

The speed I decided to maintain for the majority of the trip was 70km/h, since that would have the engine almost idling in 6th gear. The coasting function was used to its full potential. By the time I reached Hinjewadi, average consumption was already at an ungodly 26kmpl! However, there was a slight congestion (as usual) and that briefly dropped it to 24kmpl. After that stretch, rest of the journey did not have a single traffic congestion, and that really helped with the final mileage.

Since I was driving/coasting at a leisurely pace in the middle lane of the expressway, I really didn't have to slow down for any vehicle nor did I have the urge to overtake any vehicle; Unnecessary acceleration is by far the biggest contributor towards a worse FE.

I hit the 100k milestone just before the ghat section, and had an average consumption of 28kmpl.

I had to "turn off" the coasting mode in the ghat section for obvious safety reasons. If your VAG car also has an ECO mode, and want to temporarily disable the coasting mode, all you have to do is the let go of the accelerator and tap the brake once, the gearbox then selects a speed appropriate gear.

Ghat section was a messiah for my FE, for we were clocking a staggering 34kmpl! Seeing a 170hp sedan which is capable of cruising at 200km/h all day also give a mileage of 30kmpl+ felt/feels surreal for sure.

I didn't stop at the food mall, and continued all the way till Kharghar, where my indicated consumption was at 36kmpl. The average once again dropped by the time I reached home to a still unreal 35.5kmpl.

Even though I drove the way I did, I managed to complete the journey in 2 hours.

Attached below are the few pictures I clicked of the driving data. The second image was clicked the next day before starting another journey. Cheers!

[07CR]

Originally Posted by elampumpkin

My journey was from Kothrud, Pune, to Kharghar, Navi Mumbai; It usually takes around 2hr15mins with Traffic and is around 120kms of driving. The usual mileage I get on this route is ~20kmpl.

Even though I drove the way I did, I managed to complete the journey in 2 hours.

Excellent hypermiling run! 36 KMPL from a 170 HP motor is truly mind boggling. With this attempted run, your fuel costs would be lower than CNG Tiago!

I wanted to highlight how we can avoid unnecessary speeding. Sometimes, we plan some route and assume we would need X hours since its long route and I would need to drive fast to cover it. With your example, if we plan our journey well and maintain a steady pace, we can cover it with almost similar time, and also be lighter on the pocket.

Ofcourse, if you are in the mood for fun, hypermiling can always be attempted tomorrow.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by PowerSpike

…while coasting downhill, there are 2 schools of thought.
A. Keep the car in gear with AC on to achieve more mileage.
B. Keep the car in neutral to reduce frictional losses and allow car to build more speed so it glides further on the flat portion of the road.
I prefer to follow the 2nd point as most of the times I drive solo.

The 2nd school of thought is wrong/dangerous for atleast 3 reasons :
1) While coasting in neutral, due to transmission not being engaged, you have lesser control of the car. This is even more dangerous when going downhill. Thumb rule is to go downhill in the gear in which one would go uphill. In AT cars which have way lesser engine braking than MT cars, it is good to slot the car in L or 2 gears while going downhill, to avoid the downward motion/speed upshifting.

2) Coasting in neutral downhill puts more strain on the brakes, leading to overheating.

3) And contrary to what is assumed by many, coasting in gear would save more fuel than coasting in neutral, due to modern cars cutting off fuel while in-gear.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by 07CR

Excellent hypermiling run! 36 KMPL from a 170 HP motor is truly mind boggling. With this attempted run, your fuel costs would be lower than CNG Tiago!

In fairness, it's a downhill run but the figure is impressive nonetheless.

[elampumpkin]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

In fairness, it's a downhill run but the figure is impressive nonetheless.

I agree! I shall do a reverse run next time with the same techniques, and will report my findings!

[jerk_free]

Originally Posted by elampumpkin

It usually takes around 2hr15mins with Traffic and is around 120kms of driving

Appreciate your patience in doing this test!!

How much time did this hypermiling trip take compared to normal driving?

I've always held the belief that driving at max speed of 80 vs 100 makes no difference on our highways. The average speed is what matters. There is always some traffic or tolls that bring down the average speed.

Personally, I've never been able to test this belief. Only thing I know is, I've never been able to achieve more than 65Kmph average speeds in a typical highway journey.

[GwD]

Originally Posted by elampumpkin

Since I was driving/coasting at a leisurely pace in the middle lane of the expressway, I really didn't have to slow down for any vehicle nor did I have the urge to overtake any vehicle; Unnecessary acceleration is by far the biggest contributor towards a worse FE.
…

I didn't stop at the food mall, and continued all the way till Kharghar, where my indicated consumption was at 36kmpl. The average once again dropped by the time I reached home to a still unreal 35.5kmpl.

Your post brought back memories of my first hypermiling years ago, long before I became a member of the Tbhp community. I had to make a day trip from my home (in Salt Lake, Kolkata) to Durgapur. The round trip was roughly 360 km. My regular ride was an Esteem Diesel then, and it was a very frugal sipper to say the least. I wanted to find out how efficient it could be if I drove at a steady pace and as gently as I could under the circumstances.

At the start of the trip, I filled up the tank at my regular pump and was off. The traffic was moderately congested within the city and light on Durgapur Expressway during both legs of the journey. When I returned to Kolkata in the evening, again I entered the same pump and filled up the tank from the same dispenser. I got a figure of 32 kmpl. I did not coast in neutral at all, the AC was always on while driving, but I tried to hold a steady 80 kmph on the highway.

[elampumpkin]

Originally Posted by jerk_free

Appreciate your patience in doing this test!!

How much time did this hypermiling trip take compared to normal driving?

Since there was virtually no traffic, it only took me 2hrs to complete the journey. I do believe I could've saved another 15-25mins if I drove at the speed limit of the expressway.

And yes, average speed literally defines how quickly (or slowly) you go from point A to B!

[Shanksta]

Originally Posted by elampumpkin

I didn't stop at the food mall, and continued all the way till Kharghar, where my indicated consumption was at 36kmpl. The average once again dropped by the time I reached home to a still unreal 35.5kmpl.

That is an impressive mileage to get from a Passat.

I did the same route last year in my Slavia 1.5TSI from Baner, Pune to Navi Mumbai. Was not hypermiling by any stretch of imagination but set the cruise control to 80kmph with occasional bursts to 100kmph. Stuck to the middle lane as much as possible and yet I managed 22kmpl which I found very impressive for the 1.5TSI. That stretch is just great for mileage if you are patient, with an added bonus being reaching your destination in the same duration.

I did the stretch at 8:00AM in the morning and stopped at the food mall for a coffee at McDonalds.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by elampumpkin

With the basics out of the way, let's get to the good part, the drive!

My journey was from Kothrud, Pune, to Kharghar, Navi Mumbai; It usually takes around 2hr15mins with Traffic and is around 120kms of driving. The usual mileage I get on this route is ~20kmpl.

36KMPL is a LOT!!!!

But am not very surprised. I own a Passat B8 too (July 2018) which is currently at 91XXX Kms. I drove from Tamhini Ghat area in Mulshi to Parel, Mumbai via Kothrud, Pune on 14th July i.e. Sunday Starting at 11 am in Mulshi and reaching Parel around 3PM. The trip had a few breaks . The route is a mix of single lane through dense population, NH, MEPW + Atal setu. My combined mileage for the 192 Kms was 19.2KMPL as per the MID. Not driven sedately but never crossed 115/120 Kmph. I refueled at the HP Fuel Pump at the 1st service stop ( the one with German Bakery).

The MID showed the efficiency of 22.5KMPL for a distance of 115 Kms. Thankfully there were no bottle neck or traffichold up at Lonavala. The entire distance, AC was on and the car was running on Normal setting.

[elampumpkin]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

In fairness, it's a downhill run but the figure is impressive nonetheless.

Update for the readers: I just completed the reverse route, and the results are very interesting!





A very, very respectable mileage of 24.2kmpl! I could've squeezed a little bit more by turning off the AC completely, but then that would've led to fogging of the windscreen.

Ghats or any uphill really pulls the mileage down like it's nobody's business; I was clocking in at around 29kmpl before the ghats began.

PSA for all: Be extremely cautious while driving on the Bengaluru - Mumbai Highway after exiting the expressway at Ravet; There are massive, sharp potholes more than capable of ripping the tyres and/or cracking the rim of your vehicle. Stay safe out there!