Golf TDI PD: Fuel Consumption Data

Hello.

I have a Volkswagen Golf IV Variant, first registered in November 2001. It consistently consumes around 7 liters per 100 kilometers during highway driving, but with a fairly economical driving style. Is that normal? I thought it would be more fuel-efficient!!!

Holger.

Hello Holger,

Normally, I need 6.1 liters per 100 kilometers. However, 7 liters also seems a bit too much.
I've noticed that even slightly higher loads (whether it's a heavier foot on the accelerator or a trailer) cause the fuel consumption to increase much more drastically than with my old 1Z. For example, when pulling a caravan, I never exceeded 9 liters with the 1Z (normally 7.5-), but the AXR engine has already consumed as much as 11.5 liters (normally 8.5-9.0).
The G3 and G4 are not comparable, as they belong to completely different weight classes.

My father has a Bora Variant with a 100 hp TDI engine and a chip tuning modification. It consumes between 6 and 6.5 liters per 100 kilometers, and he likes to accelerate quickly.

My colleague has a Volkswagen Bora SportEdition Variant with a 100 horsepower TDI engine.

He probably uses around 8 liters of fuel when pushing the car to 180 km/h on the track!

Even with 140 horsepower, it uses more fuel than my G3 Var 1Z!

m;

Progress means: weight gain!
Each new model brings a significant increase in weight and fuel consumption. For example, the new T5, despite having virtually the same dimensions as the T4, weighs 250kg more.
While it is widely praised that the average fuel consumption of all new cars sold has been decreasing for years, this is solely due to the constantly increasing proportion of diesel vehicles (which was about 13% 10 years ago, and is now around 40% market share, I believe).
Just look at the official fuel consumption figures for a Golf 3 with a 110hp TDI engine compared to a current 100hp PD engine! The older model has significantly worse performance and consumes a liter more fuel.
My current A4 2.5 TDI consumes about 7 liters, and with similar driving habits, I managed to achieve the same fuel consumption with a BMW 524td E28 from 1983, even though it was a swirl-chamber diesel with a poor drag coefficient, but it was significantly lighter (in the upper mid-size class). The performance with 115 hp wasn't bad, and the smoothness of the inline-six engine wasn't inferior.
By the way, the model that was four generations before the current A4 weighed 880kg as a turbo-diesel, with similar interior space, and had a fuel consumption of just under 6 liters.

Okay, when driving my Golf 4 with 110 horsepower in a fuel-efficient manner on country roads, it stays well below the 5-liter mark, more like 4.3 - 4.5 liters. The average fuel consumption over the last 6,000 km (I haven't reset the MFA2) is 5.6 liters (with a lot of highway driving).
Surely, the AXR can't be that much worse?!