General mileage on a 35 litre tank panda

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General mileage on a 35 litre tank panda

I'll give it a run later today. You said within 2-3 miles it should be at optimum temperature? Is it worth running all the heaters in the car at full as well to see how long it takes to heat up?
Our Panda actually reaches normal running temperature slightly more quickly than the Ibiza or Scala did/do with their supposedly ultra efficient divided cooling systems (with two thermostats). When we bought her (Becky the Panda) she rarely got above the quarter mark and I just knew it was the thermostat. Bought a new one from S4p and she heated up much quicker and sits rock solid on the half way mark by the time I get out onto the main road - probably less than 2 miles?

It's worth thinking about the fact that the water temperature is being monitored at the cylinder head which is the hottest part of the engine. The oil will take much longer to achieve working temperature. Of course it'll vary from engine to engine, but I'd guess about 3 or 4 times longer than the coolant. So the engine oil will still be relatively cold and more viscous for quite some time after the coolant temperature guage is indicating "normal". This is well worth thinking about if you have an engine with a turbo as using large throttle openings when the engine oil is not at optimum temperature is likely to put extra strain on the turbo bearings.

In fact, there's a lot of "stuff" going on in an engine during warm up. The fact the coolant temp gauge is indicating normal only tells you one part of the story. The lubricant needs to get up to temp before it will operate as intended, there will be different expansions going on between the head and block, especially if the head is Ally and the block is cast iron, and this can stress the head gasket. Bearing journal clearances, piston ring gaps, and a whole host of other factors are not at optimum until the engine is fully up to temp. So, the thing is, don't stress the engine until it's fully up to operating temperature which, at a minimum, is likely to be probably (it'll vary from engine design to engine design) at least three time as long as it takes that water temp gauge to indicate "Normal" - and "Gawd" help you if all you've got is a wee light instead of a "proper" temperature gauge!

Of course selecting "hot" on your heater controls during warm up will mean it takes longer to heat up as the heater is "robbing" heat from the system. Mrs J still can't understand why I won't let her have the heater on for the first couple of miles in winter!
 
I'll report back either today or tomorrow when I take the car out for a quick run.

If I was a betting man, I'd say it was the thermostat I changed last year. I'd picked it up from one of your recommended places, Jock, but hey, it can be a gamble.

I'm not going to discount the simpler things like "oh whoops - I didn't take X into consideration and actually I'm getting 300 miles to a tank and everything is around average"
 
Does the 1.1 Active have a temperature gauge?
Yes

Screenshot_20250417-112559.png


Missing the rev counter and display


I must have misunderstood something earlier as the active has no trip computer
 
I'll report back either today or tomorrow when I take the car out for a quick run.

If I was a betting man, I'd say it was the thermostat I changed last year. I'd picked it up from one of your recommended places, Jock, but hey, it can be a gamble.

I'm not going to discount the simpler things like "oh whoops - I didn't take X into consideration and actually I'm getting 300 miles to a tank and everything is around average"
OOPs, sorry about that. Does seem to be a bit of a lottery with thermostats though? Either you get a good one or you don't and all you can do to hedge your bets is go for a "known" make and trusted supplier. Do keep us informed won't you?
 
OOPs, sorry about that. Does seem to be a bit of a lottery with thermostats though? Either you get a good one or you don't and all you can do to hedge your bets is go for a "known" make and trusted supplier. Do keep us informed won't you?
Haha - I hope that didn't read like finger pointing :) I'll let you all know how it goes.
 
The TA gets filled at 320. On a long run 420 is possible with great care and lower speeds. The 319s 1.2 range between 350 to 450. I find the 319 is more economical than the 169, but maybe just because they are newer and lower milage. 63mpg is my best long run. Economy in the 4x4 is hard work but 50 to 52 mpg is normal, lightly laden, on a long run, if not pushing on to much. If I drive carefully I can get 100 miles with the low fuel light on on any of ours. 10 miles when all the bars have gone on the fuel gauge but then its really down to the last half cup full as it will take 37 litres and a bit.
 
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Sorry everyone. Formal apology - I used the word BRIM loosely as a euphemism for fill. That's incorrect. I never brim my tank, nor should anyone else, as advised in the Owners Manual. I have been corrected. Do not do this as you will cause very serious damage.

I will delete my post. JRK may also usefully choose to delete the remaining quoted text.
 
Its a 2.0TDI so I assume its just like any other VW TDI and is direct injection.

I can't say I have ever run out of fuel ever in my life
well not on my own cars, maybe when I worked in the trade where they keep a thimble full of fuel in cars but then there was always someone from the office with a can of petrol to get you going again.

Because I am quite rural if I am in a city, then I can have a good 20 - 30 mile trip home with only one fuel station on route that because it's rural can be stupidly expensive at it's worst last year one of them reached £2 a liter. so I try and fill up in town or once I am back home, but If I forget when leaving town the car can get very anxious on the trip back as 40miles left indicated on the tank, drops to about 20 miles of driving before the computer is showing zero miles left.
I had a scare in my Golf on a bank holiday. I had to ask local cops for guidance to fuel. It went over 100 miles heavily laden with the light on and must still have had 3 litres left thank heaven.
 
My wife gets about 40 mpg in an almost brand new 4x4, think it’s about 350 miles on a full tank, she does mainly short journeys ie about 20miles a day back and forward to her work.
About par. Summer tyres give 5mpg more than winter ones!
 
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However you measure the milage it's only approximate

The light comes on maybe 25 mile difference depending on how bumpy the roads, slopes, start of the journey, end of journey and so on, maybe more

If you are right at the tipping point of the light coming on, so you stop the car with the light off, but is in when you restart the car, you can go a few miles care fully and it will go off again.

Even when the needle is at its rest stop, there another 30 mikes if everything is flat, I ran out early hours of the morning at the end of the lynn peninsula and couldn't be bothered using the 5L spare


I find that the trip computer as good as anything, as long as you let it run for weeks, and as long as you keep moving, but it does not take into account fuel used idling in stationary traffic
 
All this talk about running fuel down 'till the light comes on has reminded me that, as far as I'm aware, modern direct injection petrol fuel systems use the fuel itself as a coolant for the lower pressure fuel pump. These systems seem to have a fuel pump, mostly in the fuel tank but not always, which delivers fuel to a pressure regulated filter which outputs fuel at the required pressure for the very high pressure pump on the engine. Fuel flow from the pump in the tank is in excess of that required and the filter includes a pressure relief valve which directs excess fuel back to the tank. I've seen it written that running fuel levels very low in these systems is not advisable as it impairs the ability of the fuel to act as a coolant. I very rarely run mine below the quarter mark.
 
About par. Summer tyres give 5mpg less than winter ones!
Summer tyres give less mpg, are you sure it's that way round

In general

In winter the engines colder for longer
Winter tyres should be designed to move around more to generate heat, softer compound with more rolling resistance

Summer tyres are normally harder rubber compound with less rolling resistance

Although different brands and models will no doubt blurry the lines


MPG normally alters between summer and winter, how much depends on journey type and how fast the blower fan is on at the beginning
 
@JoleePando I would also touch the wheels or brakes after a journey (brakes can be very hot).

If one is hotter than its opposite number, that tells you if a brake is binding.

Also check tyre pressures.

Even if you're doing short urban trips, 200 miles on a tank seems very low. I sometimes do a round trip of 350 miles on a tank in my 1.2

(35 litre tank = 7.7 gallons, so about 50mpg, which is what I've come to expect. My dash tells me I'm getting 60mpg+ average but it's lying.)
 
@JoleePando I would also touch the wheels or brakes after a journey (brakes can be very hot).

If one is hotter than its opposite number, that tells you if a brake is binding.

Also check tyre pressures.

Even if you're doing short urban trips, 200 miles on a tank seems very low. I sometimes do a round trip of 350 miles on a tank in my 1.2

(35 litre tank = 7.7 gallons, so about 50mpg, which is what I've come to expect. My dash tells me I'm getting 60mpg+ average but it's lying.)
By all means touch the wheels near the centre where they bolt to the hub and compare with the others - fronts will usually be hotter than rears. If a brake is binding significantly you'll immediately feel the difference in heat. I'd be a little - or maybe a lot! - reluctant to touch the face of a brake rotor or even a drum as you might get badly burned. I note you do mention this but people need to be aware that they may very well be "super hot" so hot enough that even a brief touch will burn you. (depending on how the brakes have been used but can be very hot after even quite moderate braking) Guess how I know!
 
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