Ah, vacation is over but we put a bunch of miles on the A4 Avant, 1,467 to be precise. Over those miles, the A4 (EPA rated at 21 mpg City / 27 Hwy / 23 Comb) earned 25.1 mpg average. The worst tank was 20.0 mpg and the best tank returned 28.3 mpg. Seems the "new" method the EPA uses to predict fuel economy is far more applicable than the pre-2008 way.
By the way, we found a terrific highway between Hwy 1 in Cambira and Hwy 101 in Paso Robles. It's called Green Valley road (or Hwy 46) and it bends and rises from sea level up to about 1,000 feet and the views as the terrain changes from rolling hills dotted with small ranches to arid wine country is stunning.
Chief Road Test Editor, Chris Walton @ 22,060 miles
thejohnp says:
08:56 AM, 01/ 4/10
Maybe my expectation are skewed from driving small, efficient econoboxes, but 25.1 is good mpg, but not what I'd consider remarkable.
cwalton1 says:
09:27 AM, 01/ 4/10
I negelected to mentioned the A4 Avant wagon runs 0-60 in 6.4 seconds (6.0 sec with that magazine-style cheater 1-ft rollout), stops from 60 mph in just 103 feet, circles the skidpad with 0.90g, and goes through the slalom at 69 mph. You'd have a tough time finding numbers like that in a performance coupe or sedan, much less a WAGON that can earn close to 30 mpg on the highway. Just sayin.
-CW
bc1960 says:
10:01 AM, 01/ 4/10
Plus, don't forget the in the USA the A4 Avant is only available saddled with AWD, although it apears to lose only 1 mpg compared to a FWD 2009 A3 with the same powertrain. But 2010 VW GTIs and Jetta Wolfsburgs are rated 24/32, and 2010 VW CCs rated 22/31 with the same engine. Different transmission calibrations, maybe?--the 2010 A3 didn't similarly improve.
despy1 says:
10:49 AM, 01/ 4/10
I know and love HWY 46. Ended up driving it many times from the (not-so) scenic San Joaquin Valley over to the coast. Best times were with a Mazda MX-6 and later with my 2000 Jetta 1.8T.
autoboy16 says:
11:21 AM, 01/ 4/10
For some reason, reading this got me slightly angry.... I'm getting about the same mpg in my 1.8T bug.... Not to mention its lighter and FWD when compared to the A4 Avant..... I almost feel cheated!
One big question remains. Does this car rev high at speed? At 80mph, my car is reving at 4,000rpm... I think thats why my mpg isn't so great.
DLu says:
01:00 PM, 01/ 4/10
I test drove one, was NOT impressed with the coarseness of the 4-cyl. Every other car considered to be its competitor that I have driven, the CTS, the 328, and the G37x all have a more refined powertrain.
Even though I have not driven one, I think the bigger brother, the A6 3.0T (+/- Avant trim) is much more remarkable on paper, in terms of its combination of power delivery and fuel economy. If they ever bring over the S4 Avant, I am sure it will be even more remarkable. ;)
I get 22 mpg in heavy-footed mixed traffic in the G37x, 24 if I drive about 75% highway. This is not a fair comparison, but 25 mpg average seems to me to qualify as "very good," not "remarkable" in a coarse 4-banger with a deficit of 100+ hp (right, only 10 lb-ft less torque but about a second slower to 60).
despy1 says:
01:42 PM, 01/ 4/10
Oh, and to comment on the MPG... My "old" 2000 Jetta 1.8T got a consistent 33mpg on the highway with what is basically the earlier, smaller version of the same engine. I guess boring it out, adding quattro, and adding more weight really does this engine a disservice. Unfortunately it did not sound very nice. It wasn't rough, just wimpy sounding. The exception of course was the very audible turbo whine!
desmolicious says:
01:58 PM, 01/ 4/10
I do not agree with the 'remarkable' fuel economy statement.
My 2006 BMW 330i would get 30-32mpg on long trips. It is faster and more powerful than the A4 2.0
bc1960 says:
02:53 PM, 01/ 4/10
On fuel economy you need to be at least comparing within the apple family, and the Jetta 1.8T is estimated 19/27 using current EPA tests. Since the 2010 Jetta 2.0T is estimated 32 mpg on the highway cycle, it should easily surpass 33 mpg in sustained highway driving (more time in top gear than the cycle) as long as you aren't too leadfooted. I would be disappointed if it couldn't break 35, and would not be surprised if some people get higher even before getting into hypermiling techniques.
clarkma5 says:
06:01 PM, 01/ 4/10
Highway 46 between 1 and 101 is the most boring road in that entire area...still nice (all the roads are) but you can do a lot better.
equ says:
11:38 AM, 01/ 6/10
My new a4 2.0T q 6MT is rated 22/30 and we regularly get 26-30 in mixed driving. In fact I followed up on an earlier blog entry wondering why the edmunds car averages so much worse than mine.
The engine doesn't sound coarse. It's not a wonderful porsche or ferrari sound, but it is very quiet and not rough at all, it also feels stronger than its hp rating, perhaps due to torque or due to actual sneaky underrating. Every other car I've owned has been 6 or 8-cylinder, and I've had some famous engines, this does not feel off, but it does feel/sound worse with a tiptronic. Smoother with a manual. It's geared very tall and the torque is somewhat narrow and early so it took me a while to figure this car out after being used to porsches and bmws.
My last car was a 330i 6MT, also a great car, and I managed 30mpg's once (maine to NYC, usually at 75mph), the new a4 would get 33-34 in that kind of drive. It gets 20-22 in traffic, my 330i, while awesome in the highway, easily dipped into the 14-16 range in traffic. It was a sweet, sweet engine though. Needed awd, and the xi doesn't come with a sport suspension so I went to an audi.