Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI Gas Mileage (MPG)
Unlike other fuel economy surveys, TrueDelta's Real-World Gas Mileage Survey includes questions about how and where a car was driven. So you can get an idea of the Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI's real-world MPG based on how and where you drive a car.
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Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI
Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI Gas Mileage
| Year | Body/Powertrain | flat, hilly, or mountainousLand | driving style: very light to "lead foot"Foot | A/C use: none to heavyA/C | constant stop and goTraf % | many stops per mileCity % | stop every mile or twoSub % | fairly steady speedHwy % | Hwy Spd | MPG |
| 2008 | 4dr Hatch 170-horsepower 2.5L I5 5-speed manual FWD |
hills | lead | none | 10 | 40 | 10 | 40 | 74 | 21.4 |
| mtns | med | none | 5 | 15 | 5 | 75 | 50 | 25.9 | ||
| flat | med | none | 21 | 23 | 26 | 31 | 68 | 23.5 | ||
| flat | med | none | 10 | 10 | 0 | 80 | 80 | 23.2 | ||
| flat | med | light | 10 | 10 | 0 | 80 | 80 | 22.2 | ||
| 2008 | 4dr Hatch 170-horsepower 2.5L I5 5-speed manual FWD |
hills | med | none | 11 | 20 | 8 | 61 | 70 | 23.2 |
| Averages | hills | med | none | 11 | 20 | 8 | 61 | 70 | 23.2 | |
| With the 170-horsepower 2.5L I5 engine, 5-speed manual transmission, and front-wheel drive, 2008 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI fuel economy has been averaging
23.2 MPG (miles per gallon). The 2008 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTIs in this analysis were driven mostly on the highway at an average speed of 70 miles per hour (about 61 percent of the miles driven). The rest of the miles were in the city (20 percent), in heavy traffic (11 percent), and in the suburbs (8 percent). In addition the average 2008 Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI in this analysis was driven on hilly terrain with a medium foot and the AC not used at all. |
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What Our Members Are Saying about the Real Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI MPG
| Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI Fuel Economy: Pros | ||
| Year | Body/Powertrain | Comment |
| 2013 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 140hp 2.0L I4 Diesel 6-speed manual FWD |
The Golf TDI easily beats the Honda in fuel economy, while giving up little in performance. We just took at trip in the TDI and averaged 48.8mpg. The Honda V6 is very efficient, but can't compare. |
| 2013 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 140hp 2.0L I4 Diesel 6-speed manual FWD |
Hard to argue with 40+ miles per gallon (and we are getting better than that on some tanks). Just took at 1500 mile road trip and averaged 50.8mpg. Diesel is currently cheaper than premium too. The Golf R is EPA rated for 24mpg but less if driven hard. Update: after 3 months 5,000mi getting 44 mpg combined. |
| 2011 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 140hp 2.0L I4 Diesel 6-speed automated manual FWD |
Averaging 40 mpg. |
| 2011 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 140hp 2.0L I4 Diesel 6-speed automated manual FWD |
Averaging 40 mpg over the first 200 miles. Online reports indicate this will go up as engine accumulates miles and breaks in. |
| 2011 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 140hp 2.0L I4 Diesel 6-speed automated manual FWD |
I have only had this car for one day, but I put 150 miles on it yesterday and averaged 40 mpg in mixed city/hwy driving. |
| 2010 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 140hp 2.0L I4 Diesel 6-speed manual FWD |
I average 43mpg in a little over half highway driving. I get 55mpg on the highway and about 35mpg in city driving. This is very impressive considering this car's performance. |
| 2010 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed manual FWD |
So far averaging 25mpg with spirited mix of city (65%) and hwy (35%) driving. Great fuel economy even for a fast turbo charged car. |
| 2010 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed manual FWD |
I get 30 easily driving it 50/50 city and highway, and not being particularly hard on it (but not beating it either). |
| 2010 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed automated manual FWD |
Among similar "hot hatch" models, the GTI gets the best fuel economy by 5-10 mpg. |
| 2010 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed manual FWD |
I like the gearing of the 6-speed and the high-way economy of 31+ mpg. |
| 2008 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed manual FWD |
24-27MPG 50% freeway, 50% traffic |
| 2008 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed manual FWD |
Best combination of acceleration and mpg. Routinely get 29-30mpg overall,as high as 36 on highway. Amazing for 200hp. |
| 2008 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed automated manual FWD |
Averaging 27.7 mpg in mixed, spirited driving. Good mix of turbocharged power and 4 cylinder economy. |
| 2008 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed manual FWD |
Gives 27-30mpg when driven aggressively at intersyate speeds, 32-38mpg with conservative driving, even with mid-grade gasoline. |
| 2007 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed automated manual FWD |
350 miles to a tank. I drive mostly on the highway. |
| 2007 | 2dr Hatch 150-horsepower 2.5L I5 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD |
25 in town, 31+ on the highway! |
| 2007 | 2dr Hatch 150-horsepower 2.5L I5 5-speed manual FWD |
Decent economy. Only cars w/ better mileage would have been slugs to drive. |
| 2007 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed manual FWD |
High Perfomance car and still get 32MPG on the HWY and 25-27MPG in the city!!enough said. |
| 2007 | 2dr Hatch 150-horsepower 2.5L I5 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD |
Decent, takes regular fuel. |
| 2007 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed manual FWD |
I get around ~25-26 MPG on my daily commute (12 miles, about 45 minutes drive time) and I have averaged over 32 MPG on long highway trips. |
| 2006 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 100hp 1.9L I4 Diesel 5-speed shiftable automatic FWD |
Diesel fuel economy. |
| 2006 | 4dr Hatch 115-horsepower 2.0L I4 4-speed automatic FWD |
Excellent return with a higher than normal gas economy. This factor made the other deficiencies easy to overlook. |
| 2006 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 100hp 1.9L I4 Diesel 5-speed manual FWD |
38-40 mpg city, 45-50 mpg highway. |
| 2005 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 180hp 1.8L I4 5-speed manual FWD |
mpg @ 80 mph = 31 mpg @ 65 mph = 36 mpg around town = 25 |
| 2003 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 90hp 1.9L I4 Diesel 5-speed manual FWD |
Consistently good city fuel economy. Highway economy varies by how fast you want to get there. |
| 2003 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 180hp 1.8L I4 5-speed manual FWD |
It get around 26mpg pretty consistently. |
| 2002 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 180hp 1.8L I4 5-speed manual FWD |
While being a quick and powerful motor it still delivers up to 32 MPG on the highway. Even when driven spirited atleast 20MPG will be seen. |
| 2002 | 2dr Hatch turbocharged 90hp 1.9L I4 Diesel 5-speed manual FWD |
39-41 mpg in city 49-54 mpg on highway |
| 2002 | 4dr Hatch 115-horsepower 2.0L I4 5-speed manual FWD |
Decent real fuel economy. Mine got about 21 mpg in 100% San Francisco hills city driving. About 26 mpg for long trips with average speed more than 80 mph. About 29-30 mpg for 67-72 mph trips and combination of suburb and highway driving |
| Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI Fuel Economy: Cons | ||
| Year | Body/Powertrain | Comment |
| 2013 | 4dr Hatch 170-horsepower 2.5L I5 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD |
In this day and age, this particular engine should have been able to have an overall fuel consumption figure of 28 to 30 mpg rather than 24 to 25 mpg combined. (its geared more towards performance rather than economy). The car is definitely no slouch, and acceleration is quite good. But in terms of fuel economy these days, having your cake and eating it too is a given isn't it? One saving grace is that this is VW's most reliable engine, so being able to drive a German engineered affordable substantial vehicle is a worthy trade off. At least, that's the excuse i used. |
| 2012 | 2dr Hatch 170-horsepower 2.5L I5 5-speed manual FWD |
Honestly, this isn't terrible - I do a lot of highway driving and my trip computer has registered up to about 40 mpg (which may be optimistic, but its usually closer to 35). This is the (admittedly small) price you pay for a five-cylinder engine with lots of torque and great top-gear acceleration. In light of the exaggerations other small-car makers have promulgated lately, the Golf doesn't look horrible. But it does make fuel economy numbers that would've been good five years ago, and it's easy to do better now. There is no comparison to a hybrid or a diesel, for sure (but these all cost at least 5K more). |
| 2009 | 2dr Hatch 170-horsepower 2.5L I5 5-speed manual FWD |
Does not get very good gas mileage. 20-21mpg? The fuel map has weird cutoff points and the stock intake system has a HUGE delay + drive by wire delay |
| 2009 | 2dr Hatch 170-horsepower 2.5L I5 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD |
I avg about 25/26 mostly hwy/I understand with the bigger motor less economy but low compared to others in this category/ but if speed is what your after this may be for you its faster than most in this category . |
| 2008 | 2dr Hatch 170-horsepower 2.5L I5 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD |
I only get about 23-26mpg, even on long highway trips. The EPA rating for highway is 29 and I struggle to even come close. |
| 2008 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed automated manual FWD |
The economy is OK for a sporty car, but it requires premium fuel for best performance. A sacrifice I am willlng to live with. |
| 2008 | 4dr Hatch 170-horsepower 2.5L I5 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD |
averaging about 7 l/100 km, shuld be better on the highway |
| 2008 | 2dr Hatch 250-horsepower 3.2L V6 6-speed automated manual AWD |
18 city 23 highway is nothing to brag about considering it only has 250hp w/ 6 gears. It has drastically improved since covering 2k miles; last tank was well over 25mpg in mixed driving. Weight of AWD, stong winds, and stop/go kill the mileage. |
| 2007 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed automated manual FWD |
In highly mixed driving (aggressive, city, relaxed, highway) I only manage 20 mpg on a good day. More often than not I only can get 18. |
| 2007 | 2dr Hatch 150-horsepower 2.5L I5 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD |
4 cylinder performance with 6 cylinder fuel economy |
| 2007 | 4dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed automated manual FWD |
requires premium gas. |
| 2004 | 2dr Hatch 240-horsepower 3.2L V6 6-speed manual AWD |
The car is quite powerful, but heavy. Gas mileage is more in line with larger performance sedans than other compact hatchbacks. |
