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Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI Fuel Economy Data

4dr Hatch turbocharged 90hp 1.9L I4 Diesel 5-sp manual FWD

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
hills v.lt none 8 21 21 50 60 46.000

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TrueDelta Reviews the Real Gas Mileage of the Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI

Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI Real Gas Mileage: Pros
YearComment
2016 Compared to a crossover, a wagon should also go farther on a gallon of gas, especially on the highway, as it has a smaller frontal area to propel through the atmosphere. In the EPA's tests, the Mazda CX-5 (with front-wheel-drive) managed to slightly outscore the Volkswagen Golf SportsWagen, 26 to 25 mpg. But the GSW fares better in the highway test, 35 vs. 33 mpg. In my real-world suburban driving, I had a much easier time getting the trip computer average over 30 mpg in the Volkswagen, and occasionally even nudged it to 40. In a couple of 70-mph highway drives the VW averaged 37 mpg, a little better than its EPA rating. The CX-5's trip computer averages were usually in the mid-20s, and sometimes in the upper 20s, but rarely got to 30. Granted, the tested CX-5 had all-wheel-drive, which likely cost it a couple mpg (24/30 in the EPA tests). Fuel economy will also vary more with driving style in the VW, with its smaller (1.8-liter vs. 2.5-liter) but turbocharged engine. By nature turbocharged engines use less fuel when driven with a light foot, but will literally force feed themselves when asked to do so. Drive the Golf SportWagen con brio, and the trip computer average will plummet below 25. Whether you get 25 mpg or 35 mpg in the suburbs in this car really is up to you. Experimenting with various styles of driving--for science--I averaged 27.8 for the entire week. The GSW's predecessor, the Jetta SportWagen, was powered by an engine more similiar in specification to the Mazda's, a normally aspirated 2.5 (albeit with this displacement spread over five cylinders rather than four). In the EPA's tests it managed only 23/30. Overall, both the Volkswagen and the Mazda get excellent fuel economy for vehicles with their combination of cargo hauling capacity and performance, but the VW's lesser frontal area and smaller engine give it more upside potential. For those desiring even better fuel economy, the Golf SportWagen used to be available with a 31/42-rated diesel engine. You've probably heard why the TDI is no longer available. While the 1.8T engine can't match the now verboten diesel's combination of low-end torque and fuel efficiency, you'll be hard-pressed to find a gasoline engine in an affordable compact that comes closer. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
 

What Our Members Are Saying about the Real Gas Mileage of the Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI

Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI Real Gas Mileage: Pros
YearBody/PowertrainComment
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
2012 4dr Hatch turbocharged 170hp 2.0L I4 Diesel
6-speed manual FWD		 I'm averaging in the mid to upper 40 mpg (around 4.9 l/100 km) range combined, with about 70% of my driving on the highway. Quite satisfied. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
2011 4dr Hatch turbocharged 140hp 2.0L I4 Diesel
6-speed automated manual FWD		 Averaging 40 mpg. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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). see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI Real Gas Mileage: Cons
YearBody/PowertrainComment
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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). see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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 . see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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 see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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 see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
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. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
2007 4dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4
6-speed automated manual FWD		 requires premium gas. see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
2007 2dr Hatch 150-horsepower 2.5L I5
6-speed shiftable automatic FWD		 4 cylinder performance with 6 cylinder fuel economy see full Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI review
 

2000 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.