Managed to get a staggering 34 km/L mileage from my Passat: Here's how

The speed I decided to maintain for the majority of the trip was 70km/h, since that would have the engine almost idling in 6th gear.

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My household's VW Passat B8 was closing in to cross 100k, so I thought what better way to fly past that milestone than having my first go at Hypermiling!

For those who may not be aware, hypermiling is referred to a driving style wherein you drive extremely sedately and sacrificing on certain creature comforts to attain a very good mileage: Upto 70% more than claimed FE.

With the basics out of the way, let's get to the good part, the drive!

My journey was from Kothrud, Pune, to Kharghar, Navi Mumbai; It usually takes around 2hr15mins with Traffic and is around 120kms of driving. The usual mileage I get on this route is ~20kmpl.

On 15th July 2024, at 10PM, I commenced my drive back to Kharghar. The first thing I did was switch the driving mode to ECO. On a Passat B8, switching the car to this mode changes the shift points of the gearbox significantly to keep the revs below 1900RPM all the time. Additionally, it also enables eco coasting, which basically slots the gearbox into neutral when you let go of the accelerator pedal. ECO mode would also reduce the air conditioning power, but I had turned off the AC completely since the weather was quite decent.

The speed I decided to maintain for the majority of the trip was 70km/h, since that would have the engine almost idling in 6th gear. The coasting function was used to its full potential. By the time I reached Hinjewadi, average consumption was already at an ungodly 26kmpl! However, there was a slight congestion (as usual) and that briefly dropped it to 24kmpl. After that stretch, rest of the journey did not have a single traffic congestion, and that really helped with the final mileage.

Since I was driving/coasting at a leisurely pace in the middle lane of the expressway, I really didn't have to slow down for any vehicle nor did I have the urge to overtake any vehicle; Unnecessary acceleration is by far the biggest contributor towards a worse FE.

I hit the 100k milestone just before the ghat section, and had an average consumption of 28kmpl.

I had to "turn off" the coasting mode in the ghat section for obvious safety reasons. If your VAG car also has an ECO mode, and want to temporarily disable the coasting mode, all you have to do is the let go of the accelerator and tap the brake once, the gearbox then selects a speed appropriate gear.

Ghat section was a messiah for my FE, for we were clocking a staggering 34kmpl! Seeing a 170hp sedan which is capable of cruising at 200km/h all day also give a mileage of 30kmpl+ felt/feels surreal for sure.

I didn't stop at the food mall, and continued all the way till Kharghar, where my indicated consumption was at 36kmpl. The average once again dropped by the time I reached home to a still unreal 35.5kmpl.

Even though I drove the way I did, I managed to complete the journey in 2 hours.

Attached below are the few pictures I clicked of the driving data. The second image was clicked the next day before starting another journey. Cheers!

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