My Virtus GT manual's fuel efficiency on a 450 km trip made me happy

This is another strength of manual transmission over DSG. If you want, it can give you phenomenal fuel economy and great acceleration as well.

BHPian CoconutCar recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello,

I have a quick update. I went on a 450 km trip recently. The fuel economy made me happy.

How did I achieve this?

I reached comfortable cruising speed, put it at cruise control and in 6th gear, as mine is an MT. 2 cylinder mode is smooth and it got activated.

This, in my opinion, is the understated feature of 1.5 TSI. If you want, it can give you phenomenal fuel economy, and great acceleration as well.

The 2-cylinder gets activated even at 110 km/h. This is another strength of MT over DSG. In DSG 1.5, people will struggle to get 2-cylinder activated, as the transmission is automatic. In MT, it's in your hand.

The ACT is not linked to speed but to RPM. Around 1800-2000 rpm is the region it gets activated. Try to keep your car there.

It's a beautiful engine, and I am glad I bought the MT. I was afraid of going against the grain as most GT/GT+ are DSGs.

Currently, I am running-in the engine with utmost care. Manual states, to keep it lower than half of the rev range. So not revving it over 3.5k

Dislikes

• The window motors are whiney and could be faster.
• The digital cluster is an information overload for me. I don't like it. I like simple clusters. I miss Fiesta's cockpit. I would prefer the analogue-digital dial of lower variants. Don't get me wrong. It's not bad. It's smooth, bright, everything is great. I just prefer simplicity.
• The start-stop is aggressive. Will have to get used to it.
• I am unable to figure out how to switch off the AC.
• AC controls are not intuitive.
• Tyre pressure warning without reason. Made a fool of myself on the highway.

Here's what BHPian shiv4747 had to say about the matter:

True, ACT activates even when it is at high speeds when we are soft on the A pedal. One thing I am so glad about is the 1.5 engine.

Regarding turning off the AC, slightly long-press the (-) of the AC fan speed. It will turn off. I usually turn it off before I kill the engine.

Hope it helps. Happy miles ahead.

Here's what BHPian audioholic had to say about the matter:

That is not the case, even in the DSG as long as you have a light foot on the throttle it quickly goes into 2-cylinder mode irrespective of gear and speed. The key to getting good FE in this car is to maintain a steady speed, even if it's on the higher side i.e. 100-120 also. Frequent acceleration is the biggest hit factor to FE.

Here's what BHPian CoconutCar replied:

In the MT, the car will not go into 2 Cylinder mode if cruising at 70 kmph in 6th gear. But when changed to 5th at 70, as RPM increases slightly, it goes into 2 Cylinder mode.

On the other hand, cruising at 90 in 3rd gear, again, does not activate the ACT but doing so in 5th activates the ACT. I usually take the car to 80-90 in 3rd, and then shift directly to 6th to activate ACT. This observation is for MT.

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