Driving Economically - Volkswagen Transporter Instruction Manual

Driving tips
Driving economically
The technical conditions for economy are built into your vehicle at
the factory. The engine is adjusted to use the minimum amount of
fuel. It is now up to you to maintain the properties obtained by mod­
ern technology: If you have your vehicle serviced in a VAG work ­
shop at the intervals laid down in the Service Schedule you will ob­
tain optimal economy plus constant reliability and long service life.
Economical vehicle operation naturally depends to a large extent on
your personal style of driving.
Anyone who wishes to drive as economically as possible, which
means keeping fuel consumption and tyre and brake lining wear to a
minimum, should avoid high speeds and full throttle acceleration and
always drive in a smooth controlled manner.
In addition, however, it is essential to bear in mind that the individual
conditions in which the vehicle is operating also affect the fuel con ­
sumption and these factors cannot be influenced to any extent by the
driver. Factors which are unfavourable to fuel consumption are for
example:
• The density of traffic, particularly city traffic with numerous traffic
lights.
• Stop-start operation which involves driving short distances with
frequent stops so that engine is continually cooling down and
warming up.
• Condition of road surface, particularly loose sand and snow.
• Driving in long colums of vehicles in low gear with a relatively high
engine speed (in relation to distance covered).
A low fuel consumption is obtained when driving for long distances
with hardly any stops at a medium speed and with medium engine
speed. At a reasonable speed on a motorway it is possible to obtain
consumption figures which are below the specifications.
Engine oil consumption is also largely dependent on the way you
drive, i.e. on engine load and engine speed. Depending on the way
you drive the oil consumption can be up to 1.4 litres per 1000 km
(4 pints per 1000 miles).
It is well-know that a new engine does not give its most favourable oil
consumption until after a certain period of operation. Because of this,
oil consumption cannot be judged accurately until after about 5000
km. Up to then the consumption may be somewhat higher than indi ­
cated in the previous paragraph.
It will be apparent that optimum performance of the vehicle and op­
timum economy are closely linked.
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