Is there a lot of difference between the mpg on the 1.5 vs an S3 when driving normally on a commute etc? I’ve come from a focus diesel to an S3 so the mpg is quite a lot worse but just wondering how it compares to a normal 1.5 a3?
1.5 s tronic mpg vs S3 mpg
- Thread starter Jason1987
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I have a 1.5 S-Tronic A3. After about 3 years and 17k miles I see an average of 42 mpg (tracked using the Road Trip app).
(I have a short commute of only a couple of miles, so those who do longer journeys will be doing better.)
For my S3 mpg, it can be as low at 15mpg for a 2 mile round trip to school, average around 30mph on slightly longer journeys e.g. 15 miles. On the Motorway, with the cruise control set to 75mph, the car will do about 39mpg.
My long term since I’ve had the car is 26. My drive to work is lots of traffic so I only get about 20mpg and 270 miles out of a full tank
My long term is 35 mpg, lots of short trips and also two winters and just one summer behind, which distorts the average at the moment. I think my previous car did 41 mpg long term. Some longer b road trips were 55 mpg at best.
I feel the 1,5 offers pretty decent performance to efficiency ratio. The S3 performance is tempting but I couldn't live with that mpg, especially while you can't really get much joy of performance on our crappy roads and overly patronizing speed limit system.
I feel the 1,5 offers pretty decent performance to efficiency ratio. The S3 performance is tempting but I couldn't live with that mpg, especially while you can't really get much joy of performance on our crappy roads and overly patronizing speed limit system.
For me, I don't get hung up on mpg, it's a small part of the overall costs vs chasing a extra 10mpg. The S3s expected residuals seem noticeably better (in the UkK at least - might not apply in Finland) - mine has a £43.5k RRP, I paid about £38k for it and the GFV used as a guide suggests it'll be worth at least £27k after 3 years in p/x. I'm happy with those figures as the car is owned outright (got the car on finance to grab the deposit contribution and settled immediately). Sometimes the lesser spec car costs more per month due to weaker residuals. When I got my MK7 Golf GTD in 2013, the 150ps GT cost about £90pm than the GTD due to residuals.
My wife’s has averaged 26mpg in the 10,000 miles it’s done since she got from new so your looks to be in the right ball park. It will never complete with a Diesel, even my S5 averages 36mpg even though it has a bigger engine and is a heavier carMy long term since I’ve had the car is 26. My drive to work is lots of traffic so I only get about 20mpg and 270 miles out of a full tank
I find it quite hard to calculate the whole cost of having a car in that way. I think the residuals here are more uncertain than in UK. Also the price gap between the A3 35TFSI and S3 in Finland is double the one you seem to have. Thus the S3 is quite a rare car here which makes it harder to resell, so the residual value might be quite disappointing.
Back to the original topic - curious what average long term mph figures do you have, compared to the mpg's? Mine's 27 mph with 35 mpg (43 km/h and 6,7 l/100 km.)
Are S3s rare in Finland because people won't pay the extra, or really want the extra mpg? It's all supply and demand - if the demand is there then used prices remain strong. In the UK, after a brief boom in EV sales in 2021/22, they are flatlining for private sales, and as a result, used prices for those are really low as supply exceeds demand.
My long term mpg is probably around 32mpg, but I only do 2 types of driving -
1. Really short school run journeys, 2 mile round trip, and get about 16mpg.
For shorter family trips we have a Cupra Born (wife's car) with cheap home charging.
2. Every 4 weeks I do a 480 mile round trip on the motorway, and get 37-40mpg doing a constant 75mph.
All in its about 32mpg.
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I guess a bit of both, but more the car price. We have pretty serious emission taxes here, which make the S3-like cars pricey and unjustified to buy with any logic. The calculations simply look too much worse than the one you did. You just have to want one, and most people rather want a bigger car that consumes less than a smallish fast car that's also costly to run.
