eejimm

Seen lots of posts here and on other forums about bad gas mileage people get with their C5 A6's, so I thought I'd do a fairly controlled test on a trip I took this weekend.
Specs - 2001 A6 2.7t 6speed Quatro w/ standard wheels/tires. 218,000 miles on odo
Trip - Denver CO to Santa Fe, NM and back

Filled up car at local station, 93 oct , reset trip odometer, dash mileage.

Left Parker CO (south of Denver) to I-25, then south to Santa Fe. All highway, cruise control set to 75-80 mph. A little traffic and construction, but mostly just goin...
In SantaFe, probably drove 50 miles around town, up to ski-basin (9000 ft. altitude, winding mountain road, boy is Quatro scary-fast...) traffic in town (lots of tourists).

Filled up 93 oct before leaving Sunday morning, went back via US-285 through Espanola, Taos, Ft Garland, San Luis. Walsenberg - 2 lane highway mostly, except wild twisting road along Rio Grande Gorge, kept to around 60 in NM, 65-70 in Colorado. Lots of elevation changes, several mountain passes. No cruise control (too much fun). I-25 from Walsenberg to Colorado Springs, then CO-83 from Springs to Parker - 2 lane, maybe 55 avg. So maybe 60 miles on interstate, the rest rural highways.

Filled up at same station / pump this AM (same time as first fill-up too)

Total miles - 746
Total fuel used - 30.06 gal
Math - 24.81 mpg

The cluster mpg computer says the average was 27mpg. I figured it would be off, but I guess 8% isn't too bad...

I'm going to continue this for the next few weeks to see what I get around town.
Jim

Just Me

I just did a trip too. I don't recall the exact mileage and fuel used, but i calculated it at the station. Filled up when i left and when i was home. It was nearly exactly 200 miles (197?), from Florham Park, NJ to Hawley PA and back.

Route: I-80 @ ~ 70-75 and a bunch of secondary roads (209, 402, 6, dumpy far roads) at 40-60.

S6 with roof cross-bars on. 82k miles. Large dog in back ( does that matter?). 245-50-16 ties (which means i did 2.5% better than calculated....). 19 mpg. Computer nearly agreed.

G

clancy

Jim, I live near Conifer. I've gone south on 285 to Santa Fe to Abq many times. Besides being a beautiful and fun driving road trip it also nets great gas mileage. Last time was in a 98 A6 2.8 tip. Drove much above the limits most of the time and still averaged 27mpg. Same car only averaged 21mpg in normal Conifer to Denver driving. Same car driving East to Chicago on I80 only averaged 21mpg. Should have been better since no curves and continuous speed. Granted above limit, but no braking.

Now driving a 2001 A6 2.7 tip with MTM basic chip. Much more fun. This one averages 20mpg driving in the hills (live at 8500) and to Denver. Trips to Chicago are no better, 20mpg.

I've recorded manually miles driven and gas consumed for years. These numbers are over tens of thousands of miles. The 2.7 gets 20mpg consistently. Drops about 1 to 1.5mpg with the winter blends. Or, if I put my foot in it. Or if I stay in the hills on local roads. I am a pretty conservative driver, usually above the limit but not jerky. I only push the turbos occasionally. I don't see 20mpg as too bad considering the elevation. But I am surprised that my infrequent trips to the flats (under 1000 ft elevation) do not net much better mileage. I keep the car in good repair, no codes except the torque converter lock up is out 90% of the time.

We also have a 2000 A6 2.7 tip that averages about 21.5mpg. Not much different. Lock up works fine, no chip.

Danomatic93

I have a 2000 A6 Quattro, 2.8L Automatic, and I get 24.5 mpg consistantly with mostly highway driving at 65 mph. I commute 90 miles a day.

Just Me

For the record, my computer is normally about 1 mpg optimistic. It appears to be more inaccurate in local driving.

G

RMsALFA

Little bit worse then what I get in the flatlands (of course), but not much.

Interstate cruising at 70-75 MPH with little traffic = 28 avg
Suburban/county road mix = 25 avg

Around here, we're required to use oxygenated gasoline which knocks mileage back almost 10%. With A/C on, it drops another 5-8%. I only have a shade over 110,000 miles on mine. I'd say yours is running very well.

Just Me

observation on aero drag and economy.....

I took the cross-bars (thule roof rack) off my S6 for the first time in several years. Highway (including rural B roads driven at 50-60 mph) mileage improved immediately by 1-1.5 mpg.

Expensive convenience if you are nto using them.

G

Jim Will

Took a trip from NJ to SC last month.

703 miles, 9hr 25min door to door (with half hour lunch break)

74 mph average (including rest stop)

Averaged 22mpg with cruising speed between 80-85 mph

AMS Stage 5 234,000 miles