My wife and I took delivery of a new 2011 Q7 TFSI S-Line (aka "Prestige") a month ago. Car is stunning to look at (inside and out) and wonderful to drive.

But it GUZZLES gas like it's got a "bad habit" - it's a gasoholic. Sure, I wasn't expecting Prius-like fuel consumption, but it's worse than our 9 year old ML500 (5L V8) that we sold to part-fund the new car.

I'm filling up the 20+ gallon tank ~1.5 times a week on average - that's well over $600 a month in gas, and of course well north of $6K a year. The TDI would've paid for itself within a couple of years, and I wouldn't have a frown on my face every time I filled it up.

We chose the TFSI based primarily on the stigma associated with Diesels (wife did NOT want a diesel for a variety of reasons previously cited on this board), but I now see no real-world benefits for the TFSI. The TDI is almost as quiet, doesn't emit black smoke and really is just about as fast when it matters (we're not doing a lot of 0-60 sprints, so the TFSI advantage is irrelevant, as is its top speed advantage).

I think we're averaging something like 12 MPG over a 1000 miles, with mostly suburban driving (school runs in hilly Atlanta). Lots of stopping and starting. Just ran up to the local ice cream place a couple of miles away for desert - overtook a car on the way there (don't normally do that), and that resulted in trip MPGs dropping from 14 to 9 point something.

I'm very, very disappointed with the gas consumption of this otherwise excellent vehicle. It doesn't get anywhere near the (flawed) advertised gas mileage.

Oh and... we took a 40 mile cruise to an amusement park on the weekend. Mostly highway, with cruise control set to between 65 and 75 mph. That resulted in a paltry 18 mpg. I was expecting something in the 20s.

This thing literally SUCKS (gas, that is).

That is all.

Oh - and one more thing - I "feel" like the 8-speed transmission is actually contributing to the terrible fuel consumption, but suspect that this line of thinking is not logical!

In "D" (not "S") this thing is a SLUG to drive - feels like its always in too high a gear, and stutters/hesitates when it suddenly gets "told" to move. That irritates to the point where you almost subconsciously press the gas pedal harder to spurn it into action. I wasn't expecting high performance, but I really am not a fan of the 8-speed transmission - way too unresponsive. "S" mode significantly improves responsiveness, but logicially would sacrifice mileage. Damned if you, damned if you don't....

So, aside from the gas mileage and drivetrain, I love this thing :)

how many miles are you getting from full tank to empty?

i have the 4.2 get roughly 225-230 mixed driving a well over 250 highway for a full tank of shell 93.

big engine less work? i dont know, but havent had any issues or complaints with the mpg although i knew exactly what i was getting into... i think C&D and edmunds estimated properly with an average of $4k a year in fuel costs for daily driver (15k miles a year)...

Your city daily driving figures aren't going to be any better in a TDi. At least not anything noticeable.

I average 18 mpg in city driving in the 2150 miles I've driven. About what I expected.

I just filled up my tank a few days ago after driving 300 miles. Took 15.8 gallons, MPG readout said 19.1. That was all local driving, mostly to work/back. My Q7 gets better MPG than the Mazda CX-9 it replaced.

The TDI is great IF you do a lot of highway cruising - it'll save you a packet on gas, yes.

The TDI however is still a fuel-hog for urban driving. Loads of stop-go gives the Big Q' a ferocious thirst, diesel or not - not surprising considering it weighs about as much as a small moon.

To be honest if fuel costs are a consideration, you probably should consider another car.

The TDI is great IF you do a lot of highway cruising - it'll save you a packet on gas, yes.

The TDI however is still a fuel-hog for urban driving. Loads of stop-go gives the Big Q' a ferocious thirst, diesel or not - not surprising considering it weighs about as much as a small moon.

To be honest if fuel costs are a consideration, you probably should consider another car.


Have about 8K miles on the TDI now and use it for my daily commuter of 60 miles round trip. have been averaging 600-630 per tank and have been VERY impressed with the mileage. If I drive locally I see this dip to 525-575....This is very good IMHO for such a heavy vehicle...Compared to my yukon that was getting 300 per tank I am more than thrilled.

Agree about the consumption in around town driving...Stop and go traffic, running errands, start and stopping will suck the fuel...Diesel included.

just awesome though to pull into the office and see that got 30mpg AVERAGE on my commute....Never could do this with gas.

Have over 1500 miles now on our '11 TFSI, and we aren't having the same amount of mpg trouble as the OP seems to have. Went from Full to warning light this past week with mixed highway and city and got North of 20 per.

Although we are nowhere near as metro as the ATL, city driving here in Tennessee results in about 17 per. I figure that as the engine becomes more "broken in" those numbers would actually get even better, so I am happy with what we've seen so far.

This is actually better than what we were experiencing with our '08 M35 Sport we traded in for the Q7

i have the 4.2 get roughly 225-230 mixed driving a well over 250 highway for a full tank of shell 93.

You need to get your foot out of it... :)

I always get 300 to 350 around town and with highway only 375 to 450 with my 4.2

nyc = worst traffic ever...

I'm seeing the 12 MPG or less with S-Line TFSI as well combined city/highway(80-90% city). Had a diesel loaner from the dealer when I took my car in for the thermostat recall. I was averaging 27 MPG on the highway and about 20 around town for the couple days I had it. I wasn't light on the pedal either. Really wish I had bought a TDI after having spent some time with the TFSI. On my current tank I have only driven 100 miles and it's down to half. The diesel was barely off of full with more mileage!

I bought a TDI Q7 because of the gas mileage issue. I used to own a Sequoia that got about 13 MPG during my drive to work which is mostly back roads and a lot of stop and go. I have put over 2000 miles on the TDI and am averaging about 25 MPG with mostly work driving. We took one trip on the highway one weekend and was easily averaging over 33 MPG.

I always here people say that if you buy the Q7 that gasoline should not be an issue for you because of the price, but I have to disagree. You can buy a large luxury car and have the great gas mileage to go with it. The price I pay for diesel is just a bit over regular gas, but always below the middle grade stuff, so I feel that I am getting the best of both worlds.

You need to get your foot out of it... :)

I always get 300 to 350 around town and with highway only 375 to 450 with my 4.2

I agree, 350 miles seems to be the magic number with mixed driving if I keep my foot out of it. 400+ miles per tank on the highway trips. Cruise control is your friend on the highway if your trying to get good mileage as just dipping your toe into the pedal will instantly drop the mpg significantly.

unfortunately with streets like this:

http://i.treehugger.com/images/2007/10/24/traffic_jam.jpg

you dont get to do much cruising... it took me quarter tank to from midtown to uptown and over an hour. again not complaining, as i stated earlier i am fairly pleased with the mileage i get out of the car, i am sure i could drive it better, but it is what it is.

I guess I should be happy with my 16-17 mpg avg. we get in our 2007 4.2.

Since day one we knew it would be a gas guzzler but planned accordingly on this when we bought the car 4 1/2 yrs. ago. It is about the same gas mileage we got out of our 1996 4Runner w/ the V6 and we still get about 21 - 22 mpg. on the open highway.

Wait for your motor to break in...your gas mileage will improve.

I have almost 22k miles on my 2010 Q7 TDI. I get 20-22 mpg around Atlanta and 26-27 mpg on the highway at 70-75 mph. That's about 500 miles on a tank full around town and 650-700 miles on a highway tank full.

After getting 16-17 mpg on premium gas with a 2010 V8 Cayenne, I'm very pleased! PS - Diesel is less expensive than premium gasoline, too.

I have no idea how you guys with V8s get 17-18 MPG. We have the 3.6 and are lucky to see 17. Granted it is mostly used by the wife for around town, but my wife is not exactly a lead foot. Typical tank averages 15-16.

As others have said, if you're concerned about mileage, a smaller vehicle or hybrid might be a better choice.

Jimbo

Not sure where everyone lives where their diesel is cheaper than the premium, but in my parts? I wish.

Diesel is always more expensive than the premium here; held my breath as I expected to see the $4.99/gal for diesel a few weeks back when gas prices were taking an alarming surge.

When I have to do any Manhattan driving, I tend to appreciate my four cylinder in the stop-and-go.

I have no idea how you guys with V8s get 17-18 MPG. We have the 3.6 and are lucky to see 17.

smaller engine working harder... its a 5000lb+ vehicles and you have an engine in it that originally designed for a passat. big difference.

I have no idea how you guys with V8s get 17-18 MPG. We have the 3.6 and are lucky to see 17. Granted it is mostly used by the wife for around town, but my wife is not exactly a lead foot. Typical tank averages 15-16.

As others have said, if you're concerned about mileage, a smaller vehicle or hybrid might be a better choice.

Jimbo

I have the V8 and get 15-17 around town and I drive it pretty hard...On the highway on long trips I avg. 18-20 mpg on cruise control mostly.

Prompted by my own thread, I decided to reset the tripometers in the car, and monitor consumption. I know these aren't 100% accurate, but per Audi my wife is seeing 14.7 MPG in-town - we live in the burbs, but she only uses it for school runs and shopping, so it's stuck in traffic a lot and driving slowly (avg speed is 18 mph!).

Again, I wasn't expecting amazing consumption, but the numbers to me are surprisingly low. I never used to care about this stuff - it's only because of its large tank that I've noticed. Spending over $100 a tank on gas makes you notice!

Yes, I do regret the TFSI and would, without any hesitation, get a TDI second time around. I could live with tatty/dirty pumps and slightly more clatter. Oh, and diesel now costs quite a bit less than gasoline - at least in Atlanta. Grrrr.

Of course my wife says she doesn't care, and would never want a diesel - so perhaps this is all a bit of a moot point. It is her car after all.

screw all this mpg talk, what are you getting from full to empty? complete tank, not guessing, not quarter tank... from a complete full tank to the light coming on.

I have noticed the TFSI (333) is a bit thirstier than the 3.6., maybe 1 or 2 mpg lower on longer runs. And a bit worse tah that around town. One thing I have noticed with the 8 speed transmission is that it spends a lot of time in 6. 7&8 appear to both be Overdrives and they only really kick in on freeway cruising. This is not immediately evident until you use the paddle shifts and it shows the selected gear in the dash display. Lots of times when I would have expected it to be running in 8, i have found it to be in 6., where the 3.6 would have gone to 6 of 6. Unlike the 3.6 it now does not show each gear selected automatically, it only shows D or S which seems a bit retrograde. The OP raises an interesting point about some of the hesitation/stutter on the 8 speed, it feels a bit like th transmission/ECU mapping is still in beta mode. Sometimes it feels almost like an old-style over-fueling. I was going to ask to have the Software reflashed or checked for current patches next time at the stealer.
Unlike the OP i do not find it to be a slug, even in D. In fact I am surprised at how rarely I even bother going to S, and I am sure not a light foot!. My normal commute to the airport takes me from 6500' over the pass 9500' and back down to 5000'and on the outbound I am seeing 18-20 (compared to 20-22). On the way home if it is a late night flight and I feel like attacking the mountain I have seen it down almost to single digits!!! but more commonly around 16 when the 3.6 was around 18-20 for the same trip. It is a whole lot more responsive and fun though! Especially now I have the 21s back on....

Still tight obviously at 2k miles but my suspicion is that the mapping is still not fully sorted to match the drive-train to the Q. Anyone know if there any TSBs out there

I have almost 22k miles on my 2010 Q7 TDI. I get 20-22 mpg around Atlanta and 26-27 mpg on the highway at 70-75 mph. That's about 500 miles on a tank full around town and 650-700 miles on a highway tank full.

After getting 16-17 mpg on premium gas with a 2010 V8 Cayenne, I'm very pleased! PS - Diesel is less expensive than premium gasoline, too.

Just asked the dealer - w/of offering what I was getting, the suggested I should be getting closer to 16-18 mpg on my route broken-in, while a diesel should get closer ro 20-22 mpg.

I say we put that to the test. DUTCH - you and I, driving our cars the exact same routes (highway and urban), with the electronics set to do the exact same thing, at the exact same time of day - one behind the other. I figure 10 miles of highway driving and 10 miles of suburban/urban driving should settle it! The gauntlet has been thrown down! :)

Seriously, though - has anyone ever done this? Strikes me that's the only way to get a true side-by-side comparison.

screw all this mpg talk, what are you getting from full to empty? complete tank, not guessing, not quarter tank... from a complete full tank to the light coming on.

About 10 miles :) Seriously, never cared enough to measure it properly, so don't know (yet). Will need to wait until the next tabk and reset the odometer.

seriously, i never really cared about any of this nonsense... i have owned several cars and mpg was never a factor in purchasing the car... however now with this being the hot button issue i am just curious how many miles people get per tank, not too concerned with mpg.

seriously, i never really cared about any of this nonsense... i have owned several cars and mpg was never a factor in purchasing the car... however now with this being the hot button issue i am just curious how many miles people get per tank, not too concerned with mpg.

I typically fill up at 1/2 tank mark...never less than 1/4...better on fuel pump that way, never run it to warning or empty!!! I calculate avg mpg the old fashion way...number of miles driven divided by number of gallons consumed, DONE!

So I cannot tell you what I get per tank but if I had to guess, I would say in the neighborhood of 385-450...that is why avg. mpg is a much more accurate number.

mileage per tank is more accurate in my opinion...

i usually fill up at quarter as well and at that point i am in the 65/70 miles area however from time to time i go to completely empty if i have techron in the tank or audi fuel additive then i can accurately see how many mpg i got because the audi calculation is hardly ever accurate.

seriously, i never really cared about any of this nonsense... i have owned several cars and mpg was never a factor in purchasing the car... however now with this being the hot button issue i am just curious how many miles people get per tank, not too concerned with mpg.

Already posted in one of my previous posts.

Oh - and one more thing - I "feel" like the 8-speed transmission is actually contributing to the terrible fuel consumption, but suspect that this line of thinking is not logical!

In "D" (not "S") this thing is a SLUG to drive - feels like its always in too high a gear, and stutters/hesitates when it suddenly gets "told" to move. That irritates to the point where you almost subconsciously press the gas pedal harder to spurn it into action. I wasn't expecting high performance, but I really am not a fan of the 8-speed transmission - way too unresponsive. "S" mode significantly improves responsiveness, but logicially would sacrifice mileage. Damned if you, damned if you don't....

So, aside from the gas mileage and drivetrain, I love this thing :)



I am having the same issue w/ the 8-speed transmission. It seems confused when slowing and accelerating in D-mode. Does this get better w/ time. I expected a smooth seemless gear change system and it is actually a bit irritating. I have the S-line prestige w/ 21" rims and the ride w/ air suspension is GREAT. I love everythig about this SUV except the transmission. I only have 125 miles on it so hoping it will loosen up....

Exactly...I learned my lesson years ago when I bought an older Jeep Wrangler. I went with the 4cyl. for gas mileage reasons. Found out that I got about the same gas mileage as the guys with the 6 cyl. were getting and I was down quite a bit on HP too.

A lot has to do with the type of vehicle. A 4 cyl. Honda Accord sees better gas mileage the the 6 cyl. version but they are low to the ground and relatively light vehicles and much easier than the Q7 to keep moving down the road. Being that the Q7 is a heavy rig and not really aerodynamic makes the 3.6L work harder to move it. The 4.2L works less hard to move it and you see that in the close mpg. figures seen.

Same kind of scenario with the Corvette...huge motor with gobs of HP and torque that gets in the high 20's on the freeway. Low aerodynamic car with an engine barely working to keep it moving equals pretty good gas mileage.

Not up here in the PNW...Diesel is still up there with premium. With that said...it is still the much better choice even with price that it is.

Of course my wife says she doesn't care, and would never want a diesel - so perhaps this is all a bit of a moot point. It is her car after all.

I think that's called "contempt prior to investigation".

She really ought to drive one before she makes such a radical statement.

unfortunately with streets like this:

http://i.treehugger.com/images/2007/10/24/traffic_jam.jpg

you dont get to do much cruising... it took me quarter tank to from midtown to uptown and over an hour. again not complaining, as i stated earlier i am fairly pleased with the mileage i get out of the car, i am sure i could drive it better, but it is what it is.

I drove a 14' cube truck around Manhattan and the boroughs for 2 years so I can relate. Your a brave man to drive the Q as a DD in Manhattan.

Hi, my Q7 TDi has about 6k miles logged now. Avg mpg is 23 in city and highway. Did Chicago - Denver and back with avg. 30 mpg. at 70mph. 700+ miles per tank. Had an outside temp in Winter Park, CO, at -40°F. Car was parked outside. First turn was rough, idled a bit ugly but after 10 seconds ran better and after a minute ran smooth. Diesel is 20 ct lower than reg here.
Would love an A3 two door with the German 2.0TDi 170HP quattro.
Drove that in Germany last month Phantastic car. Would race any Bimmer in the city.

I drove a 14' cube truck around Manhattan and the boroughs for 2 years so I can relate. Your a brave man to drive the Q as a DD in Manhattan.

i love it on the highway and on road trips... the car handles very well, pull strong, and can fit another audi inside it... i really have no complaints with the car outside of its weight... i think for the price tag audi could have used a bit more aluminum to shed a few more pounds.

Our 2011 tdi averages 24-25 in mixed driving. If it wasn't so fun to feel that low-rpm thrust I'd get more mpg I imagine. Plus I try sport mode more and more. I LOVE getting close to 600 miles a tank. Plenty of power, efficient, quiet and clean. I'm surprised that clean diesels (Audi, Mercedes, BMW) aren't more popular than they are here in the US. This is my 1st diesel ever and I'm more satisfied with it than any engine I've ever owned by far. Nothing against the gas q7s, I've never owned one of those. But I'm loving my tdi.

TDI wins every time. Sound is important... they are suprisingly quite for a diesel, but growls like a Gas V8, when you push the pedal.. I have a 4.2 TDI (yes i love to remind my americans buddies of their limited q7 Motor range.. :) ) ... so its even better.. :)