4.0 l/100km in Skoda Fabia Combi TDi

Today we're not talking about computers. Well, maybe just a little. But not in developer's kind of way but more like a consumer. You know? The kind of person that actually buys the stuff you created :)

So it all started on a gas station as I needed to pump some gas into my car's tank as I was running dangerously near the big far E letter. With 5.09 PLN a liter it was just just crazy so I decided to get only as little as I need to get home plus some extra in case of trouble. My car usually takes around 5l/100km, this is a 125-ish kilometer distance so I tanked for 50.03 PLN and was on my way home from work.

The traffic was as it is usually around 5pm in the slowest town in Poland. So it took me around 15 minutes to get through the worst 2km. What I noticed was an unusually low usage (around 7.9l/100km) on my on-board computer. I mean for such traffic conditions with and a cold diesel engine. This was the moment I decided to see how low can I go on the gas usage.

This time I drove precisely according to rules. 50km/h in town (or 40 when the signs said so), 90km/h outside of towns. By the time I reached 90th kilometer my usage dropped to 4.1 l/100km so it was already my personal record.

After going through small cities I finally arrive at a point where I joined the A4. Normally I'm a "pedal to the metal" kind of guy but not this time. I followed a truck going about 90 km/h, didn't accelerate much.. and after the 100th kilometer I've reached the usage of 4.0 liter per 100km.

For the rest of the road I've tried as hard as I could to keep my foot light (which is kind of freaky when you're one of the slowest cars on the highway and normally it's more/less the opposite).

Here's the route in details:

A - My workplace
B - Gas station (damn you BP! 5.09PLN for a liter of diesel gasoline!)
C - Complete stop due to traffic lights
D - There's actually a roundabout and I took a wrong turn
E - Here I've made a U-turn after driving this God forsaken "road"
F - Just before the traffic lights I've noticed a 3.9 l/100km usage!
G - My joy didn't last long (damn traffic lights...)

So it is possible. I've done it. 4.0l, it's a 124km drive (according to the readings of the on-board computer) so it worth 25.25 PLN. By comparison taking a train costs arount 35PLN and takes 4 hours 30 minutes (if you're lucky).

Did anyone had similar experiences? Please share!