Audi wants to find out exactly how far can you go on one tank of diesel in the all-new 2015 Audi A3 TDI. They are kicking off an event this week to find this out. (Follow it via #TDIChallenge and #UntilTheLastDrop on twitter).
The A3 TDI gets the 2.0L turbo-diesel four-cylinder good for 150 horsepower @ 3,500 rpm and 236 lb-ft of torque @ 1,750 rpm. Audi says the front-wheel-drive A3 sedan is capable of 8.1 second 0-60 mph sprint and a top speed of 130 mph. The 6-speed S Tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission is doing the shifting.
However, #TDIChallenge is not about acceleration or speed. It’s all about the efficiency and economy. The A3 has a 13.2 gallon fuel tank and is EPA rated at 31 MPG city and 43 MPG highway. Audi wants the challenge participants to travel 834 miles on a single tank of diesel. The trip starts in Albuquerque, NM and ends in Coronado, CA, after going through Sedona, AZ.
Wait a minute. If you multiply 13.2 gallons by 43 mpg, you get 567.6 miles. If they were to go on a single tank, then they would need to average 63.2 MPG over the entire trip. This is tall order, but certain hyper-miling techniques can be utilized to get it done.
We employed no hyper-miling techniques and got 49.7 MPG from the 2015 VW Golf TDI with the same 2.0L turbo-diesel motor. That was after 477 highway miles and running mostly at 70-75 MPH through Colorado.
Stay tuned to the results.
Check out the fun and informative TFLcar video first drive of the 2015 Audi A3.
And watch another first drive of the potent 2015 Audi S3.
