I've actually learnt of a new feature on the Mk 6 golf 1.6 TDI, that amazed me I'm not going to give you a write up on how great it feels like on the road, cos it's so simlar to the mk 5 Took one out for drive, watching the dash as you do notices it has a shift light, lists what gear your in with an adaptive shift light for up and down driving gentle, it worked out which gear i was in, listing it. At a 1600 RPM I got a ^ symbol, tried it again , same thing dropped the revs to get the engine to struggle to see what it would do, I got a arrow down symbol being a smart a$$ i thought it would annoy me, not wanting technology to take over and getting a economical shift point out to me, so went for a spirited drive, this time shift up light cam on 3800 RPM looks like the dash pod can cross ref the speed and the rpm, measure the acceleration resulting in a calculation which the driver can use I'll have to see which other engines do the same, anyone seen the same feature on any other manufacture ?
the mk5 blue motion had it, quite decent. Makes you realise it is throttle position not revs that saves fuel. People that bumble along at 30 in 5th with thier foot flat to the floor make me laugh!!!
So ragging the s**t out of it in 5th to get moving at 20mph uses more petrol than um... Ragging the s**t out of it in 1st or 2nd at 20? I'd always wondered about that.
Merc have something similar in the new blue efficiency A class/C lass models. Tells you what gear you should be in, when to shift to be the most economical. Don't know about spirited driving though as don't pay much attention to it then... will do next time i'm out in one though
yeah, and if your coasting say down a high in a low gear with high revs with little throttle that also hardly uses any fuel which feels odd at 6k rpm
My `96 Honda Civic had an `Economy light`. Funnily enough it would illuminate just before the V-tec kicked in...
A mates S5 i drove has the same thing. Not sure i noticed it when i put my foot down. Too busy watching scenery go by.
It will be a mandatory feature soon for CO2 reduction Chris. My thought as well when I heard it actively advertised on the radio for the Transit Connect!
Yeah, but instead of it being a shift 'warning', it advises the driver of the most fuel efficient gear at their current speed.
The Mk1 1.8 GTi and Formel E shift light was not a warning in terms of max engine speed but advisory it was more economical to change up.
vac gauge on the 7 series approximates to the same thing, mind with DBW I imagine the engine decides what's best a lot of the time anyway
I've same sort of vac guage on my older 7 series, same as mk 1 set up without LED I think what was most intersting was the software writing to get it to work out which gear you are in, not the light! basic calc TBH the cruise contol on later VWs will switch off if theres not enough toque (strain in engine) indicating you should drop a cog I clearly don't drive enough of these newer cars! I've never seen a Formel E dash, if the indicator the same as 1.8 GTI?
Iv got a set of those mk1 clocks with what I guess must be the shift light kind, is it where the water temp bit normally is?
I'd go for mk5 140, the 1.6 goes ok for what it is. not seen any issues as yes other than software updates already! did hear from a VW technical trouble shooter thay have had big issues with some of them! I've not really had to look under the bonnet yet, guessing they also have a DPF
Brand new Transit I hired last week had the change light, took me a minute to figure out what it was. Flashed up after 2k rpm in the first 4 gears, and only when the van wasn't accelerating, ie holding steady speed. Amusing for a while, but irritating in the long run. It's a hire van after all, ragging it is mandatory Cheers, Grant
