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Tue Mar 06, 2012 8:53 am

i have had mileage issues with my 2002 cabrio, since i bought it about 3 years ago, it has just turned about 70k, in the 3 years ive tried many things to help it out a bit, so here go's, new cat, and exaust, new quality plugs cap rotor and wires, new bosch air sensor, i even bought a k&n drop in air cleaner, and a regular air cleaner, no diffrance either way! the problem is it gets 23 mpg, it got that when i bought it, after ive done all this it gets 23, run it easy it gets 23, run it hard it gets 23, maybe this car just gets 23? really 23? its a auto so i understand it suffers a bit, but im really good with maintenince synthetic oil every 3k, and this car is like new condition, and is a great every day cruizer for me,and i like the car for this except this issue, i also have a 95 cutlass conv with a 3.4 v6 with 250 hp that would dust this vw off and never gets less than 29mpg, so what gives VW people, help me figure this out i wanna keep this car cause i like it for a daily driver but with gas approching 5 bucks a gallon, its getting hard for me to deal with 23! Help!

Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:31 am

FWIW, here's the EPA's mileage estimates...

'95 Cabrio:
City: 19
Highway: 26
Combined: 22

'02 Cabrio:
City: 20
Highway: 27
Combined: 23

Tue Mar 06, 2012 3:01 pm

wow, that makes sense, thats pretty paththetic, for a 2.0 and a car this small, the funny part is usually you exchange power for miliage, this thing has has neither, i wouldnt care if this was a 23mpg powerhouse, but its a 23mpg pup! oh well it at least it looks nice :lol:

Tue Mar 06, 2012 3:54 pm

That is super pathetic! My 98 VR6 does 25 city! Get rid of that thing...

Wed Mar 07, 2012 9:22 am

You have to think its a small motor and yes its a small car but alot of weight due to being a Cabriolet you have alot more structural strength

Wed Mar 07, 2012 9:28 am

kamzcab86 wrote: FWIW, here's the EPA's mileage estimates...
'02 Cabrio:
City: 20
Highway: 27
Combined: 23
Must be an automatic. My '02 was rated higher (23/31 maybe). I typically got 25 local, 31 highway, 33.5 trips.

Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:52 am

Does the gearing in the transmission play into that? It should be the standard 020 right? That is just crazy how crappy the mileage is in that thing.

Wed Mar 07, 2012 2:35 pm

oasis wrote: kamzcab86 wrote: FWIW, here's the EPA's mileage estimates...
'02 Cabrio:
City: 20
Highway: 27
Combined: 23
Must be an automatic. My '02 was rated higher (23/31 maybe). I typically got 25 local, 31 highway, 33.5 trips.

Yes, it is, as the OP stated. Since the OP doesn't have a manual, I didn't think it was worth posting manual MPG numbers. :wink:

zuhaelter_82 wrote: Does the gearing in the transmission play into that? It should be the standard 020 right? That is just crazy how crappy the mileage is in that thing.

Gearing does play a role. The 1995-2002 Cabrios had 02A manuals and, IIRC, 01M autos.

Keep in mind, that the Cabrios are roughly 300 pounds heavier than their hard-top counterparts, just in the body; factor in all the options and whatnot (auto trans, A/C, airbags, etc.) and they're even heavier.

It is kind of sad though: The newer generation convertible (the A3) is bigger, safer and has a larger engine, but it's a veritable tank compared to its predecessor (the A1).