Montreal to Quebec City, TDI-style

October 20, 2008 -- Filed under My impact by Louis-Alain Richard

Like Normand, I made the Montreal to Quebec City trip with an ecodriving objective, but I had an advantage: I was driving a 2009 Jetta TDI Clean Diesel. And since the outcome of this challenge between his Mazda3 and my 2009 Jetta TDI Clean Diesel was a no-brainer, I decided to set myself another goal: to beat Transport Canada’s highway rating of 4.8 L/100 km.

The trip there at 100 km/h

So, after loading the car with my family of four and EVERYTHING that’s essential for a trip to the grandparents (in other words, way too much stuff), I made my way to a service station that sells clean diesel. Surprisingly, the fuel pump had two nozzles, but of different sizes! Intrigued, I went inside to ask if the high-output nozzle still pumped “old” diesel (non-USLD). The clerk behind the counter explained that the high-output nozzle pumped out the same new diesel but that it made it easier to fill up trucks with tanks that can hold several hundred litres of fuel. So I filled the tank right up to the cap using the small nozzle.

Quebec City, here we come! Once we cleared the outskirts of Montreal, I decided to set the cruise control to 103 km/h, knowing that speedometers are slightly optimistic. I upshifted as soon as I could, engaging 6th gear once I hit 85 km/h. I was driving without air conditioning, with all the windows closed, and the tires fully inflated.

Interesting observation: I wasn’t obstructing traffic. On the contrary, I even passed a few cars and trucks. However, I did have to cheat a bit; otherwise the resulting bottleneck would have been visible from the moon. Too bad for ecodriving, but I did have to accelerate above 115 km/h a few times. It was only briefly, but so enjoyable

Another observation: the TDI was absolutely silent at this speed. Another urban myth shattered!

After 90 minutes on the highway, we stopped for a quick coffee, and then got back on the road. The car was now 1 kg heavier, because these days even small coffees are half a litre. The odometer read 146.6 km, and the fuel gauge was still showing 1/1. For the second leg of the journey, I maintained exactly the same 103 km/h. Nothing worth mentioning, aside from some magnificent rainbows that kept us company for a good part of the trip, and which helped distract our three-year-old daughter who was starting to get bored in the back seat.

Approaching Quebec City we got off the ramp that leads to Cap-Rouge, where we could refuel. The result?

Results:
259.7 km
10.92 litres of diesel
Average of 4.2 L/100 km

This “performance” beats the official rating by more than 12%, a real cause for celebration these days. I feel like someone who has just discovered an income tax loophole: Yee-haw, I beat the system!

Here’s the itinerary I followed to achieve this “performance.” As you can see, Google estimates the total distance to be 259 km, which is very close to the number displayed on the Jetta’s odometer. There’s no questioning its precision.

The trip back: a mix of “normal” city and highway driving

For the rest of the weekend, and for the return trip back to Montreal on beautiful Route 138 under a canopy of fall colours, I travelled a total of 625 km on 36.1 litres, which averages out to 5.8 L/km, in conditions less ideal than those on the trip down.

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