How much does it cost to own a ‘People’s Car’? ACEI counts ways

HALFWAY DONE Polo, Tiguan and Jetta rest at Corito’s in Batangas. photos by Tessa R. Salazar

ACEI’S Timmy de Leon and Raffy Realizan seal the fuel tank.

MANILA, Philippines–Without a doubt, the Philippine motoring public is now on a buying spree, with sales of new vehicles expected to exceed the 300,000 mark next year.

There are buyers, and there are thinking buyers. The latter will do their painstaking research first, including finding out about brand heritages, dealer reputations and aftersales services, and compare vehicle performances and designs.

Part of their crucial decision-making factors would definitely include the cost of ownership of the brand-new vehicle because, let’s face it, spending for a car doesn’t stop at the purchase level but continues throughout its useful life.

Volkswagen, the German automotive brand that literally means “the people’s car,” recently showcased its new models, and flaunted the precise engineering and fuel-efficient technologies car brands from that country are most famous for.

Awareness standards

Partners for the economy run

But Volkswagen, represented in the Philippines by its official distributor Automobile Central Enterprise Inc. (ACEI), went a notch higher in raising the standards of information awareness among the car-buying public when it focused on its vehicles’ costs of ownership, often taboo in auto industry circles.

The cost of owning, maintaining, and even fueling up a Volkswagen vehicle were on paper, along with the usual “pogi points” that automotive manufacturers put in their media kits.

To prove its point that it was serious and forthright in its claim that Volkswagen engine and vehicle design technologies contribute to optimal fuel consumption efficiency, ACEI conducted its first fuel economy run for the motoring media last Oct. 21, starting from the Volkswagen showroom at the Bonifacio Global City to C-5, and then to Corito’s Garden in Lipa in Batangas, then back to the VW BGC showroom via the same route.

Short presentation

Resetting fuel gauges before the run.

Before the vehicles and the media pairs were set off, ACEI gave a short presentation highlighting the cost of owning the Tiguan 2.0 TDI (automatic transmission), Jetta 2.0 TDI (manual transmission) and Polo sedan 1.6 TDI (manual transmission) on a 5-year preventive maintenance study (as all the mentioned vehicles were the ones being used for the fuel economy run).

ACEI computed in its presentation that the Tiguan, Jetta and Polo sedan would cost P63,000, P49,000 and P52,000, respectively, based on a 5-year preventive maintenance service (cost may vary considering labor cost, materials and forex rates).

ACEI also computed the fuel consumption cost of the three vehicles (for an estimated run of 15,000 kilometers per year) at 932 liters, 824 liters and 732 liters. Extending its computations to a 5-year period, ACEI pointed out that fueling up the three vehicles would set back its owners P208,000; P184,000 and P164,000 (P44.72 per liter of diesel SRP, on a total run of 75,000 km for five years).

The estimated fuel consumption of the three vehicles are rated 16.1 km per liter for the Tiguan, 18.2 kpl for the Jetta, and 20.5 kpl for the Polo (based on www.greenvehicleguide. gov.au and www.volkswagen.co.in that ACEI cited).

The big question that arose was: Could these three vehicles even reach these rated fuel efficiencies, given the worsening traffic congestion in Metro Manila and its environs? This was what the media participants, teamed up in pairs, set out to determine during a busy Tuesday.

Filling up, and toilet break at Shell Lipa

ACEI’s officers were confident, nevertheless, that the three VW brands, powered by turbocharged diesel (TDI) engines, would be up to the task (and perhaps, even exceed expectations). The results of the run were verified by Genevieve Almonares and Marlon Domingo of the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Division.

By the time the route loop was completed at 5 p.m. back at the VW showroom in BGC, the numbers achieved by the nine media teams were promising. The best fuel mileage from the Polo team was 18.39 kpl. For the Tiguan team, the highest was 27.39 kpl, while the Jetta yielded the day’s best at 29.47 kpl.

Top-of-the-line technology

No doubt, Volkswagen’s top-of-the-line TDI technology and design and performance enhancements contributed much to these results. Characteristic of TDI engines are its fuel economy, low emissions, high pulling power (torque) and exceptional power efficiency. The effective engine encapsulation of the TDI engine even keeps noise to a minimum.

On top of that are Volkswagen’s unparalleled touches of German engineering, such as its welding technology (laser, clinching, punch riveting), forged steel door hinges that are proven tough (as demonstrated by two burly showroom sales agents sitting on the windows), high-strength panels (baked hardening blanks, tailored blanks, door beams) and panel gaps.

“(Despite) being a relatively new brand in the market, Volkswagen is the world’s largest producer of diesel engines. Our TDI engines feature the latest in common-rail injection technology, making them responsive and fun to drive, as well as being incredibly efficient”, said JP Orbeta, ACEI president and CEO. The official fuel economy run partner was Shell V-Power Nitro+ Diesel.

Driving style

Ultimately, though, fuel economy, and cost of ownership all rests on the owner/buyer and his or her driving and maintenance habits. The single biggest determinant of fuel consumption remains the driving style. The smoother the style, the more economical the run will be.

“The Car Book” listed the following factors that diminishes fuel efficiency: taking the engine to high rpms before changing gear, heavy braking, hard acceleration, extended idling in traffic jams, towing, or carrying, heavy loads, fitting roof bars or a roof box (which increases wind resistance, even when racks or boxes are empty), frequent short journeys (more fuel is used when the engine runs cold), long journeys in strong headwinds, long distances driving up or down steep hills and abnormally hot or cold weather.

ACEI understands that a one-time fuel economy run in no way defines the performance of its vehicles as immersed in Philippine road and traffic settings. So, it has planned a series of economy runs, with this Oct. 21 event being the first to kick off the series.