Sometimes you just can’t help running in “the red”, maybe you’re further away from a petrol station than expected or you’re going for a hypermiling full tank range record. When you’re cutting it to the wire, you need to have at least some idea about how much fuel you have left when your Skoda Octavia VRS maxidot says 0.

It’s not often that I misjudge a fillup but last week I was faced with the stark reality that I could be forced into a rather long walk of shame with only a jerry can keeping me company. My loss is your gain so hopefully, this article should give you some insight into how much fuel is actually left when the car says you really don’t have any more miles left in the tank.

When does the fuel light come on?

The Fuel light in the Octavia will come on when the needle reaches the red. In my experience, this also shows a range of around 50 miles. Depending on your driving style, this could vary but please do let us know in the comments if you get a different figure. For the record, the MK3 Skoda Octavia in UK trim comes standard with a 50l fuel tank.

The Struggle Begins

Upon realising that I could soon be in for a long walk, I reset the trip computer so I could record how many miles I had covered since the range fell to zero. At this point, the hypermiler in me kicked in.

As the miles clocked up it was clear that I needed to find a petrol station – fast. After a whopping 6.1 miles of sweat and range anxiety, I rolled upon the sacred Morrisons Fuel station in my home town of Stamford.

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How much fuel was left in the tank?

6.1 miles had passed since the range fell to zero in my 2015 Skoda Octavia VRS 184 TDI, I managed to squeeze 46.14 litres into the standard 50 litre tank. I stopped at the first click, so there is a chance I could have snuck a little more in.

With approximately 3.86 litres left in the tank and 6.1 miles on the clock since the range dropped to 0, it’s safe to that I could have travelled a little further. 

With my car managing around 50MPG I’m guestimating that you’ve got a little less than a gallon of fuel to play. That should see around 40 miles in the VRS TDI and a conservative 25 miles in the 2.0 TSI. That’s a surprising amount and clearly shows that that the VW group are very conservate when it comes to how much range you actually have left in the tank.

 

The dangers of running low on fuel

Running this low on fuel certainly isn’t something I’d recommend. Not only could it burn out your fuel pump by running dry, but it could also suck up any debris from the bottom of your tank. There’s also the danger of breaking down in a dangerous place, causing risk to you and other road users.

Let’s hear from you!

Have you run out of fuel in your Octavia? How much fuel did you have on empty? Let us know in the comments below

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