1968-1979 Volkswagen Bus / Type 2 (Bay Window) — MPG & Fuel Facts NO OFFICIAL EPA RATING

The EPA's public fuel-economy dataset only goes back to 1984 — the 1968-1979 Volkswagen Type 2 / Bus (Transporter, Kombi, Campmobile) predates it, so there is no government-rated MPG number for this car anywhere, including here.

Estimated 15–23 MPG combined.

EPA's 1976-77 truck tables put the 2.0L fuel-injected Bus at 19-23 mpg combined (16-20 city, 24-28 highway), while the Type 2 community's compiled factory and owner data spans roughly 15-21 mpg for the big-engine bay-windows — so 15-23 mpg is the defensible range, with loaded campers at the bottom of it.

This is our estimate, not an EPA rating — built from the period road tests, marque-specialist guides and corroborated owner reports cited below, hedged where sources vary. Treat it as a ballpark for planning, not a spec to rely on.

The bay-window Bus started (1968-71) with the upright Beetle-derived 1600 (~50-58 hp), switched to the Type 4 'pancake' engine for 1972 — 1700cc dual-carb ('72-73), 1800 ('74, fuel injection from '75), then 2000cc EFI for 1976-79. A 4,000-lb brick at highway speed, the Bus is far thirstier than the Beetle that shares its engine architecture: community sources note the same 1600 that returns ~30 mpg in a Beetle gives 20-25 mpg at best in a bus.

The EPA primary source: the 1976 guide's truck section lists the fuel-injected Bus (Wagon, Kombi, Panel) manual at 16 city / 26 highway / 19 combined (automatic: 18/24/20), and the 1977 guide's Vans/Special Purpose Trucks table lists the Bus (Wagon, Kombi, Campmobile) manual at 20/28/23 (automatic: 19/25/21). The jump between '76 and '77 reflects test-procedure changes as much as the vehicle.

Corroboration from the definitive community archives: Type2.com's fuel-consumption library records a factory-brochure ~23 mpg claim for a stock '68 1600, owner reports of 12-24 mpg for 1600s, ~18 mpg typical for 1700s, 16-18 for 1800s, and 15-21 for 2000s. Modern Fuelly logs land in the same band: 18.0 mpg average for 1971 buses and 17.1 for 1977.

Sources: EPA 1976 Gas Mileage Guide (truck section, Volkswagen row) · EPA 1977 Gas Mileage Guide (Vans / Special Purpose Trucks table) · Type2.com Library — Type 2 Gasoline/Petrol Consumption (factory + owner data) · GoWesty — Model Overview: Bus, Vanagon & Eurovan 1968-2003 (engine progression) · TheSamba — Bay Window Bus 'What's your MPG' owner-consensus thread · Fuelly — VW Transporter owner logs (598 owners, all years)

All classics Search Volkswagen Type 2 / Bus (Transporter, Kombi, Campmobile) on FuelFacts (in case a later model year is in our 1984+ EPA data)