Chevy Cruze MPG : Real Life experiences

[Clump]

I took my Cruze on a 392 mile round trip. This trip is almost entirely highway and about 2/3 of it is 65 MPH speed limit. I generally run 65 MPH in a 55 speed limit and 73 in a 65. Much of the drive was with cruise control. The average speed on the DIC was 57.2, indicated MPG was 39.8 and calculated was 39.6. I meant to put the tires up to 40 PSI, but forgot - they were 37 on the DIC.

It was great to do the trip on 1 tank of gas. This is a drive that I make often. My former Jeep Wrangler would get between 15 and 16 MPG on this trip driven the same way and use 2 full tanks of gas.

[ts27330]

2012 Cruze LT 1.4 automatic 1200 miles. 37 mpg daily commute 80 miles total....at 65mph 90% freeway. Road trip last night 43 mpg at 59 mph 2 land country road for 40 miles. Plugs were re-gapped to 29 they were 21 to 22 initially. 17 in continentals at 35 psi. 87 octane gas. Noticeable low end smoothness in power band after plugs re-gapped.

[XtremeRevolution]

2012 Cruze LT 1.4 automatic 1200 miles. 37 mpg daily commute 80 miles total....at 65mph 90% freeway. Road trip last night 43 mpg at 59 mph 2 land country road for 40 miles. Plugs were re-gapped to 29 they were 21 to 22 initially. 17 in continentals at 35 psi. 87 octane gas. Noticeable low end smoothness in power band after plugs re-gapped.

You can safely bump those tires to 40psi without any worry. It will net you another 1mpg at least, without compromising ride quality too much. 43mpg though is excellent for an automatic.

[ts27330]

You can safely bump those tires to 40psi without any worry. It will net you another 1mpg at least, without compromising ride quality too much. 43mpg though is excellent for an automatic.

So 40 psi when tires are cold would not cause a problem when the commute is 40 miles one way 95% freeway at 65mph. The weather changes daily in NC with temp swings from 30s to 60s this time of year.

[ChicagoCruze]

Took my first roadtrip last summer in my 2012 Eco with a stick shift from Chicago to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Warm, no wind, full tires. Avg speed between 55 mph and 60 mph...got 52.2 mpg. It was a slow drive, but I was in no hurry. In the summer I can get the Cruze about 42 mpg in the city, as long as I don't get stuck behind a train or in a traffic jam.

Used to have a 2006 Honda Insight and got used to hypermileing that baby.

Don't rely on the cruise control. You can see the road and anticipate the power you need better, as cruise control only reacts to things that have already happened. It takes a lot of practice but you can do it. Those dashboard computer monitors are a huge help.

[Macman]

I just moved, speed limit on new commute is 70, I use cruise control, but my mpg seems to be dropping. My old commute was 65 but I drove 62-64.

[WhiteAndBright]

I am really P*ssed off.
I wan to SUE GM SO VERY MUCH!!!

I now have 10,400miles on my Cruze. It's a 2011 1LT.
The window sticker says 24 city, 36 highway with 28 average.

I only get about 24.8 -26 MPG, which is what I got when I first had the car. GM told me you MUST wait until you have at least 5,000 miles befor your efficiency becomes optimal.
I would have RETURNED this car in the first 30 days had I known the mileage would stay this low.

Daily, about 1/2 of my drive is highway the other 1/2 suburban (not urban with frequent stops) (I actually work close to the GM tech center in Warren, Michigan and live in a somewhat rural area north of there).
So, by my estimations, because I don't have "real" city driving, I should be getting better than the stated 28 MPG.

I drive very very gently because I'm trying to get the optimal mileage out of the car.
Every time I call to complain GM has some excuse:
* Oh, it's winter, the fuel mix has more ethanol in it, so your mileage will suffer (no, even during the summer I get similar mileage, and even if it was the winter fuel mix causing lower readings, it's not my problem that GM DOES NOT AVERAGE the winter and summer fuel mixes into their estimated mileage!)
* Oh, it's probably your tire pressure (no, my pressure is fine)
* It's because your care has turbo (yes, it does, but I accellerate very gently, and even IF the untilized turbo puts a drag on the engine, then it's NOT MY PROBLEM that you didn't take that into account in your MPG averages!)
* removing the spare time will save a little on mileage (again, not my problem, you do not state anywhere that I need to strip things for weight savings to get better mileage)
* You need to take your foot off the accellerator and coast to stop lights so the engine shuts off (I do this anyways because I knew this already, but they do not say this on the window sticker (and, yes, it does really make a difference in improving your mileage with this car and most new vehicles these days).
* Well, our window sticker says "your actual mileage will vary" (again, I drive very gently)

I WANT TO SUE GM SO BADLY.
I feel they really lied on this car.

Be careful what you read about mileage from other people online: Many are from Europe and so have DIESEL engines which give much better MPG (LPK (liters per kilometer) for them).. of course, they pay higher fuel costs too. And, be wary that manual trans gives slightly better mileage too.
And, be concious that winter fuel mixes do indeed have more ethanol content which means less MPG because ethanol burns much faster than gas -- give sarcastic thanks to the U.S. government for forcing this mix upon us.

I bought my car with 2 miles on it and the mpg have done nothing but go up.. All of these people on this forum have great gas mileage and you will too if you drive the car how IT is suppose to be driven not how YOU think it is suppose to be driven.. Shoot I am pushing over 45mpg in an LTZ auto, GAS MOTOR on winter blend, I have broke over 550 miles on one tank of GAS in the UNITED STATES many of times.. Its not GM's fault that you wont listen to everyone when they are trying to help you get better mileage.. Maybe if you would try some of the tips that we will share with you the car's mpg will sky rocket!!

[Macman]

I bought my car with 2 miles on it and the mpg have done nothing but go up.. All of these people on this forum have great gas mileage and you will too if you drive the car how IT is suppose to be driven not how YOU think it is suppose to be driven.. Shoot I am pushing over 45mpg in an LTZ auto, GAS MOTOR on winter blend, I have broke over 550 miles on one tank of GAS in the UNITED STATES many of times.. Its not GM's fault that you wont listen to everyone when they are trying to help you get better mileage.. Maybe if you would try some of the tips that we will share with you the car's mpg will sky rocket!!

That's actually not true, I'm in the same boat and I drive it exactly how Xtreme outlines in his posts. I average close to 30 now so it has improved with better driving habits but it's still low. I would return the car today after almost years if I could. I might just buy a genesis or hyundai r something though.

[Macman]

Anyone notice my fuelly? I had one surprise tank of shell premium and got possibly the best mileage yet. I'm nearing the end of the third tank of exxon 93 octane "top tier" gas, not looking so good.

[cruze01]

Anyone notice my fuelly? I had one surprise tank of shell premium and got possibly the best mileage yet. I'm nearing the end of the third tank of exxon 93 octane "top tier" gas, not looking so good.

I'm usually right there with you Macman! I am on my second Cruze now and have done everything as outlined in this forum but the most I've ever managed on either one of them is around 31-32 at best! My normal average is around 28-29. It's not my driving! I think it may have a lot to do with where you live and the quality of gas you're getting. For example I travel to Virginia a few times a year, down on the peninsula I can get in the mid 30's but its all level ground straight roads! In central Ky its all hills. I also think they have better gas there than I have in Kentucky, the car seems to run better there than it does here.