I finally joined the Cruze family this week! Bought a 2015 1LT with the RS package, technology package, and convenience package. I love it so far with the exception of the gas mileage. I traded, mainly, to get out of the Focus I was driving, but to get slightly better mpg. Well, that's not happening. I'm currently getting about 31-32. Folks I've asked have given me mixed reviews saying the 1.4 vvt engines need about 6k to break in while others say that's what it will get regardless of how many miles you put on it. I know a guy that used to make the same drive as I do and he got 36-37 out of his Cruze, same engine. Please tell me it gets better!
jclswv519
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Drag increases with the square of the speed. So doubling the speed increases the drag by 4. I think once you get up into 6th gear, there's no more efficiency to be gained out of the drive train, so it's all downhill MPG-wise from there.
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91/93 octane will help increase fuel economy particularly in hot conditions with heavy A/C use and stop and go traffic. This will be a significant benefit.
Yes, it will take a long time to break in. Expect your fuel economy to go up. That said, don't expect more than about 34-35mpg at those speeds. Drop it down to 65mph and you'll pick up 2-3mpg easily.
Give it a bit more time and it will improve. Slow down a bit and you'll see a substantial improvement off the bat.
Yes, it will take a long time to break in. Expect your fuel economy to go up. That said, don't expect more than about 34-35mpg at those speeds. Drop it down to 65mph and you'll pick up 2-3mpg easily.
Give it a bit more time and it will improve. Slow down a bit and you'll see a substantial improvement off the bat.
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I notice the exact same thing at 75mph I'm at 33mpg, 80mph 28mpg. Slow down slightly more you will be even more impressed, at 68-70mph I get 39mpg with my 1LT(in above 50F weather).
I would normally agree with you but I have never experienced such MPG drop as I do with the cruze for 10MPH, 70mph vs 80mph is 39mpg vs 28mpg!!! Suspect with the automatic there is enough load on the tiny engine and enough RPM at that speed the turbo in the boost enough it requires a ton of fuel dumped in.
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One of the things you have to remember in the Cruze is that there is so little torque being produced at lower RPM that your 6th gear fuel economy will actually rise until you reach 55-60 MPH. The reason for this is the car will need to downshift to climb hills when going slower.
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I'm not sure what that has to do with what I said, besides 70mph is like 2300RPM, well into the torque of the engine. Only time what your talking about applies is when I'm driving 42-65mph in 6th, beyond that speed I can climb almost any hill grade and remain in 6th.
I was referring to the all hwy driving 11MPG drop I see gaining only 10MPH(70-80MPH), which is not what I have seen in any other car/truck. Sure faster speed has more drag, but typically even in an economy car I may only see a 2-5mpg difference at 65-80mph.
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im doing pretty good with my eco, moved to wisconsin and have been using 91 no ethanol and the results are amazing. last fill up according to fuelly was 48mpg
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8,582 Posts
With an internal combustion engine(ICE), there's a certain amount of fuel that must be expended just to keep the engine running. The engine needs a certain amount of work to help "swamp" that "keep alive" amount. That tends to shift the peak efficiency to a higher output. And improving engine efficiency and can compensate for some aerodynamic loss. But a smaller engine with lower engine friction is going to shift that point downward. It's even worse for electric cars because they have almost zero "keep alive" energy expense.
I remember reading about a high school level efficiency contest. What they found is aerodynamics starts to be an issue at just 10 MPH. I was surprised when I saw electric cars get better MPH in town driving with the stop/start than with highway mileage. I have to think that's because of drag becoming an overriding factor at lower speeds with nothing improving to offset it.
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