[Patman1776]

Took the Cruze ECO 6MT on a 4 day trip up to New Hampshire and Vermont, for my 13 year old's Lacrosse Tournament. Here's a summary with all the details:

• 5 people in the car (myself, two 20 year olds, a 13 year old, and an 11 year old)
• A full trunk (full-size cooler, lacrosse sticks, other supplies)
• Thule roof rack with aero blades, and a Thule Caravan Cargo Bag (filled with 3 full duffle bags)
• Long Lacrosse stick secured to roof rack
• 750 mile round trip from CT. up through the White Mountains in New Hampshire, over to Stowe Vermont, and back to CT.
• Averaged 5 mpg less with the full load, and roof rack/cargo bag (31 mpg vs 36) using only 93 octane.

The Cruze held up well, and the AC was more than sufficient to keep us cool through the 90 + heat. Biggest issue was the lack of power up the mountains with such a full load. On the highway, had to downshift to 4th to make it up the long hills.


Biggest takeaway for me is the need for more power with a full load. Am definitely considering the Trifecta Tune after this trip.

 

[obermd]

Patman, you should be getting more than 36 MPG on the highway when not using the roof rack. Even a fully loaded Cruze ECO MT should be getting in the mid 40s on the open road.

How'd your son's team do?

 

[Patman1776]

Patman, you should be getting more than 36 MPG on the highway when not using the roof rack. Even a fully loaded Cruze ECO MT should be getting in the mid 40s on the open road.

How'd your son's team do?

I actually get well over 40 on the highway. The 36 is my overall average in mixed driving prior to the trip. This trip was about 65/35 highway to city/rural. The cargo bag really hurts mileage.

My son's team went 2-1-2 on the weekend up at Stowe. Teams from all over the country were there, so it was a successful tournament. Thanks for asking.

 

[obermd]

I know what loading the top of a car does to fuel economy, which is why I asked about the unloaded numbers. I also noticed your fuelly shows 34.7, which is what triggered my question about the unloaded mpgs.

 

[blk88verde]

Biggest takeaway for me is the need for more power with a full load. Am definitely considering the Trifecta Tune after this trip.

Yes - you should be able to stay in a higher gear on those hills with the extra torque of the tune.

 

[Patman1776]

I know what loading the top of a car does to fuel economy, which is why I asked about the unloaded numbers. I also noticed your fuelly shows 34.7, which is what triggered my question about the unloaded mpgs.

Fuelly average came down with the trip mileage. In daily driving, I average between 35 and 36, because I deal with a number of traffic lights once off the highway in my daily commute.

 

[jblackburn]

Stuff on top of the car really hurts highway power (and mileage) as well. We used to pile stuff on the top of our Saab 900 on long trips - one year, as a big family, we packed far too much and the roof rack was so un-aerodynamic that the car just couldn't do over 60-65 on the highway, foot to the floor. The weight of 5 people + a full trunk and <100 HP left in the old engine probably didn't help either.

The Yakima roof carrier has the same effect on a Jeep as well (when empty) at 70+ MPH.