Joined
·
24,131 Posts
CO 67 through Jarre Canyon looks like someone chased a snake through the mountains and then paved the path. I went to Goose Creek Trailhead today. The route and elevation profiles are below.
![Map Ecoregion Line Atlas Geology]()
![Text Green Line Diagram Font]()
Driving impressions - who needs a tune. This route is about half paved and half dirt (I have a very dirty car right now) with speed limits of 30 MPH or lower. The squiggles on the map really don't do this road justice. The first five miles is a relatively easy drive with speed limits of 50 - 55 MPH but as soon as you hit the green on the map the speed limit drops to 30. There are even some stretches where you will actually downshift to 1st gear to avoid riding your brakes. I spent most of my time between 2500 and 3500 RPM to keep the car responsive to the throttle and to provide a modicum of engine breaking. Google says 1 hr 42 minutes for this drive but even with the additional 8 miles from my house to Sedalia I did this route in 1:30. I think most normal drivers would take about 2 hours.
The ECO MT sticks to the road like it's glued down. When it starts to slide the traction control/stabilitrac system actually kicks in and even with no feet on the pedals the brakes engage - hard - to slow the car down to start gripping the dirt again. For those who think the rear drums aren't sufficient for this car - my brakes never showed any signs of overheating or fading. Every time I needed them the car responded. I did spend a lot of time speed shifting between 2nd and 3rd with an occasional shift to 4th and even rarer shifts to 5th. Multi-gear downshifts were required when I was in 4th or higher as I usually had to get down to 2nd quickly for the next very steep uphill or downhill. The 10 miles uphill stretch from 16 to 26 miles I set the Cruze control at 40 and drove it in 6th. There were a couple of places where I had to slow down for 15 MPH warning sign corners or small towns but the rest of the time I was in 6th gear. The drop immediately prior to this is a 15% grade and I came down it in 1st gear. You are literally driving over a cliff - the road is cut into the canyon wall.
Bottom line - not only is the ECO MT an outstanding highway cruzer it's also extremely well planted, nimble and responsive on the back roads. Just be prepared to have a lot of fun rowing the gears. Overall MPG for today's drive was 43.8 MPG (DIC reported) with a round trip distance of 108.6 miles.
Note about coolant temperature: I have the digital temperature readout and the ECU will very quickly cool the water down to 187 when needed.
Driving impressions - who needs a tune. This route is about half paved and half dirt (I have a very dirty car right now) with speed limits of 30 MPH or lower. The squiggles on the map really don't do this road justice. The first five miles is a relatively easy drive with speed limits of 50 - 55 MPH but as soon as you hit the green on the map the speed limit drops to 30. There are even some stretches where you will actually downshift to 1st gear to avoid riding your brakes. I spent most of my time between 2500 and 3500 RPM to keep the car responsive to the throttle and to provide a modicum of engine breaking. Google says 1 hr 42 minutes for this drive but even with the additional 8 miles from my house to Sedalia I did this route in 1:30. I think most normal drivers would take about 2 hours.
The ECO MT sticks to the road like it's glued down. When it starts to slide the traction control/stabilitrac system actually kicks in and even with no feet on the pedals the brakes engage - hard - to slow the car down to start gripping the dirt again. For those who think the rear drums aren't sufficient for this car - my brakes never showed any signs of overheating or fading. Every time I needed them the car responded. I did spend a lot of time speed shifting between 2nd and 3rd with an occasional shift to 4th and even rarer shifts to 5th. Multi-gear downshifts were required when I was in 4th or higher as I usually had to get down to 2nd quickly for the next very steep uphill or downhill. The 10 miles uphill stretch from 16 to 26 miles I set the Cruze control at 40 and drove it in 6th. There were a couple of places where I had to slow down for 15 MPH warning sign corners or small towns but the rest of the time I was in 6th gear. The drop immediately prior to this is a 15% grade and I came down it in 1st gear. You are literally driving over a cliff - the road is cut into the canyon wall.
Bottom line - not only is the ECO MT an outstanding highway cruzer it's also extremely well planted, nimble and responsive on the back roads. Just be prepared to have a lot of fun rowing the gears. Overall MPG for today's drive was 43.8 MPG (DIC reported) with a round trip distance of 108.6 miles.
Note about coolant temperature: I have the digital temperature readout and the ECU will very quickly cool the water down to 187 when needed.
