First, welcome to the forum!

The ECO could be a good choice, with soft driving some guys are getting 50 MPG and above. If you keep your maintenance to date, these cars aren't too bad honestly.

The ECO has:

• more restricting front grill (blocking more of the grill to aid in aerodynamics
• forged aluminium wheels to reduce unsprung weight
• Underbody panels for better airflow under the car (aerodynamics again)
• weight removal in the form of no spare tire, but a sealer and inflator instead
• higher final drive transmission
• OEM tires are low rolling resistance also
• a tiny bit lower suspension (10mm)

What you can do to make it better on fuel milage is get a tune from BNR to be more conservative with the turbo and more things other people can chime in.

 

Thanks for the warm wishes and information. 50 mpg would be fantastic right about now. I've been looking at a lot of used ones on autotrader, FB marketplace, etc and it seems to confirm my suspicion that the Eco doesn't come with a sunroof which is a huge disappointment. I'm really kinda curious how well a higher trim with the same engine/trans setup would do on mileage. I must seem like such a princess but I really want a sunroof, my Stratus has one and I already settled once on the 2017 Ram 1500 I bought last year because it was absolutely mint and had every other obscure option I was looking for like crew cab long bed, 3.92 posi rear, alpine sound system, front and rear parking sensors, heated and cooled seats, you know the stuff that really takes away from fuel efficiency lol. So I read on here that 5th gear in the Eco is the same ratio as 6th in a non eco manual trans so I know I would lose out there, but I saw a forum about adding the under body covers and I've found at least 3 marketplace listings for the forged Eco wheels for like $300-400 and that would also be offset by the fact I could sell the wheels I take off. As far as tires go, I would burn through the set on the Eco wheels whatever they were and go for the LRR tires afterwards. And I know the spare tire shaves weight but I kinda like the idea of having a spare. Especially since my commute is at night and I don't want to be stranded on the side of the road at midnight waiting for a tow truck if an issue arouse that couldn't be handled by the compressor and sealer. I'm really curious what numbers I could get in say an LT by adding those things as well as the tune and have a car that I truly enjoy driving using my left foot with a sunroof

 

Welcome Aboard!

You are on the right track as far as I can see. The ECO would be a good choice, but if you are over producing, an electric may be the way to go. It is really easy to install your own charger. All you need is a double pole breaker, the appropriate cable and the charger.

How to Get Better Fuel Economy

I am not so sure a tune will help with mileage, I have a hard time keeping my foot out of it at times.

@XtremeRevolution @obermd

 

Welcome Aboard!

You are on the right track as far as I can see. The ECO would be a good choice, but if you are over producing, an electric may be the way to go. It is really easy to install your own charger. All you need is a double pole breaker, the appropriate cable and the charger.

How to Get Better Fuel Economy

I am not so sure a tune will help with mileage, I have a hard time keeping my foot out of it at times.

@XtremeRevolution @obermd

Thanks man, I appreciate the welcome wagon. Funny enough I really would love to get an electric vehicle, I have a driveway on both sides of my house (there was an addition with a two car garage before I bought it) and both driveways/garages have panels with room for a double pole breaker and I could probably do the wiring myself but the price is just absurd. To buy used, you're taking a huge risk on the batteries/warranty and more importantly, you're missing out on the $7,500 tax credit and the vehicle is still gonna run me over 20 grand or so, aka finance money. To buy new, especially with the range I'm looking for, ideally 300 miles but even 200 miles, (keep in mind I commute roughly 100 miles a day and I don't want to be screwed if I forget to plug in or get home late or go somewhere else for the day) I'm looking at something that costs easily 50 grand before taxes, and even if there is the $7,500 tax credit, that's probably dwarfed by the $10,000 "MaRkEt AdJuStMeNt". In addition I just bought my truck last year and it's the first and only vehicle I ever financed, at $40,000 with 5 grand down and only 2.65% the payments are $550 a month, I couldn't fathom making payments on a $60,000 vehicle, the Cruzes I've been looking at have been topping out at 10 grand and starting as low as 5, that I could probably scrounge together and pay it outright. And none of that really matters because I just don't think I'm ready to surrender the pleasure of using my left foot, nor have I gotten the chance to teach all my younger siblings yet how to drive stick and that's in my eyes an invaluable skill to have.

 

Hold on I'm trying to figure out this forum quoting business

 

I'm really liking this, the mileage is a little high but I'm wondering how far off Eco numbers would I be if I did this with the belly panels, forged wheels, LRR tires, tune, etc

Autotrader - page unavailable

www.autotrader.com

If you don't open the ad, it's a 2013 Cruze LT with RS package and manual transmission, 165,000 miles for just under $7,000

The EPA says an M/T Eco gets 40 highway and an M/T non-eco turbo 4 banger gets 37 highway. Regardless of the fact the government is clueless, those numbers seem pretty negligible especially if I really drive like a grandma and do some mods (I think)

 

To be honest, I think the Cruze was rated as one of the worst gains for purchasing the ECO trim as compared to other eco models from other cars (civic, etc).

The consumption difference is basically negligible after you factor in having to purchase wheels, uncut verano under engine cover, tune. You're at 1 grand already, for what 2-3 mpg gain?

If you're looking for best commute it would be a low mileage, sunroof wearing cruze of any trim.

Heck, I've reached almost 40 mpg on my 1.8L on numerous trips.

 

To be honest, I think the Cruze was rated as one of the worst gains for purchasing the ECO trim as compared to other eco models from other cars (civic, etc).

The consumption difference is basically negligible after you factor in having to purchase wheels, uncut verano under engine cover, tune. You're at 1 grand already, for what 2-3 mpg gain?

If you're looking for best commute it would be a low mileage, sunroof wearing cruze of any trim.

Heck, I've reached almost 40 mpg on my 1.8L on numerous trips.

To me it would be worth it if I could do real world average of tank (trip divided by gallons pumped) and get 45 mpgs, I'm looking at roughly 20,000 miles a year just for commuting and although I don't have much of a life I do drive other places than work so it's gonna be more than that. Eventually I imagine that more fully BEVs will come to market and prices will drop (hopefully) and maybe they won't be so darn ugly and I'll have my truck paid off and I'll get one but until then I think an M/T Cruze would really hold me over without being ridiculous and going for a Geo Metro or Toyota Tercel....

 

To the best of your knowledge has anyone broke 200/250K in the 1.4L Turbo? I'm looking at buying a car that'll have at least 50 on the clock already so it would be nice to know that these powertrains could last me a few years

 

Yes. 750,000 is the record so far

https://www.cruzetalk.com/threads/new-high-mileage-badges.165802/#post-2427322

 

I drive 70-80 mph, have a cut under engine shield, non ECO grill, non LRR tires, and average low 30s mpg. If I stay at 70 mph, it gets mid to high 30s mpg. If you really try, like drive 55, you can get above 50.

My ECO has a sunroof, though I dont know it's factory.


Edit

Forgot to say, I got a flvv off ebay, which has let me put at least 16.3 gallons in the tank. You can get 600 miles to a tank with a little effort.

The ECO M6 has 12.6 gallon capacity, and other models have 15.6 capacity iirc. The actual tanks are the same.

 

I get roughly 34-36 indicated MPG on my commute (country roads ranging from 25-55mph). Highest I've seen in our eco 6MT is 45-ish to 47-ish indicated on the freeway, cruise set to 65.

 

I think I'm pretty sold on getting a Cruze at this point as soon as my Stratus goes into the ground. Anything specific you guys think I should look for? Does the Turbo give any warning signs before it blows up? I don't want to buy one that someone is trying to pawn off before it needs major repairs

 

I pieced this together from a bunch of other similar posts I answered, so if something seems out of place, let me know.


IN MY OPINION ...
I would look for a 2014-2015 non-RS LTZ if you can afford it. This way you get the 1.4 Turbo, as many options as possible and some of the better built Cruzes and in my opinion better looking as well. I say non-RS as there are more aftermarket parts that fit the non-RS models. The body replacement body parts are cheaper as well. The one option that I would try and not get is the proximity sensors for parking as there seems to be many issues with that regardless of the MY.
Once you find a candidate, after you decide what may be wrong with the car, add any labor charges if you decide you cannot do any of this and the parts to the total price With that number and the general condition info, Go to True Car and see what it is valued at.

Things to look for:

When you are there, open the hood and look at the level of antifreeze in the reservoir It should be orange and higher than the lower hose nipple and lower than the top seam. Can you smell antifreeze at all? Look all around the engine bay. Look for any leaks at all.
Look at the thermostat housing and the water outlet. Look near the reservoir and near the reservoir cap. All of these are potential coolant leaks.
Look at the valve cover for oil, look at the front (passenger side) of the engine and look at the two circular areas that are the seals for the camshafts. Are they leaking? Look at as much of the oil pan that you can see, especially the rear between the engine and transmission.. Are there any leaks?

Next, pull the cosmetic cover off of the engine. It says ECOTEC on it. It is just held by clips. If needed, use two hands, you will not break it. Now you can see a long rectangle. That is the coil pack. In the upper right hand corner, you will see a round area and facing the front of the car is a small rectangular hole. Have them start the car. Once it is running, completely cover that hole, If you feel pressure or the car changes how it runs, it will need a new valve cover and the fix-kit.

Now if you have been listening to the engine bay, did the cooling fans kick in yet? If so are they on high,? If so either it is low on anti-freeze or the sensors may be bad.

Reserve about $500 from your purchase price to do some probably needed repairs. The money reserved would be well spent on a transmission flush, an oil change, a fix kit, and a brake fluid change along with the plastic parts needed to fix any leaks found. There are a bunch of How-To's in our DIY section as well.
If you had to replace everything that I have listed, and bought as many lifetime warrantied parts as possible as replacements, You would spend about $300 IIRC plus fluids.

Valve cover:................................. $34
Fix-Kit: .......................................... 75
Coolant ..........................................18
Sensors..........................................15
thermostat / housing...................... 82
water outlet ....................................34
reservoir with new cap ...................30
a couple of dabs of form-a-gasket..10
CPSAV Seals................................. 20

........................................Around $ 318 total plus some good quality full synthetic oil, brake fluid and transmission fluid.

My preference for the fluids is Amsoil, for the parts I use Duralast and/or Mahle lifetime warranty parts.
AMSOIL Products for the 2011-2015, 2016 Limited Gen1 Cruze

As for the turbo, listen to the operation of it to see if there are any noises that don't seem normal. Are there any MIL/CEL/SELs? If so have the codes read. The most common associated codes for the turbo that I know of are P0299, P0234, P0420, P0171 although many of these can be attributed for other causes as well.

Turbo Failure Symptoms

1. POWER LOSS. If you notice that your car isn't accelerating as powerfully as it used to, or is slow to react to your input, this might be a sign that your turbo is failing. ...
2. WHINING ENGINE. ...
3. EXHAUST SMOKE. ...
4. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. ...
5. OIL/LUBRICATION. ...
6. DAMAGED SEALS. ...
7. FOREIGN OBJECTS/DEPOSITS. ...
8. WEAR & TEAR.

This is from What Causes Turbo Failure & Common Turbo Failure Symptoms

Read/watch this:
2011-2016 Cruze 1.4 PCV Valve Cover/Intake Manifold Issues

All of the replacement procedures are in the How-To section if you need them. With a basic set of hand tools and some reading skills, you can do all of this yourself.

 

Do you guys know a good site to pull up Chevy/GM window stickers? I know when I was shopping for my Ram it was the easiest way to confirm whether the vehicles I was looking for had the options I was looking for, especially since I was looking for things like the longer wheelbase and rear axle ratio which nobody would think to put in the listing. I have the ability to run Carfaxs for free which really helped as well being that I wanted no accidents and will definitely help in my search for a Cruze, just have a find a website link like the one I had for Mopar that I would just change the URL to include the VIN and the window sticker would pop up as a PDF.

Thanks

 

There's an RPO sticker in the glove box, but I don't know of a way to do it online with a vin. The parts department at a dealership could tell you the RPOs from the vin.

[https://www.cruzetalk.com/media/20220319_181309-jpg.272094/

 

Take a look the battery and look for any signs of corrosion Ive heard multiple stories on cruze GEN 1's with bad battery corrosion wire, even on my gen 1 same issues minor, inspect the pcv system and look for any signs of excessive oil, check for any transmission hose leaks these gen 1 were prone to this same with my car lol, and jsut look for overall wear and tear shouldnt be too hard to tell if an engine is killed just take your time and hope to see your new cruze

 

Monorony labels really relies on you inputting your options to create an accurate sticker, not to mention I wouldn't want to spend $8 a sticker and wait for every car I'm looking at to buy. I was hoping GM would have a way to view the window sticker pdfs online being that these cars aren't really that old, maybe that's just a Mopar thing, I tried to do it with Ford once for my Crown Vic and they are a pain in the ass about it.

 

It is not a sticker, it is a pdf that if you want. you can print out.

Then what you really want is a VIN decoder. MyChevrolet.com is the best option. but there are many out there.