QOTD: A Mileage Miracle?

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

It seems readers gravitated to Chris’ recent review of the Silverado 1500 Duramax. Indeed, I was curious to see just how well General Motors’ new 3.0-liter inline-six diesel handled day to day life and, more importantly, how well it performed at the pumps.

Looks like the pickup’s fuel economy was worthy of note. With each full-size member of the Detroit Three now fielding an oil burner, light-duty diesel fuel economy has become another arena in which to do battle. Of course, the industry has always used fuel economy as a yardstick (despite it not being much of a selling point at various times in history), and as always, the buyer’s mileage will vary, regardless of what EPA figures appear in the window sticker.

Have you ever been pleasantly surprised?

By that I mean, has your brand spankin’ new vehicle ever surpassed the EPA’s figures by such a margin, you took note? Keep in mind that a vehicle gets gets better gas mileage than advertised is like being handed free money. An allowance doled, out over, time at the pump.

I’ve been disappointed with MPG results on week-long test drives in the past, and it should come as no surprise that the most egregious gaps are found in gas-sucking full-size pickups and SUVs. After all, a big fuel bill means less-than-advertised real-world MPG results are felt more acutely in the wallet.

Sure, some of those tests featured variables that would diminish pump performance: cold weather, winter tires, and the fact that no reviewer ever replicates the EPA combined test cycle. Our mileage does vary, and so will yours. Still, disappointment sometimes crops up after a warm, sedate week spent driving in the city and on the highway.

Elation sometimes rears its head, too, as a vehicle can surprise its driver with boffo economy. Has your ride ever topped its EPA rating by such a degree, it made you want to call a friend and brag?

[Image: Murilee Martin/TTAC]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • MRF 95 T-Bird MRF 95 T-Bird on Apr 09, 2020

    My 2018 Dodge Challenger GT awd has been averaging 21-28 mpg city and highway. The sticker says 27 highway so it’s within the EPA estimates. The 1995 Thunderbird LX V8 I owned got around 26 highway and high teens city driving. I once owned a 1980 Oldsmobile Toronado diesel that regularly got 28 mpg highway. My dad owned a 1981 Chevrolet Chevette diesel and an Isuzu I-Mark diesel. 52 mpg highway was the norm. I think those or the VW Rabbit diesel was the EPA mileage champ that year, later to be beaten by the all new Honda Civic CRX-HF.

  • Millerluke Millerluke on Apr 10, 2020

    I have a 2019 Camry with the 2.5L. It's rated for around 7.2 L/100km, and I routinely get around 6.0, sometimes as low as 5.7 when I'm only on the highway. Currently, with winter tires on, I'm getting around advertised, all winter varying between 6.5 and 7.3 or so. To be fair, I put upwards of 4000km a month on it, so it's predominantly highway, but still, beating the rating by around 1 L/100km isn't too shabby

  • MaintenanceCosts People who don't use the parking brake when they walk away from the car deserve to have the car roll into a river.
  • 3-On-The-Tree I’m sure they are good vehicles but you can’t base that on who is buying them. Land Rovers, Bentley’ are bought by Robin Leaches’s “The Rich and Famous” but they have terrible reliability.
  • SCE to AUX The fix sounds like a bandaid. Kia's not going to address the defective shaft assemblies because it's hard and expensive - not cool.
  • Analoggrotto I am sick and tired of every little Hyundai Kia Genesis flaw being blown out of proportion. Why doesn't TTAC talk about the Tundra iForce Max problems, Toyota V35A engine problems or the Lexus 500H Hybrid problems? Here's why: education. Most of America is illiterate, as are the people who bash Hyundai Kia Genesis. Surveys conducted by credible sources have observed a high concentration of Hyundai Kia Genesis models at elite ivy league universities, you know those places where students earn degrees which earn more than $100K per year? Get with the program TTAC.
  • Analoggrotto NoooooooO!
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