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Comments
I do not understand what the difference is between auto and stick?
I have had a 1999 Intrepid for almost 7 years. It has the autostick and effectively, when you put it into a gear it stays there. I live at the top of a steep hill with significant snowfall. I always shift down gears in automatic trans vehicles when descending this hill when it is slippery and actually do this most of the time. I also did this with my 1995 Suburban and do it with my 2006 Odyssey EX-L. In all of these vehicles, second gear with no brakes going down this hill would still get you to about 35 mph.
17 MPG Average. This may be the result of a green engine, but not anywhere near what I had expected. With the highway miles, I was expecting about 20 MPG.
Speeds on the highway were 75 mph, A/C on.
The FWD the dealer lent me a month or so ago returned over 23 mpg. Made me regret buying the AWD (we average 18 in ours).
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I've read elsewhere that Pac's, when new, are notoriously bad with gas. It's supposed to improve with time.
I'd also attribute some of this to "rental car leadfoot". While I didn't drive like a maniac, I didn't drive to maximize mileage, either.
Other than the poor mileage, I really liked the vehicle. Comfy, sufficiently fast, good handling, roomy. I'd buy one.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
17 MPG Average. This may be the result of a green engine, but not anywhere near what I had expected. With the highway miles, I was expecting about 20 MPG.
Speeds on the highway were 75 mph, A/C on.
I took my wife's 2005 Pacifica Touring on an 800 mile trip last winter across Washington State and back. I took it because it was AWD. Got right at 22 mpg running at 70-72 mph. In town it gets about 15 mpg.
In any case, I've actually been driving it HARDER lately. I used to be so gentle with it trying to eek out all the mileage I could. I gave up that quest and started driving like I always do (fast and hard). Maybe it just likes that style of driving better.(??)
We're happy, whatever the reason for this increase.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I cant wait to use autostick on a mountain road. Our old ODY sucked on mountain rds. I found it difficult to downshift.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I cant wait to use autostick on a mountain road. Our old ODY sucked on mountain rds. I found it difficult to downshift.
A couple of comments.
I have a 1999 Intrepid purchased new with the Autostick and my wife has a 2005 Pacifica AWD with autostick. My experience with autostick is that it is best used to slow down on steep hills and for quick bursts of acceleration such as merging onto the highway. For the latter I usually start in drive and get on the gas pretty hard and then pull the auto stick towards me after the shift to second has happened. This effectively locks the gear in second. I then continue to accelerate in second as long as I want and then shift back into drive and let the auto take over. I do not think the autostick works quite as well in the Pacifica as in the Intrepid. The shifts do not seem as quick or as hard and in the Pacifica you must read a small number to determine which gear you are in. In the Intrepid there is a separate number for all four gears and a little box moves from one to the other as you shift. It is much easier to tell where the box is than to read the little number.
We also have a 2006 Odyssey. This van is faster and more fun to drive than either the Intrepid or the Pacifica. It has a 5 speed auto with the shifter on the dash. There is a button on the shifter which is under your right thumb which is a shift to third button. This works really well for using the engine to slow down or for excellent bursts of acceleration. If you need more, you can move the transmission shifter down one which gives you second gear. This gives phenomenal braking and acceleration. Once you get used to this system is is easier and better to use than the autostick.
Of course, nothing is like a real manual transmission which I wish all of the vehicles came with!
Without the specific numbers, I'll just have to give you an example of what I mean for the purposes of explaining my point better. So, for instance, I take off from a light in first and quickly shift to 2nd. But when I try to shift to 3rd, the tranny doesn't respond. I flip the shifter several times, but nothing happens UNTIL I pass 2500 rpms, THEN it shifts to 3rd. Its very frustrating. So my advice is put it in drive and forget about it.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
If I try to hold the gas steady and flip through the gears, it will not allow me to go to 4th until i hit 2500 rpms in 3rd. But, if I lift off the gas (and not just a little, but take my foot COMPLETELY off), then it will allow me to go to 4th. And, to complicate matters, if I get back on the gas too fast after switching to 4th, it will automatically kick back to 3rd! I have to wait a second or so before hitting the gas to keep in in 4th. Once again, I became so annoyed by this process that I gave up on it and just kept in in Drive.
So ... can anyone confirm this process for me? Is this normal or do I need to take the PAC for some service work?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
The experts report that accelerating full throttle while short shifting results in the best mileage. Of course, this is easily accomplished with a stickshift. I'd be much happier with the autostick if it responded in the same way.
Some autosticks out there will do exactly what you command of it. Others have a mind of their own. I, of course, prefer those that actually perform as advertised and allow you to control the tranny. The Pac's autostick is obviously not one of those.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
by the way, as a general update for the board. We've now been averaging around 19 mpg. We've had a high of 20 and a low of about 17 since we've owned our Pac.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Love driving this car though.
If you got 22mpg on the highway (like we used to get too, when our FWD was brand new), you will get 25mpg in the future for sure. Just keep driving !
I've gotten to 100 miles at half tank whch is about 8.6/mpg. All city driving. Specfically commuting from the Bronx to Manhattan. A far cry from Chrysler's stated 17/mpg!
I thought I would get better gas mileage from the Pacifica than my 1997 Mercury Sable wagon with 187,000 miles on it but it's about the same.
On 11/18/06 I filled up with 89 octane. Let's see what happens in a week or so.
If you wait about 8,000-10,000mi and use 89, your MPG numbers will markedly improve.
Thanks,
New_2_Board from IL
Yes, both your posts on price and MPG have been very helpful. Thanks! The Pacifica would be "mine" since I work from home and my wife drives 70 miles round trip to work 5 days/week. I'm mostly concerned with in town MPG numbers.
We have decided to wait until the auto show hits St. Louis (usually the 1st weekend in February) before making a purchase decision. I'll post more about that in the prices paid section.
Thanks again,
New_2_Board in IL
1950 miles. Filled up and recorded mileage each time.
Driving on Interstate highway at speed 77 mph 70% and 72 mph 30% of the distance.
Car's MPG display said 20 MPG but the actual correct value was 19.25 MPG.
I used regular fuel other than two tank fulls of mid grade that owners manual recommends. By the cars MPG display my MPG went down to 19.9 with mid grade fuel and stayed there for those two tank fulls until I filled up with regular grade fuel again.
I must say that I expected a little bit better MPG value as this represents only one MPG better than what my '04 Tahoe gets with the same driving conditions. Pacifica looks much better against wind resistance than Tahoe but seems awfully small difference in real world numbers.
Arrie
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Let's do the math again. I said my Pac displayed 20 MPG but I also said that the actual value was 19.25 MPG.
19.25 MPG - 1 MPG = 18.25 MPG, which is what I usually get about with my Tahoe with the same driving conditions that I stated in my post for the Pac trip.
Arrie
we're not thrilled with our Pac's mileage, either. Our Pilot did quite a bit better.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
as far as the gears on the new pacs made a big difference on both MPG and performance.you can feel the quickness with the 6 speed.
farout
:confuse: