I thought the Alero had a 14.4 gallon tank? That's what it says in the manual. The reserve usually comes on when 2 gallons are left. I know this for certain because I have never filled the tank past 14.4 gallons. Also, when I go to the gas station immedietley after the fuel light goes on, I get about 12.4 gallons of fuel into the tank.
Based on that fact, I get about 19 MPG, with mostly city driving. This is horrible. I took a trip to Virginia this past summer. I averaged a measley 22MPG on the highway. Alero is a notorious gas guzzler. I live in Rhode Island by the way.
i take mine to the the chevrolet dealer. the olds/pont/buick/gmc/caddy dealer is a SORRY excuse for a GM dealer. with internet coupon, only $14.95 LOF, $24.95 balance and rotate. otherwise 19.99 and 29.99 without coupon. i don't trust anyone else but this dealer or myself with my olds.
You cannot combine GM card rebates. As it is, $4000 off an Alero will give you an awesome deal on a very good car (and GM is probably losing a good deal of money). Please let us know what model you buy, for what price, and how you like it.
My local GM dealers offer the GM Goodwrench Quickservice and charge about $21.99 plus tax for an oil change and $16.99 for tire rotation. I think $17 for a rotation is still too much. I learned years ago that if you have Goodyear tires any Goodyear dealer will rotate them for free.
This is according 2000 Buick Regal manual, 98 Chevy Malibu manual, and 1988 Ford Taurus manual. Most probably, the same with all cars, or at least family sedans.
I am rotating every 6,000 miles at Firestone. Free for life if you bought Firestone / Bridgestone tires, or very cheap.
After searching local dealers for replacement fog lamp bulbs, I found them at Walmart for $6.96 each. The model is GE 894 and Walmart sells the exact same bulb that comes with the car new!
Guess how much my local dealers were trying to charge me? Hee's a sample inc case you live in Southern New England.
Cerrone Olds S. Attleboro, MA $13.88 each
Banner Olds N Kingstown, RI $9.87 each
Regine Pontiac Johnston, RI $19.99 each
Dealers are practically gouging customers! Did I mention that these bulbs were very hard to find. Make sure you buy your fog lamps at Walmart because they're the cheapest.
I'm buying a new 2002 Alero. I had decided to go with the 4 cylinder engine because fuel economy is important to me, and so is engine reliability, and I'd heard that the new 2.2L Ecotech 4-cylinder is an extremely efficient, durable, low-maintenance engine. Plus in a previous post on this board, I believe gregkillian had said that the V-6 was an 18-year-old design, that it tended to run noisy at freeway speeds, and that even though it had really smooth low-end torque, once it got to higher speeds, its acceleration response wasn't noticeably better than the Ecotech 4-banger. Does anyone else feel strongly about which is the better engine choice?
The problem is availability. If I insist on a 4 cylinder engine in the color and options I want, I'll have to order it and it won't arrive in time for these February rebate offers. I drove the V-6 in a GL2 package today (with the performance suspension and bigger tires) and it handled really nicely! I'm tempted to get it. But it'll cost me 15-20% more in fuel annually. I can also get the 4-cylinder (in a GL1), but not in the teal color I want and not with the combination of options I'd prefer. If I had my ideal choice, based on what I know at this point, I'd order a teal GL2 with the 4 cyl/5spd manual trans package (which actually lets you take a $988 credit off the basic GL2!) and nothing else. But if I want to take advantage of that $2002 rebate which ends Feb 28, I don't have that ideal choice. So it's a tradeoff. Anyone have any advice? You can post here or email me privately at garret@garretswayne.com. Thanks in advance...
My mother has a 99 GL with a V6 and it is a wonderful engine. Lots of power and very quiet. I'm not sure who told you it was noisy, but it's definitely not. The 3.4L is based on an older design, but that does not mean it's a bad engine. It's fuel economy is very good for a V6 and it's as reliable as any other GM V6. While the Ecotec is more fuel efficient, I would not hesitate to buy a V6 Alero. You will love the extra power!
My approach to getting a new car is this. Buy what you want. If its not in stock, order one. I'll bet the rebate will not be materially less when it arrives.
The 5spd is a blast (I have the old 4 cyl in an '01).
A proven design is better than first-year setup. A 3.4l V-6 engine is much more powerful, than 2.2l I-4. Even on highways.
Cruising on highways, 70 mph or so, the V-6 barely moves, at about 1800 rpm or so. Low wear, low noise, long service life.
The fuel consumption on highway and on rural roads is practically the same for the both engines. In city and suburbs it depends on driving style. It is always tempting to use the available power...
I think the V6 is the best choice, but if on a budget I would go with the Ecotec. It's a great little engine, very smooth and quiet. One of the best general use 4 bangers on the road IMO.
I appreciate the feedback from this group. You all helped me make up my mind. I just signed off on the Teal GL2 sedan with the V6 and I'm really pleased. It's a beautiful car and I feel I got an incredible deal! Even with advertising costs included, it was only about $70 over invoice! ($362 less than Edmunds TMV!) These savings were possible because there was probably a price hike not too long ago, but this invoice the dealer and I were working from was obviously from before the price hike. The invoice price listed for the baseline vehicle was $238 less than the current invoice price listed on Edmunds and elsewhere! So $100 over this invoice was still $138 lower than Edmund's invoice price. And even with the $208 advertising fee added in, the total selling price of the vehicle came out to $19996, just $70 over the current $19926 invoice price on such a vehicle. Tax, license and doc fees brought the total up to $21872. From that I could deduct the $2002 rebate plus my $3997 in GM Card earnings. This brought my cost, out-the-door, down to $15873. I put down $10,000 and I'll finance the rest at 5.9% over 4 years. That works out to $137.66 a month. Not too shabby! I don't actually pick the car up until Wednesday, though. It's being detailed. But thanks once again to all of you for your help.
That is a truly incredible deal. What kind of things are on the GL2? Please tell us about the features and how you like it once you actually have the car...
I too remember reading a posting that said the 3.4 was loud at highway speeds...that writer had rocks in their head. The 3.4 is very quiet. Now the 2.4L was a bit loud, but the new ecotech is a different story.
Wow, only 19-22 mpg? That does seem pretty low. But not all Aleros are gas guzzlers. At least, our isn't. We get up to 28 mpg mixed city/highway driving, and 32-34 mpg highway.
The GL2 comes with what they call an F3 performance suspension that gives the car an even smoother, tighter feel than a regular Alero (which ain't that bad to begin with!) They use stiffer springs and wider (16") tires that really hug the road going around curves. And coupling those features with the 3.4L V-6, it's just downright fun to drive--very agile, very nimble. The GL2 also comes with a rear spoiler standard, which I think looks cool. Although the seats are cloth not leather, they're very comfortable and ergonomic. Plus the standard radio/CD player sounds great. I don't pick up the car 'til Wednesday, so I have nothing more to report on. I'll post what my mileage turns out to be once I start getting the figures. All in all, I'm really pleased with my new purchase!
Congrats on the car. You will love the car. I really enjoy driving my mom's every now and then. Last year when they went to Spain, I had it for 2 weeks!
We've got a 2001 GL2 and I think it is the best of all the Alero trim levels. Unless you want leather seats and chrome wheels, the GL2 has the best package content and is the best value. (The suspension package is called RPO FE3, I believe.)
As far as V6 noise, I would say that the engine is only really noisy during acceleration, but not at cruise speed. It is definitely not nearly as refined (read: smooth and quiet) as engines produced by Toyota and Honda, but it is a proven powerplant. I have a supercharged Bonneville with the 3800 Series II V6 and although it is not exactly quiet either it does not raise as much racket during hard accel as the Alero does. Maybe it's just perception; I don't have a dB meter!
For 2001, I agree that the GL2 is the best value. However, for 2002, if you like a 5 speed manual, the GX is the best value. Where else can you order a leather wrapped wheel, shift knob, aluminum wheels and spoiler, and they SUBTRACT $150 from the price? When I saw this, I did a triple take.
On most other cars, aluminum wheels cost at least $250-300, spoiler is at least $250, and leather wheel is at least $50. About $500 worth of goodies, and they give you $150 to take it!
I couldn't agree with you more. I have the same, only it's a 2000. My other car is a Lexus RX300 (were on our second one) and I often compare the Alero to it. The Alero has a smoother idle but the RX300 has quiter and smoother acceleration. Once at crusing speed the Alero kicks the RX's [non-permissible content removed]. The Alero is a smooth and quiet at highway speeds. Th RX is geared much lower and has much higher RPM's on the highway. Th high gearing of the Alero also gives it great highway gas mileage. Last time I checked it was 34mpg on a 500 mile trip. Around town is somewhere in the low 20's.
Pretty nice to hear that an Alero can be considered in the same breath with a Lexus! I'm still kind of bummed that GM killed Oldsmobile--I don't think they gave it enough of a chance...
I agree. Unfortunately the people running Oldsmobile did a horrible job of marketing the cars. The first Auroras and Intrigues didn't even have an Oldsmobile badge on them. I still have people asking me who makes my Intrigue. The Alero is the only Olds still selling well and I wouldn't be surprised to see it become a Chevy if that continues. Alero sells as a Chevrolet in Europe.
it is unfortunate about Olds but it's becoming obvious that GM is trying to trim down their product line so they can continue to be competitve in the car segment (They are doing well inthe truck segment but their car sales continue to decline). I think you will see one or two Olds products carry on in anothe GM line. But, I would be surprised if it is the Alero. Quite honestly, the Alero is the exact same vehicle as the Grand Am. I would think the Intrigue, Bravada and Aurora have a better shot of continuing under a different badge. Not unless they do away with teh Grand Am and move the Alero over to the Pontiac line.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if Saturn is the next line to be 'downsized'.
I actually read somewhere that the next generation Grand Am will be a blend of Alero and Grand Am styling so that probably makes sense. New Bravada is apparently going to Buick in a year or two. Rest of the cars are dead for sure.
GM's car business is in desperate need of an overhaul but it looks like Mr. Lutz has gotten things rolling in that respect. Big dollars will be flowing into cars starting with the Saturn ION next month at the New York auto show. Saturn is also getting a new midsize in 2 years and crossover vehicle in 3. Saturn is definitely not getting down sized.
Congratulations on your new purchase idlehans! You got a great car and a killer deal on it!!! I appreciate that you read and considered my humble opinion on the 4-banger. But in the end, $2000 savings on a $20,000 window sticker is a lot of money, and it's really a tradeoff...you either get low end torque (V-6) or smoothness across the powerband (I-4). Hopefully it won't be long before the General can offer us an engine with both!
For those accusing me of "having rocks in my head", I would like to reiterate my opinion on the Alero's engine options. It seems that many people thought I was broadcasting that the V-6 Alero is noisy on the highway. I quote from my posting #1164 saying "it runs out of breath on the highway and is quite loud under acceleration". "Runs out of breath" is a common phrase meaning that it lacks responsiveness and passing power - a common trait in long stroke pushrod V-6's with a high torque/hp ratio. My noise comment "is quite loud under acceleration" means exactly that...it's quite loud under acceleration. I'll expand on that to say that it's especially loud at lower end acceleration, though it still will make a racket at highway speed downshifts. It's my OPINION, what can I tell ya.
In the end, both engines have their benefits and tradeoffs.
The V-6 has great off-the-line torque and a world proven track record of duability. It's tradeoffs are noisy/harsh noise under acceleration and mediocre gas mileage.
The Ecotech I-4 has world class smoothness and quietness across the powerband and good fuel economy. This comes at the expense of lower torque than the V-6 and a shorter history to establish durability.
And after all this, I GOT THE QUAD 4 WHICH HAS FEW OF THESE BENEFITS AND MOST OF THESE DRAWBACKS!!!! But hey, I really wanted the 5-sp, and I couldn't wait for the 2K2 model.
I don't think the V6 is any louder than any other car in it's class with a V6 and I think it has plenty of passing power. I agree though, DOHC engines do indeed have more midrange power as they peak at higher RPMs. I found this out with my Intrigue 3.5L.
I am still amazed at the how good this V6 is. I rechecked my gas mileage over the last few tankfuls just to be sure after reading some negative comments. My driving is much closer to city than highway. No highway, some country roads, some city, a lot of stop and go and I drive with a lead foot. 25MPG. Ann Job just released a test report of the Saturn Wagon and claimed the 4 in her test was "buzzy" and suggested you get the 6. I don't know if it's the same 4 as the Alero.
Just to clarify, my rocks in the head comment referred to claims that the 3.4L was noisey at cruising speeds. I have read these claims a few times in the past few months.
The 3.4 may make a little noise under hard acceleration, but I don't think it is louder than most engines. At highway speeds, this engine turns very few RPMs and is super quiet.
I have not driven an Alero 3.4 for an extended period. However, I have driven one in an Impala, and could not get worse than 28MPG in mostly city driving. On trips, it averaged 33-34.
Yes, pushrods generally have less passing power on highway, because they are losing torque abruptly after 4,000 rpm or so.
However, all of this is just a general theory, not applicable to Alero / GA. The 3.4l pushrod V-6 is rather powerful engine for these cars. The engine is usually used with minivans and bigger cars, like base Impala. Additionally, it have unusually flat torque curve. You can see it here:
As a result, it develops enough torque at 1800 rpm to cruise on highway. Plenty of usable rpm range left for passing. I drove a rented 99 Am for a month, while my Malibu was in body shop. Was surprised, how easy it "makes" other cars on highways, especially uphill. CT is a hilly state. Usually, it was enough to just touch the gas pedal, with rpm jumping to 2200 or so only.
The car consumes few gas on highway, for the same reason: the engine spins 1800 rpm only.
"Yes, pushrods generally have less passing power on highway, because they are losing torque abruptly after 4,000 rpm or so."
When I have hit the gas to pass and get back up to (e.g.) 120km/h / 75mph, the engine's still below 4000rpm. I guess if somebody feels they have to accelerate up to 150 km/h to get around someone then they'd be revving pretty high, but I guess I just don't drive like that.
In reallity, a lot depends on how fast you want to pass, and if you pass uphill.
There is a hill near my home, between exits 59 and 58 on CT-15 South, where most of cars slow down to less than 60. Tried once to climb the hill at about 75 mph, yet rpm jumped to 5,000. This is with 3.1l V-6 engine, 98 Malibu. Drove steady, not accelerating.
Your Alero must have much more torque and power for climbing and passing.
As to accelerating to 150 km/h, well, I passed cars at 96 mph. Even twice. Not intentionally the both times. This happened the very first two to five days after buying our new car, a Buick.
Simply did not expected it to be so fast, and did not learned yet to feel its speed. Very smouth suspension and seats, the whole impression of barely moving. Added gas, passed, returned into my lane, glanced on speedometer - oops!
However, there are several hills on highways in our area, where even the Buick switches to the 3-rd speed. On cruise control, not when passing. At about 74 mph - this is my usual cruising speed on highways. Or even at 68 mph on the route CT-15 - hilly, winding and with low speed limit.
Has anyone had brake (rotor) problems with a 2002 Alero yet? Or water leaking into the cabin? Just curious after reading about all of the past problems. I drove a new 5 speed today, and was pretty impressed. With all the discounts I can get it for $11,000, but reliability would be a concern. I would be replacing my reliable Accord.
Thanks for the input. Yes, it was the GX with the sport package. It's the lowest priced Alero available, but it really has about everything I want, with the exception of power windows. I may wait a few weeks to see if GM slaps on an extra $500 in dealer cash, like it did with the Grand Am.
I am also considering a Vibe, which would cost $2,500 more, but would have better resale and reliability. I am not 100% sold on the Pontiac styling, and I did not care for the automatic I drove. There are no 5 speeds available yet.
And lastly, while at the Olds dealership, I also drove a new Intrigue GX that I could get for $16,500. A great price for the car, but there are other issues I would be concerned about with the Intrigue (besides the minor quality issues), such as the engine. Even though it is the Intrigue's strong point, it will not be manufactured after this year. At least the Alero's engines will continue on in other GM models.
I've had an '99 Alero with the V6 engine for 3 years and its mileage hovered about 29 on the highway and 23 in urban driving. It's pretty much what most owners have experienced, thus I don't one can say that the Alero is a notorious gas-guzzler...
Nonsense! It's only noisy at high revs, but it's most of the time around 2000RPM. It's especially quiet on the highway, when it hums at 1700RPM cruising at 60MPH...
Thanks for your reference to the torque curves yurakam. The torque curve shown on the GM Powertrain website clearly shows why the Alero 3.4 V6 tends to run out of breath passing on the highway. It’s a direct result of the concepts of force and energy at work on a moving car. This is not “general theory”, and the Alero, nor any car, is exempt from these basic laws of physics.
Look at the torque curve that you reference for the 3.4L V6. You are correct to note that it is flat, and it is that flatness at lower RPM’s that gives it that kick-in-the-pants off the line. I agree that it pulls like an electric train from a stop a great trait that makes the car feel very powerful. The problem is that the torque curve is flat but not “wide”. At about 4000 RPM it drops off quickly and steadily to it’s maximum power point where torque is only about 75% of it’s peak.
Let’s look at how this affects a car on the highway. As speed builds, the forces that the engine must overcome grow exponentially. Specifically, you have road resistance and wind resistance growing at exponential rates. That’s two exponential resistive forces adding together to make one helluva increase with every mph This eats up a lot of torque just to maintain speed.
Now, in order to go 60mph, this engine needs to make the wheels spin at 800 RPM (approximately, depending on wheel/tire combo). Back to the torque curve. Because the curve drops so dramatically at a relatively low 4000 RPM, in order to keep the engine in an acceptable powerband, GM powertrain engineers had to decide between having higher gear ratios (higher engine revs at cruise) or lower ratios requiring more frequent downshifts. We know from experience that they chose the former, as the Alero cruises w/ relatively low RPM’s. However, with those high forces discussed above, the engine is forced to downshift when other significant resistive forces come along – such as hills or the requirement to pass. When you downshift at highway speeds, you’re going to be pushing 4000 rpm in 3rd gear just to maintain speed, let alone gain it.
This is where the “out of breath” comes into play. At the top of it’s powerband, the 3.4 is only making about 75% of it’s peak torque and it’s dropping fast. When the car downshifts there is little more torque on tap for acceleration. And what is available falls off quickly as the car gets higher in it’s powerband. Compare this to an engine that pulls longer and stronger such as the 3.5 DOHC V6 in the Intrigue (you can see it’s torque curve on the same website). It is making about 90% of it’s peak torque, and not dropping nearly as fast as the 3.4 at it’s peak power. (Note, I compare engines to themselves as a % and not each other as that would be apples and oranges). Higher torque at higher speeds allows the engineers to take advantage of better gearing. Now, I know you’re saying it’s only a 15% difference, but have you ever driven any old GM rwd car with a 3.41 vs. a 3.71? That’s only a 10% difference in ratios and there is a huge difference in the seat of your pants. Plus, the Intrigue’s motor holds that extra 15% torque another 10% higher in RPMs magnifying the effect.
I guess the flat torque curve is actually a good thing. A previous post claims that is why GM geared the car high. Any way, the combination gives me the best highway performing 6 I ever had. Not to mention great gas mileage.
Wouldn't worry too much about 3.5L parts. They will be made for years and years to come, not to mention parts from wreckers. Intrigue a great car. Mine turns 2 this month and I love it.
Nice to see a lot of active people here discussing the Alero and its little and big details.
I just picked up a 1999 GL with the 2.4 with 45,500 miles on the clock.A nice car. Just totalled Contour 4 cyl. (snowdrift, kissed a tree) Now the Contour was ok, nothing remarkable, but it was great on gas. Also I have a 99 Camry, 4 cyl, also great on gas, in fact awesome.
Now the Alero. This car has the 16 in polished aluiminum rims and the Goodyear Eagle GL's 225 50's..meaty tires..lets just say the fuel gauge needle does not stay in one place for long. With 85% hwy (steady 118-120 km/hr) and the rest city Im looking at 24-25 mpg. No lead foot. Seems the tranny shifts high, 3k rpms from 1st to 2nd, etc. Has a new air filter, I see the air deflecter on the airbox and it looks restrictive..heard some ppl remove it. It revs at 2300-2400 on the hwy..it should be getting good mileage at that rpm
I see theres a lot of discussion on mileage of these cars here. The small tank doesnt help much either. My Camry has a 18.5 gallon tank, why does GM always put in the small gas tanks?
Also, the tire pressure on the door panle for the 16" rim says 30 lb all around. The max pressure on the tires says 44. Anyone change their tire pressure a bit..maybe 34 psi?
Looking forward to driving this car a bit more...without getting hit hard at the pump!
I wholeheartedly agree with your reasoning. However, the flat torque curve let GM use different gear ratios, including the final gear ratio, than what you implicitly expected:
The 3.4l V-6 under the hood of Alero makes only 1800 rpm when cruising @ 70 mph on highway. After switching on the 3-rd gear, it will increase to roughly 2600-2700 rpm (1800 / 0.683 * 1.0). Far away from the 4000 rpm when the engine would start "losing breath". It would reach 4000 rpm only at 106 mph on the 3-rd gear.
On the 2-nd gear the same engine would revolve up to almost 4300 rpm (1800 / 0.683 * 1.623) at 70 mph. I do not know exactly, how GM programmed its electronics, but I would not expect the transmission to downshift to the 2-nd gear even under a heavy acceleration, except possibly up a step hill.
I would try increasing the tire pressure. 44PSI seems a bit high, but I don't have the 16" wheels. I would rate the fuel economy of an Alero as average...my buddy with the GL2 2.4 gets about 28MPG with mostly highway driving. Not great, but not terrible either.
Comments
Based on that fact, I get about 19 MPG, with mostly city driving. This is horrible. I took a trip to Virginia this past summer. I averaged a measley 22MPG on the highway. Alero is a notorious gas guzzler. I live in Rhode Island by the way.
Best,
C$26.96 for an oil/lube/filter
C$25.00 extra for tire rotation
They often have a package deal for $39.95
Lots of other places do it all for C$29.95 though.
mo
This is according 2000 Buick Regal manual, 98 Chevy Malibu manual, and 1988 Ford Taurus manual. Most probably, the same with all cars, or at least family sedans.
I am rotating every 6,000 miles at Firestone. Free for life if you bought Firestone / Bridgestone tires, or very cheap.
Guess how much my local dealers were trying to charge me? Hee's a sample inc case you live in Southern New England.
Cerrone Olds
S. Attleboro, MA
$13.88 each
Banner Olds
N Kingstown, RI
$9.87 each
Regine Pontiac
Johnston, RI
$19.99 each
Dealers are practically gouging customers! Did I mention that these bulbs were very hard to find. Make sure you buy your fog lamps at Walmart because they're the cheapest.
The problem is availability. If I insist on a 4 cylinder engine in the color and options I want, I'll have to order it and it won't arrive in time for these February rebate offers. I drove the V-6 in a GL2 package today (with the performance suspension and bigger tires) and it handled really nicely! I'm tempted to get it. But it'll cost me 15-20% more in fuel annually. I can also get the 4-cylinder (in a GL1), but not in the teal color I want and not with the combination of options I'd prefer. If I had my ideal choice, based on what I know at this point, I'd order a teal GL2 with the 4 cyl/5spd manual trans package (which actually lets you take a $988 credit off the basic GL2!) and nothing else. But if I want to take advantage of that $2002 rebate which ends Feb 28, I don't have that ideal choice. So it's a tradeoff. Anyone have any advice? You can post here or email me privately at garret@garretswayne.com. Thanks in advance...
The 5spd is a blast (I have the old 4 cyl in an '01).
Cruising on highways, 70 mph or so, the V-6 barely moves, at about 1800 rpm or so. Low wear, low noise, long service life.
The fuel consumption on highway and on rural roads is practically the same for the both engines. In city and suburbs it depends on driving style. It is always tempting to use the available power...
The only matter is price.
;-)
I think the V6 is the best choice, but if on a budget I would go with the Ecotec. It's a great little engine, very smooth and quiet. One of the best general use 4 bangers on the road IMO.
But thanks once again to all of you for your help.
You may even want to put less out of pocket money down. But that is up to you. that should tell you what type of deals can be had on Olds this year.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
Congrats on a great car purchase.
As far as V6 noise, I would say that the engine is only really noisy during acceleration, but not at cruise speed. It is definitely not nearly as refined (read: smooth and quiet) as engines produced by Toyota and Honda, but it is a proven powerplant. I have a supercharged Bonneville with the 3800 Series II V6 and although it is not exactly quiet either it does not raise as much racket during hard accel as the Alero does. Maybe it's just perception; I don't have a dB meter!
On most other cars, aluminum wheels cost at least $250-300, spoiler is at least $250, and leather wheel is at least $50. About $500 worth of goodies, and they give you $150 to take it!
I wouldn't be surprised at all if Saturn is the next line to be 'downsized'.
GM's car business is in desperate need of an overhaul but it looks like Mr. Lutz has gotten things rolling in that respect. Big dollars will be flowing into cars starting with the Saturn ION next month at the New York auto show. Saturn is also getting a new midsize in 2 years and crossover vehicle in 3. Saturn is definitely not getting down sized.
Enjoy your new ride.
In the end, both engines have their benefits and tradeoffs.
The V-6 has great off-the-line torque and a world proven track record of duability. It's tradeoffs are noisy/harsh noise under acceleration and mediocre gas mileage.
The Ecotech I-4 has world class smoothness and quietness across the powerband and good fuel economy. This comes at the expense of lower torque than the V-6 and a shorter history to establish durability.
And after all this, I GOT THE QUAD 4 WHICH HAS FEW OF THESE BENEFITS AND MOST OF THESE DRAWBACKS!!!! But hey, I really wanted the 5-sp, and I couldn't wait for the 2K2 model.
Enjoy your Alero's.
Ann Job just released a test report of the Saturn Wagon and claimed the 4 in her test was "buzzy" and suggested you get the 6. I don't know if it's the same 4 as the Alero.
The 3.4 may make a little noise under hard acceleration, but I don't think it is louder than most engines. At highway speeds, this engine turns very few RPMs and is super quiet.
I have not driven an Alero 3.4 for an extended period. However, I have driven one in an Impala, and could not get worse than 28MPG in mostly city driving. On trips, it averaged 33-34.
However, all of this is just a general theory, not applicable to Alero / GA. The 3.4l pushrod V-6 is rather powerful engine for these cars. The engine is usually used with minivans and bigger cars, like base Impala. Additionally, it have unusually flat torque curve. You can see it here:
http://www.gm.com/automotive/gmpowertrain/engines_cartruck/other/34_torque.htm
As a result, it develops enough torque at 1800 rpm to cruise on highway. Plenty of usable rpm range left for passing. I drove a rented 99 Am for a month, while my Malibu was in body shop. Was surprised, how easy it "makes" other cars on highways, especially uphill. CT is a hilly state. Usually, it was enough to just touch the gas pedal, with rpm jumping to 2200 or so only.
The car consumes few gas on highway, for the same reason: the engine spins 1800 rpm only.
When I have hit the gas to pass and get back up to (e.g.) 120km/h / 75mph, the engine's still below 4000rpm. I guess if somebody feels they have to accelerate up to 150 km/h to get around someone then they'd be revving pretty high, but I guess I just don't drive like that.
In reallity, a lot depends on how fast you want to pass, and if you pass uphill.
There is a hill near my home, between exits 59 and 58 on CT-15 South, where most of cars slow down to less than 60. Tried once to climb the hill at about 75 mph, yet rpm jumped to 5,000. This is with 3.1l V-6 engine, 98 Malibu. Drove steady, not accelerating.
Your Alero must have much more torque and power for climbing and passing.
As to accelerating to 150 km/h, well, I passed cars at 96 mph. Even twice. Not intentionally the both times. This happened the very first two to five days after buying our new car, a Buick.
Simply did not expected it to be so fast, and did not learned yet to feel its speed. Very smouth suspension and seats, the whole impression of barely moving. Added gas, passed, returned into my lane, glanced on speedometer - oops!
However, there are several hills on highways in our area, where even the Buick switches to the 3-rd speed. On cruise control, not when passing. At about 74 mph - this is my usual cruising speed on highways. Or even at 68 mph on the route CT-15 - hilly, winding and with low speed limit.
We have not had any leaking water in our 2002.
Did you drive the GX? Did it have the sport package?
I am also considering a Vibe, which would cost $2,500 more, but would have better resale and reliability. I am not 100% sold on the Pontiac styling, and I did not care for the automatic I drove. There are no 5 speeds available yet.
And lastly, while at the Olds dealership, I also drove a new Intrigue GX that I could get for $16,500. A great price for the car, but there are other issues I would be concerned about with the Intrigue (besides the minor quality issues), such as the engine. Even though it is the Intrigue's strong point, it will not be manufactured after this year. At least the Alero's engines will continue on in other GM models.
Decisions, decisions.
Look at the torque curve that you reference for the 3.4L V6. You are correct to note that it is flat, and it is that flatness at lower RPM’s that gives it that kick-in-the-pants off the line. I agree that it pulls like an electric train from a stop a great trait that makes the car feel very powerful. The problem is that the torque curve is flat but not “wide”. At about 4000 RPM it drops off quickly and steadily to it’s maximum power point where torque is only about 75% of it’s peak.
Let’s look at how this affects a car on the highway. As speed builds, the forces that the engine must overcome grow exponentially. Specifically, you have road resistance and wind resistance growing at exponential rates. That’s two exponential resistive forces adding together to make one helluva increase with every mph This eats up a lot of torque just to maintain speed.
Now, in order to go 60mph, this engine needs to make the wheels spin at 800 RPM (approximately, depending on wheel/tire combo). Back to the torque curve. Because the curve drops so dramatically at a relatively low 4000 RPM, in order to keep the engine in an acceptable powerband, GM powertrain engineers had to decide between having higher gear ratios (higher engine revs at cruise) or lower ratios requiring more frequent downshifts. We know from experience that they chose the former, as the Alero cruises w/ relatively low RPM’s. However, with those high forces discussed above, the engine is forced to downshift when other significant resistive forces come along – such as hills or the requirement to pass. When you downshift at highway speeds, you’re going to be pushing 4000 rpm in 3rd gear just to maintain speed, let alone gain it.
This is where the “out of breath” comes into play. At the top of it’s powerband, the 3.4 is only making about 75% of it’s peak torque and it’s dropping fast. When the car downshifts there is little more torque on tap for acceleration. And what is available falls off quickly as the car gets higher in it’s powerband. Compare this to an engine that pulls longer and stronger such as the 3.5 DOHC V6 in the Intrigue (you can see it’s torque curve on the same website). It is making about 90% of it’s peak torque, and not dropping nearly as fast as the 3.4 at it’s peak power. (Note, I compare engines to themselves as a % and not each other as that would be apples and oranges). Higher torque at higher speeds allows the engineers to take advantage of better gearing. Now, I know you’re saying it’s only a 15% difference, but have you ever driven any old GM rwd car with a 3.41 vs. a 3.71? That’s only a 10% difference in ratios and there is a huge difference in the seat of your pants. Plus, the Intrigue’s motor holds that extra 15% torque another 10% higher in RPMs magnifying the effect.
And... I loved it! I've enjoyed smoking 3-series BMWs until the 330 came along. What a sleeper the Alero V6 is!
;^)I just picked up a 1999 GL with the 2.4 with 45,500 miles on the clock.A nice car. Just totalled Contour 4 cyl. (snowdrift, kissed a tree)
Now the Contour was ok, nothing remarkable, but it was great on gas. Also I have a 99 Camry, 4 cyl, also great on gas, in fact awesome.
Now the Alero. This car has the 16 in polished aluiminum rims and the Goodyear Eagle GL's 225 50's..meaty tires..lets just say the fuel gauge needle does not stay in one place for long. With 85% hwy (steady 118-120 km/hr) and the rest city Im looking at 24-25 mpg. No lead foot. Seems the tranny shifts high, 3k rpms from 1st to 2nd, etc. Has a new air filter, I see the air deflecter on the airbox and it looks restrictive..heard some ppl remove it. It revs at 2300-2400 on the hwy..it should be getting good mileage at that rpm
I see theres a lot of discussion on mileage of these cars here. The small tank doesnt help much either. My Camry has a 18.5 gallon tank, why does GM always put in the small gas tanks?
Also, the tire pressure on the door panle for the 16" rim says 30 lb all around. The max pressure on the tires says 44. Anyone change their tire pressure a bit..maybe 34 psi?
Looking forward to driving this car a bit more...without getting hit hard at the pump!
Gear Ratios:
1st 2.957
2nd 1.623
3rd 1.000
4th 0.683
Rev 2.143
see: http://www.gm.com/automotive/gmpowertrain/transmissions/4t45_main.htm
The 3.4l V-6 under the hood of Alero makes only 1800 rpm when cruising @ 70 mph on highway. After switching on the 3-rd gear, it will increase to roughly 2600-2700 rpm (1800 / 0.683 * 1.0). Far away from the 4000 rpm when the engine would start "losing breath". It would reach 4000 rpm only at 106 mph on the 3-rd gear.
On the 2-nd gear the same engine would revolve up to almost 4300 rpm (1800 / 0.683 * 1.623) at 70 mph. I do not know exactly, how GM programmed its electronics, but I would not expect the transmission to downshift to the 2-nd gear even under a heavy acceleration, except possibly up a step hill.