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Comments
then!..
Did you notice that getting this high MPG is correlated to the weather
-- temperature etc.?
I've been wondering about your results for that upcoming trip '"up
north" in Manistee' (see post #100).
Glad to hear from you and read your report with great interest.
,-- You=gdubya2 [ Jan 03, 2007 (2:08 am) ]
|
| Just an update on my experiences over the past 11 months with my
| 2006 LS sedan... I've averaged 30.177 mpg during those miles with a
| high of 40.12 mpg and a low of 23.38 mpg. I live in a suburban
| community so most of my driving is not stop and go city stuff.
Since you talk here about more than the fuel economy, I will also give
a more or less comprehensive account of my experience with my two
Malibus -- it is especially appropriate now, since the second one just
turned one year of the ownership.
[ Both cars are Malibu 2005, Base Sedan, with slightly different
options ]
I bought the first one in May 2005, right after checking it out by
accident at a dealership -- just left my six-year old Bonneville there
and drove off the lot in the new car. (Some surprise for the
family later that day... :-)
By the end of year 2005, we (the family) knew that that spontaneous
purchase was a wise one -- Malibu had been really good to us, the
amazing fuel economy included. And (every owner will know it) -- what
a comfortable and practical car!...
So, comes the end of 2005, I am in love with my Bu and so on December
30th, when amazingly good deals can be made, I go to take a look at
another dealer's lot and... the next thing I know, I call my wife --
"Hey, I am at a dealership... I just bought another car... We'll talk
later..." Mind you -- I am the only driver in the family at that
stage...
And so it happened that on January 3rd, 2006, there turned out to be
two white Malibu's in my driveway, and every morning I needed to make
a tough decision which one to drive... Thankfully, in the summer my
daughter got the license and it became easier to make the choice. (In
honesty, I bought the second car because I knew she'd need one within
a year and after casually looking at some alternatives, including
Cobalt, I didn't want anything but a Malibu for her. And I didn't
want anything else for myself, either.)
Here are the numbers for the cars (both are normally driven "more city
than highway"):
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+
|---------------------| Bu1 --| Bu2 --| Bu2* -|
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+
| Odometer (miles) ---| 13664 | 13658 | 10917 |
| Speed avg (mph) ----| 22 -- | 28 ---| 27 ---|
| Speed high (mph) ---| 30 -- | 59 ---| 49 ---|
| Economy low (mpg) --| 20.8 -| 21.0 -| 21.0 -|
| Economy high (mpg) -| 29.2 -| 36.3 -| 34.0 -|
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+
Why three columns for two cars? Because I wanted to exclude the
largest distorting factor -- the June 2006 round-trip of 2741 miles,
which was all highway (although in suboptimal conditions -- see my
June postings). So the "Bu2*" columns is calculated with that trip
excluded. The average and high speed in the table should give you the
idea of my driving patterns.
The table above is produced on the basis of the numbers I collect
after each fill-up. Speed numbers are taken off the DIC, of course,
with zeroing the reading after the read. Economy is calculated as
"miles driven divided by gasoline purchased" -- the information shown
by DIC is always way too optimistic (up to two MPG).
| I have done one oil change myself, using Mobil One, and have had the
| tires rotated. That's it - no recalls, no warranty work, nothing! I
| absolutly could not be happier with any other car.
I change oil to synthetic (Mobil One or Castrol Syntec) myself, at
about 7500 miles passed. And I rotate the tires myself, too, also
keeping my eye on the proper inflation.
No recalls in my history, either.
I had two very minor things taken care of under the warranty:
* Bu1 had a rubber hit protector on the trunk arm fallen out -- the
rubber was defective originally.
* Bu2 had a slight scratching noise at low speeds (while cold) in a
front wheel. It turned out to be the wheel bearing defect -- the
dealer replaced it and all has been well since then.
The total of time I spent at the dealership (not counting the
purchases, obviously) is under one day -- i.e. for both cars together.
| I think it is such a great automobile for the money and would not
| hesitate for a second in recommending it to anyone.
And so would I...
Various people would want various things in their car, of course. We
all want at least some minimum set of options. I know the value of
ABS, for example, and want it in my car. The remote starter is a
convenience which I appreciate more and more, but probably could live
without (oh, wait... maybe not...)
But apart from the minimum set of features, I want just two things in
my cars:
* Fuel economy.
* Reliability and the minimum maintenance cost and effort. I hated
spending hours at the dealer before I got my Bu1. I don't want to
do that ever again.
In this respect (as in all others, in fact), after more than 27,000
miles combined in my cars, I couldn't be happier about them. (Thank
you Chevy, again!)
| I have seen the photos of the 2008 Malibu and intend to go to the
| North American Auto Show in Detroit in a couple of weeks to take a
| look at it first hand. I am a little concerned that the new styling
| has lowered the roof heigth and will make getting in and out of the
| car more difficult - something I really do not like about my wife's
| Buick LaCrosse.
I saw the photos as well, did like what I saw but have the same
concerns. This car is *practical*. I love the space over my head, the
ease of getting in and out, knowing that all the passengers are extra
comfortable, and wouldn't change this practicality and comfort for the
smoother roof lines. (I know what you mean talking about LaCrosse...
And did you try the latest Pontiacs -- G6 and GrandPrix?... I don't
think I'd enjoy riding in their back seats...)
Some people find the current Malibu's design a disaster (see the
"2008" discussion). That's fine with me -- I don't need other people
to love my car. I am inside and I like what I see and what I feel.
But I also noticed that my eye sort of has trained on Malibu's shapes
over the time. When I see it -- the sedan or Maxx -- on the road, my
heart jumps with joy -- it's such a neat car. When I walk around my
cars, I find them beautiful. And hey, they are -- it appears that
most of the photos of the current Malibus are taken from some
ridiculous angles, ruining the image of the car -- the car "alive"
makes quite a different impression on me than the pictures I usually
see.
Anyway, best wishes to Chevy and all us Malibu owners -- and thank you
for listening!
Today the car has 57,744 total miles and pumped 2,108.26 gallons od gas. Average 26.9 mpg with average fuel cost of $2.03 per gallon.
Average speed is in low 40's
The other problem is the big wheel diameter, which hurts maneuverability as well as ride quality.
The Malibu SS, apparently, is geared the same as the regular Maxx line. That combination seems to work much better.
They work well, they're simple, they get fantastic gas mileage, cheap to fix, very reliable, quiet. I guess all they can say bad about them is that they are an old design, which is true but not necessarily bad. Come on over, put in your two cents.
Are you saying they won't even look at it. Call GM customer service, the # is in your owners manual. I bet they will get someone to check it out.
Anyway, Happily, I am getting as-advertised MPG outta my Malibu. I get 33.5 to 34.6 MPG average for my commute. My average speed of 50 MPH (yep nearly all highway). Here is the interesting part... I live about 1100 feet higher than I work... So I get like 38-40 MPG going to work, and significantly less coming back.
I guess I could consistently see 35-36 MPG outta this car if I had a flat road commute... But I am not complaining, this car is bigger, more comfortable, and has more standard options than the Toyota Corolla. Overall I am very happy.
Oh, and for those who are also talking about it... I do have an occasional clunk in my steering, mostly in-parking lot steering. Hope mine isn't going.
Other than reliability I completely agree with the fact that the Malibu is much more comfortable to drive every day and due to the size and weight, safer too!
I had a 91 Chevrolet Caprice go to 280K miles with nothing more than excellent maintenance.
But that is not the typical outcome.
Based on everything I read and hear, the average Honda or Toyota is by far more durable and has less mechanical problems than the average Ford or GM (after a couple hundred thousand miles).
There is always someone with a different opinion or experience and I respect that.
My limit has been 120K, too much new technology to let go by after 8-9 years, things are moving very fast these days.
I keep my cars for about 8 to 10 years and my personal experience with Japanese cars has been better than with American cars.
Based only on my personal experience, the American cars I have had required replacing alternators, water pumps, starters, etc. before reaching 200k miles. Some of them cost several thousands dollars in repairs to poor quality engine gaskets, weak brakes, leaky axles, etc.
All of this despite meticulous maintenance!
None of my Japanese cars needed anything other than routine maintenance.
My latest car I just sold after 6 years, a 2001 Echo did not even need a light bulb to be replaced. Only 1 set of brakes, 1 set of belts and routine fluid changes.
For me, buying the wrong car could mean several thousand dollars in additional expenses.
Of course someone that keeps his car for maybe 4 or 5 years and less than 100k miles this whole matter would be of little concern.
Before purchasing my present 2007 Sentra y also considered a 4 cylinder Malibu. I test drove one and I liked the ride. But I also talked to my mechanic friend with 30 years experience at a GM dealership and based upon his advice and my own experience decided against the Malibu.
I am sure that there must be quite a lot of GM owners out there with a different opinion and I respect that.
The bean counters cut corners every way they can to make up for the expensive overhead. The Japanese don’t have that burden, so they can produce a good car.
I buy GM because I always have, they are easy to work on and parts are not that expensive. I have heard the Japanese parts are very high, but I don’t think you would know that, you don’t buy any.
Until they straighten out this inequality, it will stay the same.
I hope the next 100k are as uneventful as the first 100k.
So far the only 2 unexpected things to gom wrong were a serpentine belt tensioner that disintegrated 50 feet away from a MIDAS and a rear axle leak that I fixed in my garage.
I refuse to buy a Japanese truck simply because they are very expensive.
But I sure like the new Toyota Tundra (only $ 41,000 plus tax).
Somehow, I remember one of the Chevys I have rented has such a feature, maybe it's Impala.
A 70 mile trip means very little. It does not tell what the average Malibu owner may achieve over a longer period of time.
Thanks for posting.
,-- malexbu [ Jul 04, 2006 (9:53 pm) ] ---
| I just returned from a five-day round-trip. Here is what I've got:
| * Distance: 2741 miles
| * Avg. speed: 59 mph
| * Fuel used: 75.47 gallons
| * Fuel economy computer reading: 38.6 mpg
| * Fuel economy real: 36.32 mpg
| Was going through the terrible (North-) Eastern rains, pouring over
| the roads from MA to VA this past week. Was climbing the great Smoky
| Mountains in NC and TN -- mostly in the left-most driving lane, both
| in the mountains and on the roads with the posted speed limit of 70
| mph
| 2005 Malibu Base Sedan.
At the end of this August I had a similar trip -- only in my other
2005 Malibu Base Sedan. This time I was driving my child to the
college, going from Boston to Nashville with two passengers in and the
car loaded to the gills, and then back with one passenger and not much
stuff in. Since the load of the car was very different going in the
two directions, I accounted for them as two separate trips, resetting
DIC in the beginning of each one.
I also included driving in and around Nashville in the first trip.
Here are my results, with MPG shown by DIC and calculated as
Miles/Fuel in the two last columns of the following table:
--------------------------------------------
Trip -- Miles -- Speed - Fuel -- DIC -- Real
--------------------------------------------
MA-TN - 1202 --- 58 ---- 32.9 -- 37.3 - 36.52
TN-MA - 1142 --- 61 ---- 30.8 -- 38.6 - 37.05
--------------------------------------------
The car was performing flawlessly and provided all the comfort the
family needed, with temperatures hovering in the 100 F vicinity in TN,
and handling the Appalachian roads easily. The primary speed limiting
factor was the fear of being pulled over by a cop, which almost
happened in TN.
I was lamenting the demise of the 3.5 but rented an HHR last week and was pleased with the engine (sure I had the high output, but I sure wasn't going to put premium in it). Think things should be just fine with the new Bu and the four cylinder.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that had good experiences with the 04-07 Malibu's though. Somewhere around here (maybe even earlier in this topic) I have posted results from that car (2004 LT sedan 3.5l / 4 speed auto). The general gist, off the top of my head, was numbers ranging from 24mpg on the low side (heavy traffic during the holiday shopping seasons in Asheville NC) to just over 38 mpg on an all-highway trip to WV from western NC. Kinda makes me wonder if GM had decided to use the electrically assisted steering, if my 08 3.6l / 6 speed auto's numbers would've gone up another 1 or 2 mpg over wherever they end up. (It can't possibly all be attributed to the 3.5l pushrod for the 04, can it?)
Still, all told, the new model car is on the longer Epsilon platform and weighs more than the outgoing model. Compare the EPA numbers for the 04-07 sedans (shorter wheelbase) and the 04-07 Maxx cars (longer wheelbase, same as the new 08's) and you can see where I'm going with this..
Stop & go, it was low 20's, but still not that bad.
That rental was a huge factor in us recently buying a new '08 Malibu 2LT 2.4L, and so far love the responsiveness and hugely improved refinement over the last gen, and only hope the mileage can somewhat compare. Probably won't pull close to the 40's, like the 2.2L, but never know.
This is for an even mix of local and long trips. The typical local trip is 8 miles each way, with maybe 10 stop lights and max posted speed limit of 45 MPH. Temps range from subfreezing to upper 80s. I use the remote start sparingly in the winter.
My worst mileage has been around the 20MPG mark...that's in the dead of winter with lots of warm-ups, slush and snow and poking along at 20MPH or less. My typical long trip gets about 30 - 32 MPG, with the all-time best still being 35 MPG (I-71 & I-90 through Ohio, with a/c and cruise).
Overall, I'm pleased, especially when I read posts in the Honda Accord forum where owners of the new 08 models have trouble getting more than the low 20s!
The 3 year lease cost for a new 08 BU vs th 08 LXP was close to $75.00 a month more, side by side type of models, based on all that I wasn't about to take another chance, I've had the Accord for a month now and it's at 20 mpg.
The lesson I learned is that you need to get a mpg car that meets the bulk of your driving needs, no matter what the car is..
It is the 4 cyl engine too. THis is worse than the 6 cylinder 99 Olds intrigue that I was driving.
Thanks,
Around town miliage is to hard to calculate. It depends on what around town driving we do. But typically, we average around 35mph and 25-26mpg on a tank of gas with mixed driving.
Plus we can haul as much crap as a small SUV