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Chevrolet Malibu MPG-Real World Numbers

470 messages,  Last post on Mar 26, 2013 at 8:58 AM

You are in the Chevrolet Malibu Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, Fuel Efficiency (MPG), Hatchback, Sedan

Messages Page 11 of 47

#101 of 470 24 mpg by maybenow

Aug 20, 2006 (9:44 pm)

I got my 2001 malibu V6( basic type but almost full loaded) last year. I live in LA. These days I caculated the MPG and found that the combined is about 24 with 68% high way ( half of it has terrible traffic, Mph is only 20. another half mph is about 56-60) and 32% local.
Almost AC on all the way.
 
I must say based on the standard figures given by Chevy(20 local 29 high way), the result is reasonable. But I have seen so many of you have a terrific mpg which my result is only a mediocre.

#102 of 470 Re: 24 mpg [maybenow] by malexbu

Aug 23, 2006 (7:43 pm)

Replying to: maybenow (Aug 20, 2006 9:44 pm)
Most of the results quoted are for the new Malibu, which were rated 24-35 MPG for the 4-cylinder engine and ??-32 MPG for the 6-cyl one. "Were" -- that is, before model year 2006 when Chevy adjusted them down (to max 32 MPG, if I remember correctly).
 
This is just a very different car than the 2001 Malibu.

#105 of 470 not sure but... by kurtamaxxxguy

Sep 19, 2006 (5:17 pm)

I think the torque peak of the new engine is higher RPM than the old one...what I could find suggests the LX9, older engine has 220 lb-ft at 3200 rpm, while new LZ4 has 220 lb-ft but at 4000 rpm.
 
Is that true?

#106 of 470 39.9 MPG by clarencehollow

Dec 01, 2006 (11:31 am)

Replying to: kurtamaxxxguy (Sep 19, 2006 5:17 pm)
My 2005 Chevy Malibu, puchased Nov. 2004 is the new styled version with the 4 cylinder, and I have owned it since new and it now has 43,000 miles. Most delighted, I just finished a trip from Gulf Shores Alabama to Buffalo and back - I logged 2,600 miles. From Start to stop, including all the hills, traffic jams, city driving, I posted an over-all 33.7 MPG average. However I got 39.9 the last leg of my trip where I was doing 72MPG, and up and down hills for a point. I have seen my car get over 40 MPG before, but I am making this post because I know many people just can't beleive this car get's this mileage, but for me and the other owners, it's not fantasy, rather reality. Why this car isn't listed in the Top Fuel Economy Sedans is beyond me. I now have ZERO respect for Consumer Reports who hasn't given this car much praise, but I have owned Toyota's and Honda's and my 4 cylinder acts like a 6 cylinder, and divvies up some impressive numbers for it's owner.

#107 of 470 Re: 39.9 MPG [clarencehollow] by micweb

Dec 01, 2006 (11:59 am)

Replying to: clarencehollow (Dec 01, 2006 11:31 am)
I actually subscribed to the extensive buying guide on Consumer Reports, and they did praise the 4 cylinder Malibu (new version) for good handling, slightly better than the 6 cylinder (less weight in front). Admittedly they then opined that you might as well get the 6 since the gas mileage was so close. What they didn't point out is that the HIGHWAY mileage on the 4 cylinder is much better than the 6 - but if you mix in an average amount of city driving, the difference narrows.
 
I have a Cobalt with the same 4 cylinder, but a stick shift, and get 35 mpg on my daily freeway commute and up to 37 mpg on road trips. I'd love to have a 4 cylinder Malibu for the extra space and the automatic!

#108 of 470 I'm happy by beedublu

Dec 02, 2006 (5:13 pm)

My 04 Maxx LS with 31000 miles on the odometer still gets a combined 60/40% city highway figure of 26 MPG. A recent trip on the NY Thruway gave 32 MPG and my all time record (last summer) on I-90 and I-71 in Ohio -- temps in the 80s, AC on and cruise set at 65 mph -- was 34.5 MPG. Not bad at all, I'd say!

#109 of 470 Re: I'm happy [beedublu] by csandste

Dec 03, 2006 (6:01 pm)

Replying to: beedublu (Dec 02, 2006 5:13 pm)
That's less than a mpg more than I'm averaging. No complaints what so ever on this car. I'm happier with the additional gas mileage the electric steering gives me than I am unhappy with the slight loss of road feel-- I got used to it within a couple of thousand miles.

#110 of 470 Re: 39.9 MPG [clarencehollow] by malexbu

Dec 03, 2006 (9:20 pm)

Replying to: clarencehollow (Dec 01, 2006 11:31 am)
,-- clarencehollow --
|
| I just finished a trip from Gulf Shores Alabama to Buffalo and back
| - I logged 2,600 miles. From Start to stop ... I posted an over-all
| 33.7 MPG average. However I got 39.9 the last leg of my trip where I
| was doing 72MPG, and up and down hills for a point.
 
But can you tell that you were not going net-down-hill on this last
leg?
 
| I have seen my car get over 40 MPG before, but I am making this post
| because I know many people just can't beleive this car get's this
| mileage, but for me and the other owners, it's not fantasy, rather
| reality.
 
I love my two Malibus (both base 2005 sedans) -- love them more with
every day I drive them (well, one at a time -- and am glad to hear
other people's happy stories about the car, but I haven't seen the
evidence that this car can make anywhere close to 40 mpg on a "closed
loop" trip.
 
See my posts starting from #93 and notice #99 by gdubya2 -- I am still
waiting to see anybody to report a long (more than 8 gallons of fuel
spent) round trip with the result exceeding 37 mpg.
 
My own best result (as stated in #93) was 36.32 mpg on a 2741 miles
round trip.
 
| Why this car isn't listed in the Top Fuel Economy Sedans is beyond
| me. I now have ZERO respect for Consumer Reports who hasn't given
| this car much praise,
 
How could CR have adequate knowledge about essentially every car on
the market? It takes at least weeks of operating to get an idea of a
new car's behavior and peculiarities. Where would CR get time and
money to do this research?.. Their reports are a joke, often carried
over from a year to a year.
 
E.g., in the 2005 and 2006 (if memory serves) April editions, CR
claimed that Malibu Maxx was more reliable than the sedan.
 
Where did they get it? I've been watching the Malibu forums on
Edmunds.com from the early 2005 and am under a firm impression that
the number of problems with Maxx reported in these forums is by orders
of magnitude higher than the ones for the *new* sedan.
 
Was CR comparing the reliability of Maxx to the reliability of the
*old* (Classic) Malibu, maybe?
 
Beats me how people can still take CR seriously, when better sources
(e.g. Edmunds.com) are available.
 
| but I have owned Toyota's and Honda's and my 4 cylinder acts like a
| 6 cylinder, and divvies up some impressive numbers for it's owner
 
Can't compare Bu 4 to Bu 6, but I drove on a 6-cylinder 3.8L engine
for 6 years prior to Malibu and don't have a bit of regret that both
my Bu's are Ecotec 2.2L-driven. Nice torque, among other things!
 
,-- micweb --
|
| I have a Cobalt with the same 4 cylinder, but a stick shift, and get
| 35 mpg on my daily freeway commute and up to 37 mpg on road trips.
 
These numbers sound just right -- higher than Malibu's numbers I can
trust, as they should be.

Messages Page 11 of 47

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