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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 12 of 48

#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.

#111 of 470 Re: 39.9 MPG [malexbu] by mr_bots

Dec 04, 2006 (7:50 am)

Replying to: malexbu (Dec 03, 2006 9:20 pm)
40MPG is not impossible, I've hit 39.9 on more than one occasion, not by the computer but by dividing miles by gallons. These instances were also not going down hill or just 20 miles or so. One of the instances I can recall was going to uphill to Ruidoso and back (about 5 hour round trip)averaging about 70mph. This is also on the LS V6 model, it is very uncommon for me to get under 35MPG even when going 80mph.

#112 of 470 Re: 39.9 MPG [mr_bots] by malexbu

Dec 04, 2006 (2:57 pm)

Replying to: mr_bots (Dec 04, 2006 7:50 am)
That's very encouraging to hear -- I hope to hit this number myself
then!..
 
Did you notice that getting this high MPG is correlated to the weather
-- temperature etc.?

#113 of 470 Re: 39.9 MPG [malexbu] by mr_bots

Dec 04, 2006 (11:14 pm)

Replying to: malexbu (Dec 04, 2006 2:57 pm)
The near 40mpg have all been on clear, warm days (85+ degrees). So that's with the A/C on most of the time.

#114 of 470 Malibu's 2.2L Ecotec by walterquint

Dec 30, 2006 (9:30 pm)

My car (Alero) has the same 4cyl as the Malibu. It's a fine engine. I have the 5sp, but I suspect the Ecotec works even better with the autotranny. I've hit 37mpg highway, but never 40mpg. The Malibu's autobox must be geared a bit higher in top gear than my stick.....a midsize 5-seater that gets 40mpg? Malibu rocks!! Is this car underrated or what??

#115 of 470 Re: 39.9 MPG [malexbu] by gdubya2

Jan 03, 2007 (3:08 am)

Replying to: malexbu (Dec 04, 2006 2:57 pm)
Just an update on my experiences over the past 11 months with my 2006 LS sedan. I have kept very complete and accurate records of fuel consumption from day one. The car now has 9234 miles on the odometer - as of its last fill up - and I have spent $799.10 on gas so far. 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. 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 think it is such a great automobile for the money and would not hesitate for a second in recommending it to anyone. 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 will post my impression of the new Malibu here after the show.

Messages Page 12 of 48

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