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Chevrolet Cobalt Real World MPG

295 messages,  Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 4:23 PM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Cobalt, Fuel Efficiency (MPG), Coupe, Sedan

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#277 of 295 good MPG by pvs68 Jul 27, 2009 (4:55 pm)
#278 of 295 Good MPG by pvs68 Jul 27, 2009 (4:57 pm)
I just rented a Pontiac GS (Identical to Cobalt) and according to the in car computer was getting 38 MPG on the highway with spirited driving from NC to ME and back, more than 2500 miles. This was with an automatic transmission too! I was impressed since it zipped along too.
#279 of 295 killer MPG by happycamper6 Aug 08, 2009 (8:11 pm)
Picked up my 09 Cobalt LS/XFE with the five speed a little over a week ago, and have no problem getting 43 to 44 on the freeway. Doing 70 in fifth, with the A/C on. This little car amazes me.
#280 of 295 Updated my Mpg, Cobalt LS by pa356228 Aug 20, 2009 (8:45 am)
Now, I've being alittle mixture of driving on the Interstate and city. My Cobalt LS is averaging out 31.4 mpg. It was 32.4 but right now my cobalt is about 3,000 miles overdue and will definitely get an Oil Change tomorrow morning (08/21/2009) so, hopefully the mpg will raise back up. Also, my tires are set at 32psi. By the way, my car is automatic, wished I had a 5 speed. Although, I do know how to drive a 10 speed BigRig.
#281 of 295 59 mpg? by innyrightnow Oct 02, 2009 (6:27 am)
I rented a Cobalt in 2007 and played around with various speeds/rpms to see what produced the best MPG (according to the car computer), and found that if I activated the cruise control, while accelerating, right after it switched to the highest gear (4th?), the speed would be maintained at about 38 or 39 mph, and the MPG would register at 58 or 59 mpg. This was when the tires were a little over-inflated (a hot day), and on a very smooth pavement. I watched the mpg drop by 4 or 5 mpg when the road surface changed to very rough (the kind of road that is very loud to drive on). My question is, is the car computer readout of mpg accurate? (if I actually drove a few hundred miles with this setting, and measured the gas comsumption, would the reported mpg have calculated out to be true?) The reason I ask is that I am considering buying a Cobalt, and want to know if the computer mpg is accurate. Replies to this message: elias (Oct 02, 2009 9:05 am) powderkegg (Oct 02, 2009 12:50 pm)
#282 of 295 Re: 59 mpg? [innyrightnow] by elias Oct 02, 2009 (9:05 am)
Replying to: innyrightnow (Oct 02, 2009 6:27 am) Car dashboard mpg computers/displays are not very accurate in my experience - often reporting much more mpg than the car is actually getting. So no, had you measured distance/gallons, you would have come up with a substantially lower number. Maybe 39 mpg at most, I'd guess. But any given mpg-meter tends to be accurate for measuring *relative* mpg differences within that one vehicle. So when you saw indicated mpg drop from 58 mpg to 54 mpg, you can be pretty sure that the instantaneous fuel consumption had indeed dropped by ((4/58)*100) %. Once you establish the "overestimate" that the dashboard-mpg-meter provides, you can subtract a fixed percentage from whatever it tells you. For example, my VW TDI mpg dashboard-computer reads consistently about 10% above the actual mpg, typically reporting 50 mpg over an entire tank that actually yielded 45 mpg. Replies to this message: powderkegg (Oct 02, 2009 12:50 pm)
#283 of 295 Re: 59 mpg? [elias] by powderkegg Oct 02, 2009 (12:50 pm)
Replying to: elias (Oct 02, 2009 9:05 am) In my 2008 the car keeps very good track of the gas mileage. Keep in mind that the MPG displayed in the DIC is only representative for the last hour of driving. So you may have done 200 miles of highway at 35 mpg and 100 city, heavy stop and go and the car may display 28 or less. But when you fill the tank you will most likely see that you actually got 31 or 32 mpg for the whole tank. For a 300 mile trip from Central PA to Western NY I generally get 34 to 35 mpg. That's a lot of mountains as I venture north at 65 or 70 mph. I keep my tires at 30 psi cold as the car recommends. I have 19000 miles on my car and keep track of every drop of gasoline that the car consumes. My average since I bought the car is 33 mpg.
#284 of 295 My cobalt mpg dropped by 6... by pa356228 Oct 03, 2009 (12:43 am)
When I first brought (or still leasing yet.) it was calculating 27 mpg at the first 105 miles on the car. When I used to live in PA, my cobalt was getting about 31. Temporary living in VA, as my car was getting 34 mpg. Then, recently about a month ago, my car was still getting 34 consistent. Until, last Wednesday, My cobalt LS dropped to 29.3. Can't fiqure out why.   Guess, no mpg is accurate on cobalts sensor systems. My manager from work, told me and old fashion trick to know for sure exactly what your car mpg aveage. He told me, just to first, fill up your tank, reset your trip A and Trip B miles. Then, keep track of all your miles, and when it's time to fill up. Check your miles and divide that from how many gallons your car holds. He said, that will be your most accurate. Of course, it all depends on how fast you drive, tires psi set at, and other misc... I haven't tried it yet but, this coming week on Tuesday thru Sunday, I will. Next week, I'm driving back up to PA on a 443.5 miles trip (about 8 hrs.)   Is there any other tricks to use? Replies to this message: imidazol97 (Oct 03, 2009 4:10 am) elias (Oct 03, 2009 12:05 pm)
#285 of 295 Re: My cobalt mpg dropped by 6... [pa356228] by imidazol97 Oct 03, 2009 (4:10 am)
Replying to: pa356228 (Oct 03, 2009 12:43 am) > My cobalt LS dropped to 29.3. Can't fiqure out why.   The changeover to winter fuels may have dropped the BTUs in the fuel. Lower mileage than the summer blends.
#286 of 295 Re: My cobalt mpg dropped by 6... [pa356228] by elias Oct 03, 2009 (12:05 pm)
Replying to: pa356228 (Oct 03, 2009 12:43 am) it's not really a "trick" to determine mpg by dividing miles by gallons, but since you asked, how's this: you could use a super-precision scale to weigh the car, drive a certain distance, then measure its exact weight again. no stopping for burgers or a caf-pow or shopping or hitchikers or rest-areas. the change in weight divided by 9 lbs would be the # of gallons used. then divide that into the distance in miles and you have mpg.

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