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Sedans Saturn Aura Saturn Aura Real World MPG
65 messages, Last post on Jun 10, 2009 at 9:27 AM
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With nearly 6k on my 07 XR, I finally got a chance at a road trip to see the hwy. mileage. Drove from the Cincinnati area to the Atlanta area with approximately 650 pounds of people and luggage. Had the cruise set to 80 whenever possible and averaged 25.7 mpg for the last 300 miles. This is a trip that has few straight stretches and much time was spent in the KY and TN mountains. This is very comparable to the 200 hp, 2002 Honda Accord EX-V6 that I used to own. It would do 26-27 mpg on the same trip. However, the extra room and 52 extra HP is certainly worth the slight mpg loss! 
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Replying to: georgiaxr (Aug 03, 2008 12:43 pm) I continued to see improvements in MPG up through 10Kmiles so next time you take the trip, you might see another 1to 1.5 MPG improvement. I did. I am now consistently getting 29 on the Interstates that are pretty level. I have gotten 32 mpg  68-70mph on desert interstate with not much more that 1000 ft elevation changes. Definitely very satisfied with the mpg / performance. BTW I keep the LS2's 37/35 psi F/R which really helps the cornering and mpg.
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| I get good mileage from my 08 Aura 3.5. In San Antonio traffic I average 26-27. If I drive up to Austin, my average has reached 35. Coming back to San Antonio, it averages 32-33. I am very pleased with that kind of mileage. I'm posted an evaporator leak in another topic. | |
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I took my first long trip recently, from Pittsburgh to Manassas Va. The car had 5300 miles on it, 37 psi in tires (warm), 55 degrees out, no A/C used. I took the mountain route, lots of up and down grades. I was in 4th and 5th gears climbing the hills and the same gears going downhill to keep off the brakes. I averaged 28.2 MPG over a 181 mile leg under those conditions. My average speed was just under 50 mph. I noticed that the transmission does not shift into 6th gear unless the car is going over 45 MPH. I made extensive use of the manual mode and the tap shifters on the hills. That way I could drop into 5th gear instead of having the auto mode drop into 4th gear from 6th. The result was that for the gentler hills, I never had to go to 4th gear. For the longer or steeper hills, I had to go down to 4th from 5th when appropriate. I was also able to go to 6th sooner than the auto mode would have upshifted me as I crested the hills. I kept forgetting that I had to upshift from the lower gears when in manual mode. A few times, I was stopped at a light in manual mode and the engine rev-ed high when the light changed and I did not upshift. I now put the transmission back into auto mode when I stop. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the mileage under those unfavorable conditions. On the next leg of the trip (57 miles) using freeways only and traveling 60 - 65 MPH, I averaged 33.6 MPH. I checked my speedometer using my GPS and it was 237.9 miles (car) and 237.2 (GPS). When I hand calculated my mileage, I found that the car's computer over estimated MPG by 3% or about 1 mph too high. Still happy with the results. On the return trip, I averaged 33.5 MPG on the expressway using the A/C this time, but saw the MPG fall off to 27.3 when I hit two lane highways, traffic and traffic lights (before 3% error reduction). I expect to get 34 MPG on level uncongested highways and accept that hills, traffic and lights must reduce this figure commensurate with the distance travelled under less favorable conditions. By comparison, my 2000 Chevy Venture van with a 3.4 - 4spd automatic, rarely hit 30 MPG on the trip computer which always read 5% high or about 1.5 MPG less true mileage. The difference was due to weight, aerodynamics and the engine/transmission efficiencies. When I feel that my MPG levels off, meaning that my engine is fully broken in, I will switch to synthetic oil to maybe get even better mileage. If you use synthetic too soon, you may not allow the engine to break in sufficiently. |
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Replying to: chicagodrive1 (Jul 24, 2008 8:10 pm)
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Replying to: hillary4prez (Nov 15, 2008 8:53 am)
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Replying to: cwr64 (Nov 20, 2008 2:54 pm) Oh yea, You'll need to pump up those tires to at least 35front 34rear to get best mileage. 30 is like running on a flat as far as I am concerned. I run 37 front 35 rear when loaded and on a trip. I get 30+ average on the highway at 80 MPH with my 3.6L XR |
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Replying to: hillary4prez (Nov 15, 2008 8:53 am) 
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US EPA rates 4 cyl Aura as 22 City and 33 hwy. US EPA rating is done in a lab on a dyno so is pretty optimistic and that's why few if any get the posted rates. 6 cyl is 17 City/26 hwy. In Real World everyday driving, and with slipstreamfs.com low drag coating on ours, a 4 cyl Aura gets better mileage than the posted EPA rating for a Smart car! Our Aura gets 30 City/45 Hwy 60 mph with no load) verified by OBDII reader Scan Guage II. US EPA ratings can be found at :http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm |
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