# Gas Mileage Test 1.4t 2013 LT2



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

One easy way to get better fuel economy is to turn your car off, get out, lock it, and eat breakfast inside McDonalds. You get the benefit of using someone else's A/C.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

obermd said:


> One easy way to get better fuel economy is to turn your car off, get out, lock it, and eat breakfast inside McDonalds. You get the benefit of using someone else's A/C.


I do not ever use drive thru's, or idle my car except at stoplights. If I did I would be averaging 27mpg like the OP. I know this because first year of ownership the few times I did idle my car with AC on I saw a significant drop in my MPG. 

I much prefer my 37MPG summer average with my automatic.

Don't forget the DIC is optimistic, if its reading 27mpg your probably getting a pump calculated real world MPG 2-4MPG lower than that. Example, my DIC is typically reading 41mpg but at the pump that's only a real world 36-37mpg. Also since you idle burn so much fuel you will not see much difference if any running premium. Only time premium helps is with the engine under load, at idle fuel is burned at the same rate..... *ZERO MPG* since your not moving and burning fuel.


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## Mo Cruze (Aug 29, 2014)

Result are in!















These were taken when the fuel light came on. So 359 + 46= 405 miles on a full tank according the the dash. And 28.1 miles a gallon. Lasted me 9 days. I actually still went through drive throughs but turned car off while i ate. Even did a bank drive through as well. Probably could of hit 29 or 30 if i didnt but what can you do when you dont have a shirt on! Still have to add up manually to see how accurate the dash is...

13488 miles start tank
13895 miles end tank
Actual manual mileage: 407
(when i filled tank display estimated i would get 391 miles to the tank) Beat it!

Disappointed though.......i just did the Math. 407 divided by 15.5 gallon tank= 26.2MPG 

So the display will tell you your getting 2 more MPG'S than your actually getting. Was hoping for better mileage than that. And i really tried to drive properly watching the MPG gauge. Was my highest MPG yet the 28.1 which is actually 26.2 SMH....

THOUGHTS? Opinions?


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## GRIMland (Jun 1, 2014)

Ouch. Man when I was getting lower 40's I thought something was wrong with my car... turns out the tires were a bit low from the cold snap we had. Inflating them back to 35 psi brought the mpg back up to mid 40's.

FYI my DIC overestimates mpg by about 2


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Ew. If I get anything in the 20s it means I've been driving like a maniac.


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## MichaelD (Jul 26, 2013)

I have a 2012 cruze 1.4t. I commute about 120 miles a day and my average is between 35-42. I usually get 530 miles a tank with about 1/8 or a little more left. I do have 42000 miles on it but have never experienced anything lower than 32mpg average including city driving.


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## jandree22 (Sep 19, 2011)

GRIMland said:


> Ouch. Man when I was getting lower 40's I thought something was wrong with my car... turns out the tires were a bit low from the cold snap we had. Inflating them back to 35 psi brought the mpg back up to mid 40's.
> 
> FYI my DIC overestimates mpg by about 2


Your mpgs are remarkable, what's your normal driving route like?


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## GRIMland (Jun 1, 2014)

jandree22 said:


> Your mpgs are remarkable, what's your normal driving route like?


This summer it was a 70 mile round trip to work on a two lane road, 55 mph posted, I drove around 63 mph. Sometimes using the cruise, mostly not. The drive is a bit hilly in spots going over and along the Root River (trout stream carved into limestone bluffs). Goes through two small towns where you have to slow to 30 and 40 mph respectively. Total of three stop signs and three stop lights along route.

I tend to let the car lose speed uphill and bring speed back going downhill - often picking up additional momentum sometimes as high as 70 mph to help me coast up the next hill. A bit of hypermiling I suppose. Sucks when you get grandpa going the speed limit riding brakes down a steep incline.

Not much else - I get into 6th gear around 55 mph, sometimes skipping 5th. Sometimes I use non-oxy 91 gas, mostly 89 E10 though (once with 87 E10, car didn't like that, doesn't much like 89 either).

I once drove the dealers 2013 Cruze 1.4T LT1 Auto and was getting around 36-38 mpg on the same trip so I guess the trick is to not buy one with an automatic transmission


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

Wow, with that route, I wonder what kind of MPGs you would get with the diesel!


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## Mo Cruze (Aug 29, 2014)

MichaelD said:


> I have a 2012 cruze 1.4t. I commute about 120 miles a day and my average is between 35-42. I usually get 530 miles a tank with about 1/8 or a little more left. I do have 42000 miles on it but have never experienced anything lower than 32mpg average including city driving.


Automatic or manual? Are you deisel lol thats 125 miles more than me on a tank. How is that possible.? Do you have a "perfect route" as well?


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## Mo Cruze (Aug 29, 2014)

GRIMland said:


> This summer it was a 70 mile round trip to work on a two lane road, 55 mph posted, I drove around 63 mph. Sometimes using the cruise, mostly not. The drive is a bit hilly in spots going over and along the Root River (trout stream carved into limestone bluffs). Goes through two small towns where you have to slow to 30 and 40 mph respectively. Total of three stop signs and three stop lights along route.
> 
> I tend to let the car lose speed uphill and bring speed back going downhill - often picking up additional momentum sometimes as high as 70 mph to help me coast up the next hill. A bit of hypermiling I suppose. Sucks when you get grandpa going the speed limit riding brakes down a steep incline.
> 
> ...


Dam i was kinda happy with the 28 lol until i see your guys comments. I see your manual tranny and have a very "perfect route" for gas mileage. Driving 63mph and below with only 3 stop signs and stop lights lol. I would get mileage like that too. So i guess i shouldnt feel too bad? When im driving 50mph i can get like 50mpg on the dash. But my drive everyday is about 70 percent highway at 70mph speed limit. I would cruze around 68-72 watching the MPG on the dash to keep it as high as i could usually bouncing around from 33-39-40 area. But i also probably run through about 10 stop signs and 8 stop light estimating.


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## Mo Cruze (Aug 29, 2014)

jblackburn said:


> Ew. If I get anything in the 20s it means I've been driving like a maniac.


Ew yourself! JK lol Man i was driving like a grandma too. Really watching the dash trying to keep the MPG as high as possible. What do you average and what is your daily commute like? ANything like mine? I do see you have a manual as well im sure that helps?? You think i should be getting more? Also like i said if i didnt hit those drive through almost every morning i might have hit 30 maybe..


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Mo Cruze said:


> Ew yourself! JK lol Man i was driving like a grandma too. Really watching the dash trying to keep the MPG as high as possible. What do you average and what is your daily commute like? ANything like mine? I do see you have a manual as well im sure that helps?? You think i should be getting more? Also like i said if i didnt hit those drive through almost every morning i might have hit 30 maybe..


I don't commute every day, but when I do drive, it goes something like this:

Yeah, between my car and a rental automatic, I was able to get AT LEAST 5 MPG more from the manual in similar driving. More on the highway.


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## Mo Cruze (Aug 29, 2014)

you drive through traffic like that and get above 30 a gallon? lol im amazed lol


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Mo Cruze said:


> you drive through traffic like that and get above 30 a gallon? lol im amazed lol


Keeping the RPMs under 2K when possible and creeping along will do the trick. This car has a surprisingly torquey low end.

If I have to accelerate to 45 at the pace of traffic, only to stop for another light 500 feet down the road, and do that for the whole drive, it does dip just a bit under 30 (27-28 or so). Or lots of short trip driving to run errands, etc where the engine doesn't have time to warm up - it runs very rich on a cold engine.


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## Mo Cruze (Aug 29, 2014)

(Just updated with actual mileage compared to display)
Result are in!

View attachment 115714
View attachment 115722


These were taken when the fuel light came on. So 359 + 46= 405 miles on a full tank according the the dash. And 28.1 miles a gallon. Lasted me 9 days. I actually still went through drive throughs but turned car off while i ate. Even did a bank drive through as well. Probably could of hit 29 or 30 if i didnt but what can you do when you dont have a shirt on! Still have to add up manually to see how accurate the dash is...

*UPDATE
13488 miles start tank
13895 miles end tank
Actual manual mileage: 407
(when i filled tank display estimated i would get 391 miles to the tank) Beat it!

Disappointed though.......i just did the Math. 407 divided by 15.5 gallon tank= 26.2MPG 

So the display will tell you your getting 2 more MPG'S than your actually getting. Was hoping for better mileage than that. And i really tried to drive properly watching the MPG gauge. Was my highest MPG yet the 28.1 which is actually 26.2 SMH....

THOUGHTS? Opinions?


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## MichaelD (Jul 26, 2013)

I'm an automatic. The route is pretty straight but has some hills and speed limit changes. Also quite a few traffic lights which are a pain lol. But my driving habits aren't the best by far lol.


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## blueflippy (Nov 19, 2012)

I find the onboard computer computations of miles per gallon to be right on. My 2013 1.4L engine dos not do very well on gas mileage. Chevy missed the boat on MPG with the Cruze. In top gear, engine is turning too fast. They know it. That's why the diesel came out. And going lite weight in 2016 will help too.


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## borstm16 (Oct 12, 2014)

Mo Cruze said:


> Result are in!
> 
> View attachment 115714
> View attachment 115722
> ...




Did you live in a high traffic area? How many miles are you putting on the car that are highway vs in town?


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## MX429 (Aug 16, 2014)

I have no idea how some of you are getting the mileage you are claiming. My 2014 LTZ has about 6k on it now. That's in a little over a month. Mostly highway miles with the tires at 40 psi. I have hand calculated every tank since new and my average is 33 mpg. That's with a best tank of 35.1 mpg and a worst tank of about 28 mpg. 

Thats is with no crazy driving and actually trying to get good mileage. If I were to run at the 75 mph speed limit on the freeway all of the time the mileage would be worse.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Mo Cruze said:


> (Just updated with actual mileage compared to display)
> Result are in!
> 
> View attachment 115714
> ...


Forget about tank capacity.....has nothing to do with determining mileage.

How much fuel in gallons did it take to refill the tank after your last fill 407 miles ago?

Divide 407 by that gallonage.....thats your real miles for that tank.

Rob


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## jandree22 (Sep 19, 2011)

blueflippy said:


> Chevy missed the boat on MPG with the Cruze. In top gear, engine is turning too fast. They know it. That's why the diesel came out. And going lite weight in 2016 will help too.


They reworked the 2011's 6AT gearing for 2012+ for 2 additional highway mpg. They've also had the triple overdrive manual transmission in the Eco since 2012 which is <2k rpm at 60mph. The diesel model came out on its own accord and wasn't a band aid for gear ratio selection in the other models.

Slushbox automatics simply aren't what you get for high mpg, period. CVTs help but are a joke to drive. The 8-speed dual clutch in the 2nd gen holds promise if they can execute.


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## au201 (May 18, 2013)

blueflippy said:


> I find the onboard computer computations of miles per gallon to be right on. My 2013 1.4L engine dos not do very well on gas mileage. Chevy missed the boat on MPG with the Cruze. In top gear, engine is turning too fast. They know it. That's why the diesel came out. And going lite weight in 2016 will help too.


I honestly have never heard anyone say that chevy missed the boat on mpg. Almost all cruzen when driven sainly will meet the EPA estimate at least and many can exceed it. You didn't tell us your average mpg but if it is actually too low then I would take a look at your driving style and conditions. 


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

blueflippy said:


> I find the onboard computer computations of miles per gallon to be right on. My 2013 1.4L engine dos not do very well on gas mileage. Chevy missed the boat on MPG with the Cruze. In top gear, engine is turning too fast. They know it. That's why the diesel came out. And going lite weight in 2016 will help too.


The ECO MT easily beats the EPA numbers. My estimate on the ECO MT is that it should be rated something along the lines of 33/47/38 MPG. I have a hard time bringing my MPG down to 30 even in stop and go traffic jams.


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## GRIMland (Jun 1, 2014)

Mo Cruze said:


> (Just updated with actual mileage compared to display)
> Result are in!
> 
> View attachment 115714
> ...


After hearing you describe your drive and that you have an auto, the numbers sound about right actually. Being on 70mph speed limit highways/interstates will really hurt you, ESPECIALLY if you are often driving into a headwind. If the prevailing winds are strongest during your morning commute then that will _really _hurt your mpg more than anything else, especially at those speeds.

You could always draft a semi...

I did that once on a windy day with a truck that had really nice mud flaps so no rocks were getting flung, and my mpg skyrocketed from upper 30s to lower 50s just like that


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## iggy (Feb 14, 2013)

The best I've ever done is about 40MPG in my cruze LTZ. This was driving along a 2 lane blacktop stretch of road, with very few hills.. Cruzing at roughly 60MPH, only stopping at a few small towns along the way. 

On a recent trip, I tried to do the go fast down hill, let it slow when going up... I didn't really notice much if any gain... and I really can't stand driving like that, and hate it when someone drives like that in front of me. Nothing more annoying then getting behind a person who's going 65 one minute and 45 or even 55 the next. 

For me... well I find using cruse control way more relaxing and , I honestly don't give a hoot if I could save another mile or two a gallon by not using it.

I will say this... in Michigan, if you don't mind going the same speed as a large truck... you can run 2 or 3 car lengths behind one and save a lot of fuel. Most trucks around here drive about 62 MPH, a few more go 65MPH and very very few go any faster then that. However, at roughly three car lengths behind a truck, you can't hardly see their mirrors and as some trucks stickers say... "If you can't see my mirrors , then I can't see you. ". I don't do this very often, cause it can piss truckers off, and it's basically not very safe, even if you are at a just barely legal distance behind them. The only thing worse then a pissed off trucker, is the trucker who got pissed off when he ran into you cause he couldn't see you.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

iggy said:


> The best I've ever done is about 40MPG in my cruze LTZ. This was driving along a 2 lane blacktop stretch of road, with very few hills.. Cruzing at roughly 60MPH, only stopping at a few small towns along the way.
> 
> On a recent trip, I tried to do the go fast down hill, let it slow when going up... I didn't really notice much if any gain... and I really can't stand driving like that, and hate it when someone drives like that in front of me. Nothing more annoying then getting behind a person who's going 65 one minute and 45 or even 55 the next.
> 
> ...



Annnnnnd, by doing that you will be astounded at all the pebble chips in the front facia and headlamp housings.....(winshield too).

Rob


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## Genuiine (Oct 28, 2013)

Idk how you guys get such low gas milage, i average 34mpg driving like an idiot at like 105 MPH, if i really try my gauge is maxed out at 50mpg


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Genuiine said:


> Idk how you guys get such low gas milage, i average 34mpg driving like an idiot at like 105 MPH, if i really try my gauge is maxed out at 50mpg


Where are you going that you need to get to at 105 MPH?


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## Mo Cruze (Aug 29, 2014)

Genuiine said:


> Idk how you guys get such low gas milage, i average 34mpg driving like an idiot at like 105 MPH, if i really try my gauge is maxed out at 50mpg


I dont believe you!


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## jandree22 (Sep 19, 2011)

jblackburn said:


> Where are you going that you need to get to at 105 MPH?


Jail. 

Never Speed In Virginia: Lessons From My Three Days In Jail


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

jandree22 said:


> Jail.
> 
> Never Speed In Virginia: Lessons From My Three Days In Jail


Yep, I believe it. Cops here are EVERYWHERE...and won't cut you a break.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Genuiine said:


> Idk how you guys get such low gas milage, i average 34mpg driving like an idiot at like 105 MPH, if i really try my gauge is maxed out at 50mpg


Not a chance this is correct.


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## Chevyforever (Feb 5, 2014)

I can drive over 430 miles with my 2011 1.4AT And that's at 73 MPH interstate driving. Just took a trip with CC at 73 and averaged 36 MPG with AC on and some minor braking/accel due to traffic lane changes on the way there and a straight shot on the way back. Keep in mind mine is not the eco and has a shorter final drive ratio I believe than other MY's but you guys are just mpg maniacs... My average is 28 but I usually drive 80% city plus mashing the throttle fairly consistently doesn't help either I suppose. As for my opinion I'm in FL as well and your mileage is pretty consistent with mine it seems


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Chevyforever, are you depending on the DIC for your MPG calculation? The gas Cruze is optimistic by up to 10% - you need to measure by the odometer and pump.


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## Chevyforever (Feb 5, 2014)

I drove a definite 430 miles on a nearly maxed out tank (I didnt pump until it hit the stopper on the gas pump but gauge was full) How many gallons will a 2011 turbo hold? Then I can give you my real MPG. Gooogle says it has a 15.6 Gallon tank, I will say 15 gallons of fuel were in my tank (If anything this higher number will have a negative effect on my trips mpg) Divides out to be 28.6 MPG if I did that right which is just deplorable


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Chevyforever said:


> I drove a definite 430 miles on a nearly maxed out tank (I didnt pump until it hit the stopper on the gas pump but gauge was full) How many gallons will a 2011 turbo hold? Then I can give you my real MPG. Gooogle says it has a 15.6 Gallon tank, I will say 15 gallons of fuel were in my tank (If anything this higher number will have a negative effect on my trips mpg) Divides out to be 28.6 MPG if I did that right which is just deplorable


When my gas light comes on, my 1LT usually takes on 12.9-13.1 gallons til the pump clicks.


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## Chevyforever (Feb 5, 2014)

Either way when my tune file and cable come in, my MPG's are gonna drop like a rock.


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## Mo Cruze (Aug 29, 2014)

Disappointed in my car for gas mileage. The main reason i bought this car was for good gas mileage. As you saw above i got 28.1 mpg trying really hard driving perfectly even under speedlimit on highways at times to get better mpg. Mpg are best from 45-65 miles an hour. But usually on roads with speed limits like that is stop and go so you cant cruze at those speeds to get good mileage. And then hwy your suppose to get 38 mpg. But not at 70miles an hour. What highways are they talking about SMH. Anyhow after my 28.1 which was really only 26 b/c dash is off, ive been driving more normal, I dont drive crazy or anything but got sick of staring at the dash trying to get the best mileage, I now am getting like upper 26's mpg which means im only gettin around 24-25 mpg. Very dissappointed. My 2007 civic did better than that. You figure if they said 26 city and 38 highway and i drive mostly highway i should be able to get 29-30 real mpgs easy. But thats not the case.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Chevyforever said:


> Either way when my tune file and cable come in, my MPG's are gonna drop like a rock.


Not gonna lie, it will until you realize you are making the fuelly account go down. I managed to get the eco 6MT into the 15's. Not sure if I should be proud or deeply ashamed of that. After that I used eco as much as I could until l I could run race w/o revving it higher than normal in the city or from a light.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Merc6 said:


> Not gonna lie, it will until you realize you are making the fuelly account go down. I managed to get the eco 6MT into the 15's. Not sure if I should be proud or deeply ashamed of that. After that I used eco as much as I could until l I could run race w/o revving it higher than normal in the city or from a light.


Despite my best efforts at lead-footing on city streets I can't drop my tank MPG below 30. How did you manage mid-teens for tank MPG in an ECO MT?


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