Equinox 1.5T MPG?

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So, I have this one buddy that over the years(>30 yrs), has always claimed that his vehicles MPG(regardless of the vehicle), gets better MPG in normal, everyday type driving than the vehicle's EPA Highway figure. He only drives around town and once a week, he's out on the hiwy for a bit?!?!?!?!

Not that he actually knows the EPA fuel economy figures of any of his engines, he doesn't! However, he is always saying, "Oh, my car gets...XX miles per gallon". Usually in a conversation with others in our circle when the subject of fuel economy comes up.

I've always thought that he was FOS because he never actually does a hard reading after filling up again. Years ago(before the computer reading in the car) he claimed that he did a calculated reading but these days, he only keeps the MPG reading on car's gauge cluster as gospel. And he never clears the MPG reading after refilling with gas.

Right now with his 2018 Chevy Equinox 1.5T AWD, he is claiming that his car is getting 33 MPG all the time. His Chevy is rated at 24city/30hiwy/26comb with this engine setup.

How is this possible that this SUV is getting 33 MPG all the time?...The Dash Reading says so!

I've always owned cars that the EPA fuel economy ratings were always better than anything he's owned. And although I get good MPG in my cars, I can't get the fuel economy that he is getting.

What type of MPG are 2018-present Equinox 1.5T AWD owners getting and what say the rest of you?
Hmmm, maybe I'm jealous?

CB
 
Originally Posted by Char Baby
So, I have this one buddy that over the years(>30 yrs), has always claimed that his vehicles MPG(regardless of the vehicle), gets better MPG in normal, everyday type driving than the vehicle's EPA Highway figure. He only drives around town and once a week, he's out on the hiwy for a bit?!?!?!?!

Not that he actually knows the EPA fuel economy figures of any of his engines, he doesn't! However, he is always saying, "Oh, my car gets...XX miles per gallon". Usually in a conversation with others in our circle when the subject of fuel economy comes up.

I've always thought that he was FOS because he never actually does a hard reading after filling up again. Years ago(before the computer reading in the car) he claimed that he did a calculated reading but these days, he only keeps the MPG reading on car's gauge cluster as gospel. And he never clears the MPG reading after refilling with gas.

Right now with his 2018 Chevy Equinox 1.5T AWD, he is claiming that his car is getting 33 MPG all the time. His Chevy is rated at 24city/30hiwy/26comb with this engine setup.

How is this possible that this SUV is getting 33 MPG all the time?...The Dash Reading says so!

I've always owned cars that the EPA fuel economy ratings were always better than anything he's owned. And although I get good MPG in my cars, I can't get the fuel economy that he is getting.

What type of MPG are 2018-present Equinox 1.5T AWD owners getting and what say the rest of you?
Hmmm, maybe I'm jealous?

CB

My CX5 Turbo is at 26.5 and climbing for my lifetime ownership, and is only rated at 27 hwy. If I didnt drive fast and hoon around in it, I would easily be better than hwy, as a normally driven tank puts me at 28 to 30. EPA test parameters are not daily driving. My last cx5 underperformed every EPA rating it had. This one with the turbo was specifically designed by mazda to perform better than the ratings, as they tuned it in ways the ratings wont reflects they say. I called bs until it did. Repeatedly. Maybe his vehicles are similar?
 
Quote
...The Dash Reading says so!....
Dash reading may be accurate...or not. 'To me' the way to get a more reliable mpg result is a series of fill gallons used with miles driven for each. Then take an average. The more in the series the more accurate. Now, if he's done enough of those to confirm dash readout the same in comparison, then it can be trusted. No idea if your friend has done all that. My .02
 
Every vehicle's computer reading I've had/owned was somewhat optimistic however, only by about 2 mpg. And my vehicles have always done OK compared to the EPA ratings over the years. I also check the cars computer and reset it after each fillup.

This current 2015 Altima 2.5 gets better City MPG than my 2004 Altima 2.5 did on the Hiwy and is rated as such...in real world driving & calculations. Even though my own calc is slightly lower than what the car says.

But, my buddy's MPG figures blow my mind!
 
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Originally Posted by Sayjac
Quote
...The Dash Reading says so!....
No idea if your friend has done all that. My .02


NO, he has not! And this is my personal issue with his readings. I've even asked him to compare and then come back with the TRUTH!
 
Some people go so slow, or rather, drive so carefully, they actually do get better MPG's. They let off the gas 1/4 mile before the stop sign, don't use the AC, accelerate modestly and cruise no faster than 43MPH, which is often the best speed for economy in many modern vehicles.

If his MPG readings are anywhere near accurate, I suspect he is one of those people who knows how to maximize MPG. Often while irritating the others behind.

I highly suspect it's not his super efficient vehicles.
 
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I've driven with him tons of times over the years. And although he does in fact drive responsibly, as I do, there is nothing that stands out to me that he'd doing different than how I drive.

If anything, I'm trying to emulate him. And I can't get his figures in any of my higher EPA rated MPG vehicles.
 
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Does that Chevy allow you to switch to UK imperial gallons? My GTI and wifes Audi allows it. You could fool someone that way as 30 MPG U.S. is 37 MPG U.K.
 
Overly optimistic odometer/speedometer readings can affect MPGs too, they all seem to be 2-3% higher than actual (like 62 or 63 indicated is actually 60). I actually run slightly bigger than OEM tires on the xB to correct that.
 
My wife's 2018 Tiguan is rated at 21/27. It jumped to 29 mpg in 2019 model with no readily apparent changes.

The worst mileage in cold per tank with warm ups has been 25 MPG round town. Her average over year is 29.5 MPG with good bias on highway.

When driven
Point MPG is a test of certain criteria and you may get worst or better.
 
We are averaging about 28 mpg (hand calculated) with our 2018 Chevy Equinox 1.5T. The trip meter usually reads about 2 mpg higher than the hand calculated numbers.
We live in a rural area where the highway speed limit is 60 and there isn't a lot of stop and go driving.

Rick
 
Skyactiv,
NO, my buddy has his car is U.S. MPG and speedometer readings.

Rick, is your's AWD or 2WD?
My buddy's is AWD in which he keeps turned off. There is actually a AWD on/off switch in front of the 6 spd shift lever.

madRiver,
I even get flyers in my vehicles where I'll get over 40 MPG on the hiwy but, most of the time, it's just slightly below the EPA hiwy of 38...at ~ 35-36 MPG driving through hilly PA
 
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Originally Posted by Char Baby
Originally Posted by Sayjac
Quote
...The Dash Reading says so!....
No idea if your friend has done all that. My .02


NO, he has not! And this is my personal issue with his readings. I've even asked him to compare and then come back with the TRUTH!

I compared mine and it was off by less than the margin of error of the pump, imo <1mpg, and when it was off, it was off in favor of being pessemistic.
 
My work car is a 2018 Equinox LS 1.5 AWD. Majority of the time AWD is turned off and most of my driving is on interstate (75 MPH). My dash indicated tank averages are around 28-30 in the summer (little lower in the winter). If I hand calculate I find that those numbers are 1-2 MPG high. One time it was closer to 3 MPG high. I've seen upper 30's on the instant readout when going between 60-65 MPH. Even touched 40 MPG with a tail wind. I think a dash indicated 33 MPG average would be possible but would require some lower speed highway with minimal city. Below is a graph I pulled off Fuelly's website. 26 MPG seems to be the average but there are quite a few in that 29-30 MPG range.

[Linked Image]
 
My wife had a 2018 Equinox and now has a 2019. Both are FWD.

We took an ~5,000 mile road trip over the summer in the 2018. Mostly 70-75 MPH highway driving with the A/C on. Average MPG for the entire trip was 35.8 MPG. Best tank was 38.1 MPG.

Her daily commute is incredibly short trip, about 7 miles round trip. I just gassed up her 2019 this morning for the first full tank. Calculated out to 27.7 MPG.

My observation: The 1.5L returns really good fuel economy without even trying and will return stellar fuel economy with a hint of conscious driving. The display is more accurate at highway speeds, but tends to hover at a little more than 1 MPG optimistic.
 
So again, my buddy is claiming 33 mpg in around town driving, not HIWY(in which he almost never travels). In other words, he is claiming 33 mpg combine for all of his short trips. He never actually takes the Equinox on the highway except for an on ramp to an off ramp a few miles away.

And his driving is stop & go with nothing more than 4-5 mile trips and turns off the engine...And Repeat! Run to the store, the pharmacy, to restaurant for coffee or lunch.

Are these Equinox AWD 1.5T w/6 spd auto that fuel efficient?
 
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