I've owned it for about 8 months now and have put about 11,000 miles on it, including a 630 mile overnight trip to the DC area yesterday. What a great little traveling companion. I had the cruise set between 75 and 80 mph for most of the way, and averaged 27.3 mpg on the trip, and that includes poking around the Fort Belvoir area on Thursday and an hour of stop-and-go on 95 south Thursday evening. And I had the A/C on the whole time because of rain and/or warm weather, so I was highly pleased with that. Even with the high speeds and stop-and-go traffic, 27.3 handily beats the rated 26 mpg highway.
The engine pulls this car along very nice, even at interstate speeds. It's about 2300 rpm at 75 mph, and about 2500 rpm at 80 mph. There's enough power at that rpm for most anything required, but if it needs a little bit more (like to pass a truck on an uphill grade), it'll unlock the TCC and the engine speed will flare to 2700-2900 rpm. It'll then settle back down to its cruise rpm below 2500 rpm. Feels like it'd do that for a month straight.
Road noise and wind noise are nicely muted at speed. The Michelin Latitude Tour tires make a whale of a difference in road noise. Even at 80 mph, I didn't have the radio any louder than I normally do around town, at volume level '8'. My co-worker and I had plenty of conversation without having to raise our voices over road or wind noise. The ride is composed and the car feels very planted at speed; never drifty or floaty. The quick-of-reflex around town seems to settle down at speed, and it's easy to drive fast.
This is the first road trip I've taken with it, and would do it again tomorrow. Getting on towards a year of ownership, I don't think I've enjoyed any of my vehicles as much as I have this one. I continue to strongly recommend this vehicle if you're looking for a small SUV that is relatively efficient and enjoyable to drive.
The engine pulls this car along very nice, even at interstate speeds. It's about 2300 rpm at 75 mph, and about 2500 rpm at 80 mph. There's enough power at that rpm for most anything required, but if it needs a little bit more (like to pass a truck on an uphill grade), it'll unlock the TCC and the engine speed will flare to 2700-2900 rpm. It'll then settle back down to its cruise rpm below 2500 rpm. Feels like it'd do that for a month straight.
Road noise and wind noise are nicely muted at speed. The Michelin Latitude Tour tires make a whale of a difference in road noise. Even at 80 mph, I didn't have the radio any louder than I normally do around town, at volume level '8'. My co-worker and I had plenty of conversation without having to raise our voices over road or wind noise. The ride is composed and the car feels very planted at speed; never drifty or floaty. The quick-of-reflex around town seems to settle down at speed, and it's easy to drive fast.
This is the first road trip I've taken with it, and would do it again tomorrow. Getting on towards a year of ownership, I don't think I've enjoyed any of my vehicles as much as I have this one. I continue to strongly recommend this vehicle if you're looking for a small SUV that is relatively efficient and enjoyable to drive.