What's the best MPG can the PT Cruiser get?

[66CUDA]

'06 PT base - auto - after putting 6K in miles I'm getting 18.5mpgs mixed and 23mpg highway... If could only get 22mpg city & 25 highway I would be satisfied. I did all the upgrades...tune ups, regular oil changes, tire rotations, SRI. Its a disgrace that a 2.4l gets these low numbers. No one should have to 'baby' their throttle response to get 22/25mpg from any 4cyl. engine. My .02...


66CUDA

[lmmegt]

Originally Posted by 66CUDA

'06 PT base - auto - after putting 6K in miles I'm getting 18.5mpgs mixed and 23mpg highway... If could only get 22mpg city & 25 highway I would be satisfied. I did all the upgrades...tune ups, regular oil changes, tire rotations, SRI. Its a disgrace that a 2.4l gets these low numbers. No one should have to 'baby' their throttle response to get 22/25mpg from any 4cyl. engine. My .02...


66CUDA

Hmmmmmmmmm - Good thing you don't have a turbo.

Kid's '05 Mazda-3 with a 2.0 gets over 400 miles+ to a tank........ 30 MPG+ ........ Reliable car with headroom for 6' + tall drivers, great handling independant suspension, 4 wheel disc brakes standard. Great little fun to drive car!

[DIYPTGUY]

Has anyone ever tried any weight reduction? Since it is a heavy car to begin with, why not try to take some weight off?

Some basic ones to do would be: Removing the spare tire and rear seats. I havent taken the spare tire off, but I had the seats out of the car on a 300 mile trip, mostly highway and I averaged just over 27 mpg. My car is a 2002 automatic.

I think if we could find ways to eliminate weight it could help mpgs go up.

Any ideas?

[66CUDA]

I had my rear seats out and the best I did was 23mpg....I don't drive it hard but I don't 'put put' around or accelerate it like a YUGO. I wonder if its the ethanol gas content in my area...I few places advertise up to 10% Ethanol. I was shocked that WAWA was using up to 10& Ethanol and its premium grade was only 92 octane. I accidentially put 4.00 in my '66 CUDA and had to leave for another gas station. That crap is awful for a performance motor and destroys the rubber gaskets and fuel lines in the older musclecars and classics.


66CUDA

[grungerockjeeper]

85-305--Ok, well all bets are off considering the Accord Coupe. I think of that car as being its own thing, the sedan is what Im referencing when I say its faceless. Personally I dont like japanese cars, but youre right about that accord coupe being a nice ride. The same would apply to the altima coupe and obviously the G37, 370Z, and RX-8 would fall into the same place.

[85_305]

Originally Posted by grungerockjeeper

85-305--Ok, well all bets are off considering the Accord Coupe. I think of that car as being its own thing, the sedan is what Im referencing when I say its faceless. Personally I dont like japanese cars, but youre right about that accord coupe being a nice ride. The same would apply to the altima coupe and obviously the G37, 370Z, and RX-8 would fall into the same place.

I'm not so much a japanese fan either.. but I believe credit is needed where credit is due (or something like that?). Honda is an extraordinary thing.. out of this world.

I do like the rx8's though.. altimas aren't bad but I'm not a nissan fan at all..


As far as the main topic goes, my wife drove to NY about 800 miles away and got a consistant 26-29mpg the whole trip, going 75-ish, with 2 dogs, a baby, and her car loaded with everything they will need for a few months.

[PCC]

Both Honda and Toyota have excellent records for their small vehicles and fuel mileage. I have owned both and had vehicles that (overall) exhibited superior mileage numbers.

With that said, I have a PT convertible. I read with great interest, how some were getting decent (24/25mpg) mileage with their PT's; both manual (slightly better) and automatic trannys (slightly worse). I have incorporated some of the recommendations and had good results.

I did install a K&N drop in air filter. Changed my spark plugs (went from the original Champions to Autolite platinums). I also try to keep my PT in the 2000-2500 RPM range. Which normally means I am travelling on the freeway at no more than 65mph. I went from 20.5-22mpg to 23.5 to 24mpg. At 24mpg, I am content with these modest increase in mileage numbers.

As a sidelight, I also have noticed a slight variance in the type of regular unleaded fuel I use. Non-Top Tier fuels give me about .5 (or so) less mpg than Top Tier (TT) fuels. This would make sense because TT fuels are supposedly using more detergents than non-TT.

[grungerockjeeper]

Originally Posted by 85_305

I'm not so much a japanese fan either.. but I believe credit is needed where credit is due (or something like that?). Honda is an extraordinary thing.. out of this world.

I do like the rx8's though.. altimas aren't bad but I'm not a nissan fan at all..


As far as the main topic goes, my wife drove to NY about 800 miles away and got a consistant 26-29mpg the whole trip, going 75-ish, with 2 dogs, a baby, and her car loaded with everything they will need for a few months.

The only brand I have any loyalty for is Mopar. But that'll get trumped by the actual car itself. Mopar or not theres no way Id drive a Neon even an SRT-4 or a Charger based on the sedan bodystyles. Much as I hate GM products, there's no denying that the Cobalt SS and Camaro are sweet rides.

As to the japanese products, the same rules apply. Honda doesnt overly impress me. I think theyre overrated, simple as that. They do make a quality product, and some such as the accord coupe, S2000 and Element are pretty impressive for what they are. But when I see what they want for a honda and how people fawn all over them, poo-pooing american cars in favor of them I say its all a bunch of hype. Same thing with Toyota. Outside of the FJ Cruiser and the Supra (which they dont even have the cajones to build anymore) most Toyotas are faceless appliances not even deserving to be called cars. Transportation devices is more like it. Just being dependable doesnt make it a great car.

To each his own, but I wouldnt call anything from honda 'out of this world' or 'extraordinary'. A truly great car is something thats more than a machine to get from point a to point b. Anyone into Harleys, Jeeps, muscle cars, etc knows this. Very few japanese cars have that kind of soul. If you dont think so, how bad would gone in 60 seconds have sucked if Eleanor was a camry? Even an S2000 would have been a bit hard to swallow.

[falconut]

I drive around 27 miles one way each day to work. I do highway driving, but in NJ at rush hour the highways aren't complete highway driving. I've been checking my mileage since I got the car back in Feb. '08. My mileage has been pretty standard, give or take a mile. I get between 22 - 24 MPG with my base model automatic. I have 37K with stock plugs, wires, etc. The only thing not stock is the K&N air filter. Really nice, just not the greatest gas mileage, but from others posts, mine could get worse mileage.

[85_305]

Originally Posted by grungerockjeeper

The only brand I have any loyalty for is Mopar. But that'll get trumped by the actual car itself. Mopar or not theres no way Id drive a Neon even an SRT-4 or a Charger based on the sedan bodystyles. Much as I hate GM products, there's no denying that the Cobalt SS and Camaro are sweet rides.

As to the japanese products, the same rules apply. Honda doesnt overly impress me. I think theyre overrated, simple as that. They do make a quality product, and some such as the accord coupe, S2000 and Element are pretty impressive for what they are. But when I see what they want for a honda and how people fawn all over them, poo-pooing american cars in favor of them I say its all a bunch of hype. Same thing with Toyota. Outside of the FJ Cruiser and the Supra (which they dont even have the cajones to build anymore) most Toyotas are faceless appliances not even deserving to be called cars. Transportation devices is more like it. Just being dependable doesnt make it a great car.

To each his own, but I wouldnt call anything from honda 'out of this world' or 'extraordinary'. A truly great car is something thats more than a machine to get from point a to point b. Anyone into Harleys, Jeeps, muscle cars, etc knows this. Very few japanese cars have that kind of soul. If you dont think so, how bad would gone in 60 seconds have sucked if Eleanor was a camry? Even an S2000 would have been a bit hard to swallow.

Ahhh I hate mopar lol. Cant stand them. Chrysler is OK.. depending what car (their suv's are awesome).

As much as I hate people loading the country w/ foreign cars as well, you really cant deny Honda and even Toyota with what they do. How many cars nowadays weight 2400lbs, have 200-220hp, have nicely sculpted and comfortable interiors, you can rev them to the moon, and get 33-35mpg city and 40-45mpg highway. Not many. There is not many American cars out at ALL that get those kind of mileage numbers while still being a decent looking car thats not ugly and embarassing to own. Yes, a fiesta gets 40-50mpg. But they have 80hp, no ac, bullshit interiors, etc. My honda cruises at 80mph, gets 45mpg, I cant hear a DAMN bit of wind noise or creaking/rattling etc, and handles/stops great. Nothing American can come close to that.

Now, dont confuse what I'm saying with "having soul". And NO, the Kia Soul does NOT count. But they are great cars that do a very good job of basic transportation.