I bought a 2019 Chevy Sonic RS Hatchback
I knew the mileage wasn’t that great (it’s plenty good enough though) but it had the Apple Car Play and the other goodies I needed. Plus the 1.4 Turbo gives it a fast feel off the line.
Car had 29k when I bought it.
Here’s what I changed since I generally like to check things even though it’s under warranty I never trust what the dealer did or didn’t do.
Tires 37-38 PSI. Penzoil Platnium 5W-30, Purolator Air Filter ($10 wasn’t needed), Spark Plugs ($17 AutoLite Iridium XPs), 93 Octane quite few tanks at this point.
I just did a 50 Mile Test. 25 miles on I355 and 25 miles back on I355. From Shell Gas Station and back. So hardly any City mileage. 37.6 MPG in a 2019 Chevy Sonic RS Automatic. In a longer trip it would of done better that’s using cruise control between 65-75mph as their was traffic. I barely hit brakes. City I seem to get much less probably cuz that Turbo is good for torque on the low end. Maybe 24-26 city. Combined that’s hard to say. A long trip on Highway I see 38 trying at 75. But doubt you legitimately hit 40.
The two biggest upgrades to gas mileage were using Penzoil Ultra 5W-30 Dexos Approved. Old oil was dealer oil and it did look fresh at 87% about 1-2 MPGs increase just changing it and changing the Spark plugs at 30k which I can’t believe. That generated me 2 mpgs. Now turbo cars generally call for a 60k plug change vs 100k. The Sonic is the 2nd car I did 30k miles early. I had not seen an increase in my other car. This car I did and I tested it twice, gapped to .025 (factory plugs were also at exactly .025). Cruise Control is always good for MPGs on the Highway.
My thoughts I don’t think plugs did that much. I’m pretty sure it just restored some power and efficiency as the old ones were wearing out about 50% through lifespan reducing efficiency. Good oil generally does help and 93 Octane helped as well. Short story I’m getting what it’s rated for and more with an automatic. If I’m on it it goes way down as most turbos do. Keep up with the routine maintenance. It’ll help keep things in check and it’ll get what it should for gas mileage. Not trying with out cruise control I’d say subtract 2-4 mpg Highway.
So for an automatic Hydromatic 6T40 which gets less mileage than a manual 6 speed. It’s getting what Chevy says it should get and potentially more depending on your habits. But I did change some things early and the mileage jumped.
Also worth noting the test was done with the Penzoil oil at 83%. And keep in mind this is an automatic. The manuals could see more.
***Temps were 93 Degrees and the AC was running. These cars like to cycle on and off the compressor a bit more frequently. I think they like to do that for fuel efficiency. With out AC their might be a slight gain.
www.bridgestonetire.com
