Chevrolet’s engineers went to a lot of trouble to get the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel an official EPA rating of 52 miles per gallon on the highway. This gave the new Cruze Diesel bragging rights to a 702-mile range on its 13.7-gallon tank – about enough to get from New York City to Richmond Virginia and back on a single fill-up.
But what if we told you that, given the right circumstances and a judicious right foot, the Cruze is capable of going nearly 1,000 miles before having to return to the pump?
In a recent instrumented test by Car and Driver, the diesel Cruze returned not 60, not 65, but 70 miles to the gallon. That’s motorcycle-like fuel economy. Of course, your mileage may vary; to achieve that lofty number, the C/D folks had to hush the Cruze’s 137-horsepower, aluminum turbo-diesel along as gently as possible. The cruise control speed was set to an efficient 55 miles per hour, and no passes were made.
The entire test was 159 miles of California highway, and during that time, the Cruze Diesel sipped just 2.257 gallons of fuel. Thanks to the torque provided by the diesel engine, which peaks at 2,000-rpm, the car was able to stay in ninth gear for the majority of the trip.
This study further solidifies our belief that a hatchback, diesel Cruze with a manual transmission would make for a truly awesome daily driver – provided you’re the sort of person who enjoys making infrequent stops at the pump.
Comments
Amazing.
I’m actually surprised it’s not more.
I have the same diesel engine fitted in my Vauxhall Astra K Sports Tourer, albeit with a manual box. I haven’t driven the current generation Cruze, but am pretty certain the Chevy would be similar in size to the Vauxhall. I have a 70 mile daily drive, through city, cross-country and motorway traffic. My average is 62.1 Imperial miles per gallon or 74.6 US miles per gallon and that’s with plenty of passing and cruise control pretty much disengaged – with the exception of motorway miles. I generally get 680 – 720 miles from the 11 Imperial gallon (13.2 US gallon) tank and find the sweet spot for economy between 60mph and 70mph.
It would indeed be interesting to see what he Cruze would return with a manual box, as the automatic box must be compromising efficiency.
Having a high torque engine and a tall transmission gear is the best for long distance highway traveling at a constant speed. I had a 1995 Buick Regal sedan with a NA 3.8 L (231 CI) V6 engine and the 4T60-E automatic transaxle ( it has an overdrive). The EPA rated MPG was just 18, but at highway speed of 60 MPH, the engine was doing just 1700 RPM, and gave me over 22 MPG in several trips. The idle RPM was so low (less than 700) that a tech doing the annual emissions inspection thought that the reading was wrong.
Good job, GM!
Very doable, I had a GXP GP with a CAI and HH tune and had 30 mpg at 80mph. Mind this is a v8 car with a 4 speed auto.