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Below is from the fuelefficiency.gov site. It seems the 2.0l economy hit is higher in city driving which isn't really a surprise. It might not seem like much between them until you look at the fuel cost estimate over 5 yrs. That is money I can spend better elsewhere. Also good to see I'm doing far better than expected in my case.


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Very interesting discussion. There are just so many variables. What works well for one person does not for another, and so forth. What has prompted me to comment is Reply #14, regarding the fuel mileage of the 1.5L
We have had our 2019 Eq LS 1.5T now for just a year. This car is used almost totally in short trips around a small town. It has been quite consistently getting around 27 mpg. And when we occasionally run it on the freeway at 75, it is not much better.
HOWEVER, when we travel secondary highways at 65 mph or less, the picture is totally different, producing upper 30's easily. (nearly 40 on one occasion) -even with mountain driving. To me it is obvious that the average power level required with wind resistance at 75mph is simply too much for the 1.5 to operate anywhere it's peak efficiency. (and BTW, I have no experience with the 2.0L)
So, with all that being said, the 1.5L is serving us fine for what we really need it for. Sure, the turbo lag was something for me to get used to, but it is what it is. -a small engine in an average sized car.

Quite happily, we have our 2015 Impala 3.6L for all of our open road travelling needs. And it REALLY shines in that mode. I have never reset the "trip B" mpg gage since the car was born. And to this day it is still just slightly over 30 mpg.

But our little 1.5L Equinox is serving us very well as our everyday around town car.
 
I would rather have the 123.47 cu" "loafing" to make 50HP rolling down the highway instead of 50HP from a 90.71 that is working harder.
Great point. I would suspect that the 2.0 may have a slightly longer service life for that reason.
 
2020 2.0L AWD

When my wife drives it she really sticks her foot in it and I see the average 50 mile MPG has dropped to the high teens, like 18 to 19 MPG, in city driving. When I drive in the city I always see 23 - 25 MPG. Highway is 29 - 33 MPG. These are with AWD off.

I do use the adaptive cruise control a lot and that seems to help the MPG. She refuses to use cruise control.

I drove a used 2018 1.5L (30,000 miles) at the dealer up an entrance ramp and back in a circle. Then I did it with a 2.0L. Accelerating up the entrance ramp and merging had me sticking my foot in it with two adults inside with the 1.5L. The 2.0L had a lot of margin. But that is a very small amount of anyone's driving.
 
Okay, we did a little 90 mile round trip today. (For the past couple of days since re-fueling the car had short-tripped here, and the MPG was reading 27.) After running 75mph on the interstate to our destination the mpg was reading a little under 26. On the return trip we took a secondary highway at mostly 70mph, with some areas a little slower. Just as we got back into town here, the mpg was exactly 30. To be fair, there was a slight wind, somewhat head-wind, maybe 5mph going over. When returning it was about the same, or less, maybe a little true tail-wind, but mostly on our right rear corner.

So, that was my "on the road report" for today.

Even though we are completely satisfied with our little 1.5T here around town, I think I personally would suggest something different for any substantial amount of travelling at freeway speeds. I am definitely of the opinion that at 75mph our 1.5T is having to work too far outside of its efficiency range.

Today I was wondering if you had made your selection yet?
And something I always have to remind myself is this:
1. I am not "married to a car." (although I admit there are times it can feel like it,,,,)
2. If there is something about it I really don't want to live with, then a change can be made. (-or it could be said like this, "heck I was car shopping when I found this one, and I'll bet there are still plenty of others out there somewhere.)

So whatever you decide, I hope you find a sweet deal on it, and that it serves you well.
(BTW, ours is a 2019 LS model,1.5T, with selectable AWD, running 99% of the time in FWD only)
 
Okay, we did a little 90 mile round trip today. (For the past couple of days since re-fueling the car had short-tripped here, and the MPG was reading 27.) After running 75mph on the interstate to our destination the mpg was reading a little under 26. On the return trip we took a secondary highway at mostly 70mph, with some areas a little slower. Just as we got back into town here, the mpg was exactly 30. To be fair, there was a slight wind, somewhat head-wind, maybe 5mph going over. When returning it was about the same, or less, maybe a little true tail-wind, but mostly on our right rear corner.
Even though we are completely satisfied with our little 1.5T here around town, I think I personally would suggest something different for any substantial amount of travelling at freeway speeds. I am definitely of the opinion that at 75mph our 1.5T is having to work too far outside of its efficiency range.
Well said post.
The paragraph quoted above is my favorite.
 
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Okay, we did a little 90 mile round trip today. (For the past couple of days since re-fueling the car had short-tripped here, and the MPG was reading 27.) After running 75mph on the interstate to our destination the mpg was reading a little under 26. On the return trip we took a secondary highway at mostly 70mph, with some areas a little slower. Just as we got back into town here, the mpg was exactly 30. To be fair, there was a slight wind, somewhat head-wind, maybe 5mph going over. When returning it was about the same, or less, maybe a little true tail-wind, but mostly on our right rear corner.

So, that was my "on the road report" for today.

Even though we are completely satisfied with our little 1.5T here around town, I think I personally would suggest something different for any substantial amount of travelling at freeway speeds. I am definitely of the opinion that at 75mph our 1.5T is having to work too far outside of its efficiency range.

Today I was wondering if you had made your selection yet?
And something I always have to remind myself is this:
1. I am not "married to a car." (although I admit there are times it can feel like it,,,,)
2. If there is something about it I really don't want to live with, then a change can be made. (-or it could be said like this, "heck I was car shopping when I found this one, and I'll bet there are still plenty of others out there somewhere.)

So whatever you decide, I hope you find a sweet deal on it, and that it serves you well.
(BTW, ours is a 2019 LS model,1.5T, with selectable AWD, running 99% of the time in FWD only)
You will see the same results with the 2.0. Even my diesel takes a noticeable hit between running 70 and 75. I’ve made a few 6 hour drives that are all highway. Mostly flat to rolling hills. At 76-78 I typically get 35-37 mpg. If I slow to 70 I get 38-40, 65 is 40-42. It’s just the nature of an un aerodynamic suv trying to eek out max efficiency with turbos.
 
Every forgets that Gov. EPA estimates are done at 55 mph highway. At any faster speeds all bets are off.
You will always beat the fuel ''ratings'' at 55 mph.
They do those tests on a chassis dyno, not on the road BTW.
 
I'm not sure why there is a perception that the 1.5L would labour to maintain hwy speeds vs the 2.0L. if it take 50hp to maintain a constant 75mph I would not say either of these engines are labouring. I have loaded mine with easily 900lbs of people and cargo for 8 hr highway trips and not once did it feel laboured. Sure, it wasn't in the sweet spot getting 50mpg but it was quietly cruising along at 2200-2300rpm (going from memory) and only requiring light throttle. And unlike my previous Toyota Rav4, never once needed to downshift to maintain speed. Doesn't matter the wind direction or if I was going over hills (Northern MI for reference). Now if I lived in truly mountainous areas, yep, I would be inclined to consider the 2.0L. Not sure where the OP lives but it looks like they prioritize fuel economy over power. On that measure the 1.5L wins.
My reference again is my previous SUV, 2017 Rav4. That felt underpowered and laboured on the hwy. Simply going over an overpass or passing a semi and hitting extra wind resistance would make it drop 1 or 2 gears just to maintain speed. My Nox has never done this since even the 1.5L T makes plenty of torque at those engine speeds.
 
I have no qualms loosing a little bit of mileage to gain another 82HP. Loss of a mpg or not the 2.0 is still better than a 1970's full size van hauling the same load at the same speed.
In fact the wife's 6.2 has better mileage than our old 2015 5.3 and my son's 2019 5.3 .
 
I have no qualms loosing a little bit of mileage to gain another 82HP. Loss of a mpg or not the 2.0 is still better than a 1970's full size van hauling the same load at the same speed.
In fact the wife's 6.2 has better mileage than our old 2015 5.3 and my son's 2019 5.3 .
So what is the right mode for MPG on the DIC avg, instant total etc..?

I only have 450 miles on a 2020 1.5 terrain and seems what ever method I use it read in the teens in the city. Have been only doing city driving. Neither my wife or me drive with a heavy foot. Will the MPG get better with more miles on it?
 
It should improve once it breaks in, but don't expect it to get to 25.
 
Might also be a result of how congested your city streets are, how much stop and go and if you have a lot of elevation changes. I have never seen anything that low but the city driving I do isn't that congested and SW Ontario will challenge the plains out west for lack of any elevation. Two summers ago I was averaging in the low 30's but we had a lot of road construction and therefore a lot of idling with constant stop/go. Drove me nuts.
 
Might also be a result of how congested your city streets are, how much stop and go and if you have a lot of elevation changes. I have never seen anything that low but the city driving I do isn't that congested and SW Ontario will challenge the plains out west for lack of any elevation. Two summers ago I was averaging in the low 30's but we had a lot of road construction and therefore a lot of idling with constant stop/go. Drove me nuts.
No changes in elevation, only thing I do out of the ordinary is always drive it in L9 to disable the start/stop. I only used AWD a few times for a mile or so. perhaps as RIT stated, I need to put some miles on it.

Thank you
 
Not going to ever have decent mileage in the city. You are taking the energy from the fuel and dissipating it as heat through the brakes.
With the tech and precision in modern vehicles . Break in is a mute point. after 100 miles.
If the plan is to save a lot of money. Dine at home instead of food and drink from restaurants .
 
If the plan is to save a lot of money. Dine at home instead of food and drink from restaurants .
No doubt. if there has been one good thing about the pandemic, I have saved thousands in meals and even managed to lose weight. Most of it I attribute to staying out of restaurants!
 
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Not going to ever have decent mileage in the city. You are taking the energy from the fuel and dissipating it as heat through the brakes.
With the tech and precision in modern vehicles . Break in is a mute point. after 100 miles.
If the plan is to save a lot of money. Dine at home instead of food and drink from restaurants .
I believe you, just don't understand the physics behind it. It sounds like an interesting theory though.
 
Not a theory it is fact. Hybrids get higher city mileage because they capture the energy that our vehicles waste as heat. They use the energy to charge the batteries. Plus, city driving gets higher mileage because there is less wind resistance. Wind resistance goes up by either the square or cube of your speed. Been awhile since I took my last physics course !
 
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