[alphaferyl]

Hello Everyone,

I've been researching and test driving a lot over the past couple months, and I am finally planning to order my Terrain tomorrow! The information on this board has been very helpful, thank you to the admin and all contributors for getting all this information together in one place.

Something I did not see was a comparison of the fuel economy of the two engines, in real world terms. I made the attached chart for my own information and thought you guys might find it useful too. Hopefully I can attach... here goes.

This is of course for the AWD model as stated, and as you can see the savings does not appear to be that significant with the 4-cyl engine. Even if you are more aggressive (if that's the right word in this case) and can get 26 mpg combined on the smaller engine, it's still less than $500 annual savings in fuel. That's not necessarily insignificant for everyone, but not enough to make me want the 4-cyl engine. I did drive both, and was actually quite impressed with how well the 4-cyl engine drives; pretty quiet, enough torque off the line if no hills, and smooth. But the 6-cyl was better all around, and if the annual fuel cost is not that much different, it's an easy choice for me.

Hope this is helpful for prospective buyers. Your feedback is always appreciated.

 

[redlight_005]

Also went with the 6 after test driving, but I also wanted the capability to tow more.

 

[Narg]

I'd highly recommend the V6 for AWD. Otherwise, the I4 is such a good engine in many ways that for the FWD it's my recommendation there.

 

[jbsails]

I have the AWD 4Cyl and really like it. I test drove the 6Cyl and really couldn't feel much of a difference in the engines. To me the 6Cylseemed like it underpowered compared to other GM 6Cyl I have owned. Unless you need the extra towing capacity I would suggest the 4Cyl.

 

[OhioX14]

Test drove both and chose the 6 simply because I was more comfortable with its performance and potential increased trade in value someday. Now that I've seen this well done comparison I'm even more pleased with the decision. That said, I can see why the four has it's appeal and it is a great engine that was well implemented by GM.

 

[DeMAN]

Test drove both and chose the 6 simply because I was more comfortable with its performance and potential increased trade in value someday. Now that I've seen this well done comparison I'm even more pleased with the decision. That said, I can see why the four has it's appeal and it is a great engine that was well implemented by GM.

This is one time when I think the 4 will have a greater value, especially since most people have noticed there isn't that much difference in the seat-of-the-pant feel. Everyone will have there own need for this SUV. Mine will be for economy. 95% of my driving is freeway near sea level driving. I can deal with the other 5% where a 6 maybe needed.

 

[gearhead]

Thanks for the great comparison chart, alphaferyl.
For the cost savings over 15,000 miles, I'm glad we chose the V6.
That's just our opinion, however, as we don't put too many miles on our vehicles for the most part.

 

[Roesterman]

Plus the optional cost of the V6 engine just over $2000 CAD or $1500 USD approx.

 

[z73421]

I would add this into the mix if you are making an engine choice based on the test drive. I have noticed a distinct change in the driving characteristics of the 4 cylinder engine on the way from the first 1000 miles to the 2000 mile mark. Initially I was a little disappointed with the experience with the four. My deciding factor for choosing the four over the six was fuel economy. I was willing to sacrifice power. However I am pleased that as the engine is breaking in the performance has improved along with fuel mileage.

 

[Narg]

Snowitch, I hope I can help on this. Before our Equinox, my wife drove an HHR with basically the same I4 engine. Something we found, and was able to verify with other HHR owners, and subsequently some Cobalt owners, that the Ecotec engine does seem to have a very tight built that after 1000 to 2000 miles it's performance noticeably changes for the better. It feels as if the engine has been given another 10 or 20 horses. If you are a daily driver of the vehicle, you may not notice easily. But, since I was not the daily driver of our HHR it was very noticeable to me.

I'm anxious to see if the same effect will be found on our Equinox. I'm sure it will be there, but how it will affect this bigger vehicle, I'm not sure.

And, yes you are correct on the power steering types. Many reviewers hate the electric steering, but I LOVE IT! (HHR has it too) The wheel feels fantastic either on slow city streets or the highway. I say it's part of what makes driving this CUV so much fun.

 

[tmozer]

I have a 4 cyl AWD. What range can I expect from a full tank freeway driving between 65 and 75 mpg?

I just did the math: 29 mpg * 18.8 = 545.2 miles. Of course in the real world it will probably be more like 500......

Another question: Is there any reason not to drive with the "ECO" button engaged?

 

[rwarner1]

We have a Cyber Gray 4cyl since Dec 3rd. We get around 24 city and highway seems to be about 28 29 mpg. I drive in ECO mode most of the time, it will idle at fewer rpm's to save fuel and I believe the shift points are somewhat different. I do notice the downshifting and upshifting a lot going up steeper grades but all in all seems like sufficient power for a 4cyl. We like ours and I like using the memory stick with Mp3s to listen to.
I would imagine on a trip if there weren't many steep hills, the fuel mileage would be closer to 30-31.

 

[wschmitt]

:angryfire:[/color]
I been driving my terrain for 60,000 miles going to FL> and NJ EPA is for 55 mph you may get the 31 it said on the sticker but who drives 55 on RT 95 I drive with the traffic and will get 25mpg I did own a 2000 Cadillac sedan deville which has a v8 and was getting 26 mpg, I would like to know what some of the 6 cyl owner are getting at a realistic 75 mph

 

[Alburnek]

When I drive long distances doing about 130km/h or 80mph I can get 7.0L/100km (trip monitor). When I drive to work and to my girlfriends place (90% city), I average about 12-13L/100km. That's accelerating quickly to speed limit, average is 60km/h or 37-38 mph. I have the 4 banger FWD. The only thing about the 4 cylinder is that at highway speeds, it is terribly slow getting up to pass someone.

 

[Chas]

:angryfire:[/color]
I been driving my terrain for 60,000 miles going to FL> and NJ EPA is for 55 mph you may get the 31 it said on the sticker but who drives 55 on RT 95 I drive with the traffic and will get 25mpg I did own a 2000 Cadillac sedan deville which has a v8 and was getting 26 mpg, I would like to know what some of the 6 cyl owner are getting at a realistic 75 mph

I get 25 mpg at 75 mph, but I have the 3.6 V6 and only FWD. Plenty of neck-snapping passing power. >

 

[rbarrios]

:angryfire:[/color]
I been driving my terrain for 60,000 miles going to FL> and NJ EPA is for 55 mph you may get the 31 it said on the sticker but who drives 55 on RT 95 I drive with the traffic and will get 25mpg I did own a 2000 Cadillac sedan deville which has a v8 and was getting 26 mpg, I would like to know what some of the 6 cyl owner are getting at a realistic 75 mph

heres a test I ran @70.

Hand Calc
DIC
Laptop hooked up to OBD port,

http://www.equinoxforum.net/index.php?topic=8854.0

 

[RIT333]

heres a test I ran @70.

Hand Calc
DIC
Laptop hooked up to OBD port,

http://www.equinoxforum.net/index.php?topic=8854.0

I am not sure that using 1 gallon of gas (30 miles) is enough data to get a statistically significant gas mileage estimate - but, i suppose it is better than no data at all.

 

[INNOCNT]

:angryfire:[/color]
I been driving my terrain for 60,000 miles going to FL> and NJ EPA is for 55 mph you may get the 31 it said on the sticker but who drives 55 on RT 95 I drive with the traffic and will get 25mpg I did own a 2000 Cadillac sedan deville which has a v8 and was getting 26 mpg, I would like to know what some of the 6 cyl owner are getting at a realistic 75 mph

When I had the 3.0LV6 at 75mph (121km/hr) I was getting around the 25-26 mpg... now with my new 3.6LV6 I'm getting over 30mpg at 75. 32mpg avg. isn't abnormal at that speed.

Keep in mind these are scientific values like you would see on the factory window stickers, this is real world data that I've collected by hand calculation and my Denali's DIC.

Cheers.... Hope that helps.

 

[TERR6]

We are looking at buying a 2011 Terrain with the V6. We need to be able to tow an 1800 lb rated (plus all the gear we pack in it) pop-up trailer, so the 3500 lb towing rating of the V6 allows us to pack the kitchen sink et al. Thanks for your comparison chart. Are you going by GMCs claimed rates? I have seen quite a few posts saying they are overly optimistic!!

 

[Ralphalph]

We are looking at buying a 2011 Terrain with the V6. We need to be able to tow an 1800 lb rated (plus all the gear we pack in it) pop-up trailer, so the 3500 lb towing rating of the V6 allows us to pack the kitchen sink et al. Thanks for your comparison chart. Are you going by GMCs claimed rates? I have seen quite a few posts saying they are overly optimistic!!

Most of the complaints are related to the I4. It is quite difficult to achieve the I4's rated highway mileage in real driving (29-31mpg AWD). For around town driving, however, it is pretty easy to beat it's combined rating of 23-26mpg. According to several owners of the V6 on here, it is possible to get well above the highway rating for that engine.