2011 Chevy Impala

[ancient-one]

Just wondering if any of you owned one and if so, what kind of in town mileage are you getting? Mine is nowhere near what they estimate.

 

[LVSteve]

EPA estimates are made up by the same guy who has swampland to sell you along with that fancy French tower and the Brooklyn bridge.

Seriously, with the weather this year you are probably getting your gas mileage hammered by the heat, which makes cars run less efficiently, and by your A/C loading the motor even more than usual. The EPA cycles are NOT set up for continuous A/C use IIRC. Your local gas companies may have been told to add more ethanol in the blend this year, something else that does not help. What are you getting and what does the EPA fiction claim?

 

[Kanewpadle]

I have a 2011 Malibu and it seems to get the advertised mileage. But even for a four cylinder it isn't that great.

EPA estimates are a joke. See for yourself here.
Fuel Economy

Mileage testing is done with a prototype under ideal conditions on a dynamometer. No wind drag, hills, gravel, etc.....

 

[Onomea]

I am renting a new one now and it either comes factory equipped with a terrible air conditioner or the air conditiomer in my particular car is faulty.

 

[JJEH]

We had a 2010 Impala as rental car and drove it ~3500mls in 3 weeks. It's a solid car, good mpg's, but the 3.5l engine is somewhat weak. IF you want one, get the 3.9l engine.

Or do it like us and wait for the 2014 Impala

 

[gjgalligan]

Gas mileage depends a lot on the driver. I tell most people I know that I could take their car and get at 10% to 25% better gas mileage then they do. My dad was a truck driver back in the 50 & 60s and he was the one that taught me how to drive. Jackrabbit starts, foot always on one pedal or the other, ect are what kills mileage.
This hot weather means the AC running a lot. I don't think the EPA has the AC running when they do they testing.

 

[ErnieDeBord]

As a Auto-Tech ," Connisuer" for many yrs I have some input. A well maintained engine, tires aired up, clean air filt etc makes a huge impact. I am also a FIRM believer in @ least "mid-grade" fuel.......I wont use reg fuel in ANYTHING I own. Also twice a year I add a bottle of techron in the tank. Last & not least.......full syn oil is all I will use now days...All these things add up in the long-run.......Regards Ernie

 

[David LaPell]

You could not give me one. We had a whole fleet of them and they are falling apart after only two or three years while the Crown Vics take a beating. Even our transport car, which was never on the road running all the miles had major problems. The brakes went after less than 20,000 miles, the wipers got stuck straight up on the windshield, the tranny slipped alot. Nothing I would want from Obamamotors.

 

[ancient-one]

EPA estimates are made up by the same guy who has swampland to sell you along with that fancy French tower and the Brooklyn bridge.

Seriously, with the weather this year you are probably getting your gas mileage hammered by the heat, which makes cars run less efficiently, and by your A/C loading the motor even more than usual. The EPA cycles are NOT set up for continuous A/C use IIRC. Your local gas companies may have been told to add more ethanol in the blend this year, something else that does not help. What are you getting and what does the EPA fiction claim?

I haven't really done adequate checking. I bought the car in Nov. from a dealer and it had 12,000 miles on it. It now has a little less than 14,000 but will be getting more because I gave the Nissan PU that I usually drove to my great grandson.
I have only checked in town driving the last fill up and it was only for 160 miles and I got 15.5 mpg. The estimated was 19 mpg in town for pure gas and that is what I have been using. I am going to check the next tank and watch my foot a little closer and see if that helps. I am not one who takes off fast from a stop but this thing gets to the speed limit in short order so I may have been hitting it a little harder than I intended.
If that doesn't help I will have a little discussion with my dealer and see what can be done.

 

[forresth]

I have a 2011 Malibu and it seems to get the advertised mileage. But even for a four cylinder it isn't that great.

EPA estimates are a joke. See for yourself here.
Fuel Economy

Mileage testing is done with a prototype under ideal conditions on a dynamometer. No wind drag, hills, gravel, etc.....

My experience has been that 3rd party drivers drive prescribed routes on test tracks as set speeds and stops.

I've read the description of the course used some years back. What a joke, most of the highways route was 45mph and under! and the only difference I noticed between highway and city was some extended idling periods. That's why hybrids are often identical between the 2, they shut off when "idling"

 

[ErnieDeBord]

something is def wrong.........i would think it shoud at least 22 mpg plus?.....sommething is a miss for sure

 

[mwtdvm]

Had one as a Loaner...Never More!!

I am MR TALL BULKY and getting in and out of that vehicle was a challenge. My knee impacted on the edge of the A/C or whatever and in the ten minute drive home I was crippled when I got out. Fortunately I would never buy a vehicle w/out a test drive and this one was a Nonstarter. YMMV

 

[imashooter2]

So do they do the EPA estimates using gasoline or that 10% alcohol dung that the government forces me to buy?

 

[blackdeuce]

I have a 2005 Impala that I bought new. It has about 75,000 miles on it and has been a really good car. I get close to 30 mpg on trips that involve a mix of 65 mph 2-lane driving and 75 mph interstate driving. It is my second Impala. My son is taking it to college. It's somewhat sporty with the spoiler, etc. I asked my son if he'd rather have a Mustang, etc., but he wanted my Impala. Partly because he knows that my car has been babied.

I also had a 2000 Impala that served me well until I sold it because the mileage was getting high.

The problem with a lot of the used Impalas on the market is that the majority of them have been rentals or fleet cars. You might get a good one, you might not....

 

[chief38]

Both of my kids had Chevy Impala's (2004 and 2007) and they both got around 24 mpg around town and over 31 on the highway. My Son just traded his in for a 2012 Buick Regal and my Daughter still has her '07. They are very good cars and I never had any problems with them. If that is all my budget could afford I would not hesitate to buy one.

Chief38

 

[Rule3]

Well clearly it just needs to be "broken in"

Is it under the new Chevy "If you don't like it, bring it back" program???

EPA estimates are just that estimates, they are not real mileage. Leading to the fine print:

YMMV

 

[ancient-one]

Well clearly it just needs to be "broken in"

Is it under the new Chevy "If you don't like it, bring it back" program???

EPA estimates are just that estimates, they are not real mileage. Leading to the fine print:

YMMV

Nope, afraid it is not under that program.

 

[Mr Pokeyman]

I had a impala convertible that gave me 7 to 8 mpg but that was because it had a 348 cubic inch engine and the car weighed close to 4000 lbs. It was a 1958 model and I bought it in 1964 just before I graduated and had it until I got out of the Navy. Gas was 20 to 30 cents a gallons so mileage didn't matter. l wish I would have kept it but thats life.

 

[mr.jbk79]

You could not give me one. We had a whole fleet of them and they are falling apart after only two or three years while the Crown Vics take a beating. Even our transport car, which was never on the road running all the miles had major problems. The brakes went after less than 20,000 miles, the wipers got stuck straight up on the windshield, the tranny slipped alot. Nothing I would want from Obamamotors.

I recently saw an article where GM is recalling something like 38,000 Impala Police Cars only between 2008-12 for possible cracking in lower control arms. May result in tire chirping, and or sudden loss of control.
I've worked on the pedastrian Impalas, and while many are content with them, I feel they just don't have the quality GM used to have not that long ago. I guess I'm not surprised.

 

[ancient-one]

Thanks for your replies.