Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG
It's fun to get into a completely different car and see what you can squeeze from it. Dumb about the "upgrade" though.
Some automatics with paddles, rockers, +/- gates will let you override the default upshift logic to get into higher gears sooner.
Even some CVT's, as I discovered:
EG: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...rly-21149.html |
I wish I could say I like this car. The gearing is amazing, and using the "manual" option on the gear selector I have been able to upshift very early. I can get into fifth gear at 35mph to cruise at <1500 rpms. It'll stay in 5th down to almost 30mph and about 1200 rpms. And I can get into sixth gear starting at 45mph and do about the same, though it automatically up-shifts under 45mph. I can cruise 55mph at something like 1600 or 1650 rpms. Those are cool features.
IRRITATIONS: reduced ability to choose how the electrical features work. The AC is always on. Only by shutting off the fan can you turn it off. You can't run this car's fan without using the AC. And the car does not let you know that your AC is always on because it still has a snowflake button selector, which seems to be "AC" but is actually just the "high AC" selector. I figured it out when I noticed fan mode blew cold air and then checked the owner's manual. This will waste a lot of fuel over the car's lifetime and wear out the AC system faster. That's just stupid. The Malibu also has auto on headlights. You can shut them off, but the car beeps at you a few times and leaves an irritating message on the instrument display saying "auto lights off" for the entire time the lights are off. Worse, that message replaces your ability to monitor what gear you are in if you choose the "manual" mode on the gear selector. On the pickier side, the power windows have that auto down/up function that makes partial opening tricky and irritating.
Some of my irritation will change a little if hypermiling it proves productive. I'm in combined conditions of highway and urban driving in and around New York City and Philadelphia.