I have been getting 25 around town, mixed driving so I was looking forward to what I was expecting to be 30 mpg highway. Disappointingly, I only got 25 one way and 28 on the way home (this was a 1600 mile round trip). Overall, the car was very pleasant to use on the trip and the luggage space was great. I filled it all the way to the roof in back. I found that only on flat areas at lower speeds did I actually get good mpg. Sustained speeds over 70 mph and up and down hills just killed the mileage. Like I said though, a little disappointing that it barely did better than around town. Maybe it was all the extra weight in the car? Is this what others are finding?

 

Yup, with the way you describe being loaded up I'd expect a mileage drop, you always get the best mileage with just the driver and a basically empty vehicle. Did you calculate your own mileage or are you using the mileage displayed on the DIC, the instant mileage display can be pretty close but you have to take what it says with a grain of salt sometimes.

I would expect you to see something in the lower 30's mileage wise with the vehicle unladen, but as the fine print in the ads always says "actual mileage may vary".

 

The added weight is a factor, also your "Sustained speeds over 70 mph"....... My 2LT has a mileage "sweet spot" right at 55-58 mph, it drops off above and below that. The hills you mentioned sealed the deal......

 

Exactly Greybeard, factor the hills with the weight of his load even if only say 200lbs as an example, and you take a hit in mileage. As for your mileage sweet spot it just goes to show that no two HHR's are alike, my '07 likes 72-75 mph and gets it best mileage there, the '11 is fonder of 60-65 mph for the best mileage.

 

I calculated one tank but found it was spot on so I just used the DIC after that. Later this year, I will probably make the trip again without so much luggage and with only me in the car (2 others this trip) so I will see how much better it does. And, yes, the mpg seemed to go way up if I kept it under 60.

 

I guess I am used to my Burb which seems to get 16 mpg no matter how fast I go or how much stuff I have in it.

 

Yeah, my Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.2 liter was very consistent no matter the load, A/C, wind, hills, etc... A very consistent 15.5 MPG.

My '11 HHR is much more variable. In the 8 weeks I've had it, I've gotten 22MPG worst case per tank, and 31MPG best case per tank. Of course the 31MPG was almost all open interstate driving. I seem to get a pretty solid 26-27MPG on my commute which is mixed city/hwy.

 

I got 25 ave on our trip loaded to the gills and over two mountian ranges in snow and ice. Bought the best gas I could get that 94 oct in beautiful BC was awesome. I would expect mine to be worse with the stg1 on it!

 

My poor HHR... I just washed it after said road trip and there are several dings on the front of the car from the gravel. I don't think there were any before the trip.

 

Dings, or chips in the paint? Paint chips are common, so common several of us have a bottle of touch up paint in the glove box.