Finally got a chance to get the SS out for a decent road trip with my annual winter pilgrimage from the CA Central Coast to the Southeast AZ desert (2,100 miles total driving). Here's my experience and some observations:

The Good

The SS, especially with the upgrade, has plenty of power for passing and climbing. I never wanted for more.

For its size, the HHR holds the road very well, even in stiff crosswinds.

The seats are incredibly comfortable on long stretches, even the 14 hour stint I did on the way down.

The gas mileage is very acceptable. I averaged a tad over 26 mpg with almost all highway driving and 90% of that at a steady 80 mph. Cruising range was about 400 miles per tank so I'm happy with all that. (I might have had better results but I'm forced to burn that crappy "winter blend" CA gas.)

With the rear seat folded, I stowed all my luggage, all sorts of Christmas presents and my bicycle with ease and had room for more.

Man do I ever like the satellite radio now.

The Bad

The overall ride isn't bad at all but the short, stiff sidewalls on those 18's really don't do much to absorb the impact on choppy road surfaces.

I started out with a nice tight drivers seat bottom but upon my return I now have one where the insert has a definite pucker to it.

The cruise control is pretty weak. It's slow to respond to inputs from the controls and has a hard time holding speed on inclines and declines.

The Ugly

Wow, the paint is so thin on these vehicles that it doesn't take much of a debris impact to chip it on the front surfaces. If this kind of thing really bugs you, I'd strongly advise getting a bra or some of that protective film. I personally hate those solutions so I just fix the chips with a bit of carefully applied touch up paint - four of them on this trip alone!

Overall, I'm still highly satisfied with my SS after about 9 months and almost 12,000 miles and look forward to much more happy motoring in the future!

 

That's some great feedback. I am currently shopping for an SS or an 2LT (power or "luxury".... ) "

I too am in Norcal (near Sac) and I have been wondering about the impact of our fuel on the mileage. I see some pretty good numbers quoted but few from California.

1. Do you think you could have averaged 30 MPG if you kept it to 70 MPH?

2. Are you a tall person? I am 6'4" at 200lbs and I was wondering about how the seats would feel on 5 hour drives. I've come to grips with the fact that I will need the seat down and back a bit to clear the headliner with the sunroof (non-sunroof cars are fine.) The leg room seems fine, the tilt is a joke but it does seem to be in about the right place for me.

The paint. Yes, that is one thing that gets my attention on every used HHR I've seen. Rock chips. It's inevitable in this area but I was wonder if it was just me. Many are low mileage cars and they are littered with chips in the front.

Terry

 

I averaged 30mpg on my trip from San Diego to OKC, thn to Dallas, and back. I also have the Stage 1 kit. I have just gone over 14k on my 09 SS and am also considering selling so if you are interested hit me up!

 

Thanks Terry. To answer your questions:

1. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you could approach or get 30 mph by keeping the speed down. I drove a couple of non-interstate sections for about 45 minutes each at 60-65 mph and the DIC instant mpg readout was telling me 32 mpg. Not sure how accurate it is but the regular mpg readout was just about spot on to my manual calculations.

2. I'm 6'0" and have no roof clearance issues at all, there's plenty of room above me in my sunroof equipped edition. At 6'4", you might be pushing the envelope a bit, I'd test sit one to be sure you can manage a good fit. I weigh just about the same as you (gulp!) and a 5 hour jaunt in the SS seats wouldn't be any big deal at all...those GM Performance Div. seats are awesome!

 

My most recent road trip, I saw 32.2 average mpg from Austin until I hit Oklahoma, averaging 72 mph. Once I hit Oklahoma and hit the 75 mph limit turnpike (and a state where I'm not likely to get pointed on a ticket) I kept it up around 90 and hit a bunch of little hills, so mpg dropped down to the mid 20's. But it was way more fun.

 

Thanks Damronjr but no black for me!

 

Thanks Dawg, I've driven a couple of 2LT and SS and having the seat back a tad is not an issue. It's not a cavern like my GTO but with the sunroof I could deal with it. I might even be able to see the stop lights better!

The DICs on GM cars are far more accurate than people think. The way they calculate the fuel usage is actually very refined. They know the injector size and use the pulse width to measure the usage. Unless the MPH is off, it's pretty dang close to reality.

 

True but what is not as fun is sitting in jail with a cable TV thief and the guy that didn't get rid of his illegal lawn darts!

 

Thats why I bought a full cover Colgan bra for the front of the SS, just for trips, I don't use it any other time. After getting back to Alabama from Pennsylvania earlier in December I was glad I bought it because the states I traveled through used salt and sand all over the roads.

I checked the car when I got back and took the bra off, not one chip on the front end.

 

I found 65 mph to be the dividing line while cruising on the highway. Between 50 mph and 65 mph I can get 30-32 mpg. When I'm between 65 mph and 80 mph, it drops to around 26-28 mpg. I do not have the Stage 1 upgrade.