What kind of Gas Milage does the GT vs Base Get?

[SeattleJeremy]

I'm looking at getting a Vibe in the next month or so, and I'd like to know real world Gas milage figures for the GT and Base 5speed. I've got a 05 WRX now, and it gets about 22mpg with mostly highway. Thanks in advance!

[2006_Salsa]

My 2006 is a Auto, first tank we net 30.5 2nd tank 32 mpg mostly mixed driving.

[03frostygt]

I've got a 2003 GT and it gets 29.5 pretty consistently, driving fairly hard (80 mph highway and city driving combined). Are far as I know the 2006 would be the same.

[1oldbanjo]

I just bought a base Vibe with a 5 speed. I only have 850 miles on it and I have been fairly easy on the engine so far and shift around 3,000 rpm's - and I have applied fairly light throttle peddle. I have run two tanks of gas so far and on both I got just a little over 34 mpg. My driving so far has been short trips of less than 20 miles on roads with stop signs and traffic lights - so I expect better mpg when I go on my first road trips.You might want to drive a GT before you buy one and make sure you are happy with the six speed and high revving GT engine. A lot of the road tests in magazines thought the base was nicer to drive as it did not have to be revved up like the GT - however the base has lower HP and will not keep up with a GT in a drag race.Dave

[Jahntassa]

You don't have to rev up the GT to get around, it's just that the power band is up between 6k-8k RPM. However it's still pretty powerful if you stick to shifting around 4-5k.But, the 6speed may not be as 'gentle' as the 5 speed on the base. I agree, you should give them both a test drive and see what you think.Highway i'll get close to 30 mpg on my GT. Standard 'short' driving around town. (I live close to town, like..in it, basically, so I do short little half-mile hops) is usually around 19-22.

[GMJAP]

For base 5-speed, I get 33-34mpg, but I drive for mileage.Parents, with auto, get 29-30.

[AKLGT]

lol (i'm chuckling to myself) best i ever got was 33 mpg on the hwy doing 65 all the way up to fbx following my parents trailer.my avg was 26-28 depending on how much hwy driving i did. but this is from me driving like a bat out of hell most of the time. in winter, it dropped to 22-24 mpg.

[AKLGT]

ok, i just saw your post...you are only getting 22 mpg in your rex? of course i'm sure you have to deal with the traffic. what kind of octane are you running? in my LGT, i am getting about 20 mpg CITY miles since i upgraded my fuel and redid my mapping with my Cobb AP. before that, i was lucky to get 18 mpg! when i drive all hwy and go about the speed limit, i hit 29.4 mpg! that's awesome for a turbo'd awd! sad to say, but it'll be a big step down in power from a rex to a base vibe and even a GT. and though you don't get dumps of snow like we do here, get used to your tires spinning a lot from no traction.

[northvibe]

2004 Base vibe w/ Auto (37k miles on it now)I drive like a race car driver and get 30mpg mixed thats prolly 2/3 tank in city and 1/3 tank going 80mph driving 150miles to the cities.When i drove it nice for a tank i got 34 mixed hwy and city. my parents could prolly pull off some 38mpg if they drove it I did notice a increase in mpg (2 mpg) after the cai install though

[SeattleJeremy]

The best you ever got was 33 in a GT? Yep 22mpg. I've been tracking the milage with Excel ever sense I bought the car in Oct 04. It's been as low as 19 and as high as 30, but for the most part between 21-24, and the average is 22.5. If the car was Cobb stage 1 Id likely go up to ~24. Rex has spent 99% of it's life Commuting. The other 1% was the best time of my life, in a car. We do get a bit of snow once and a while, but not often enough to justify getting another AWD car. The step down in power would be fine, I'm not the power hungry person I once was, and like I said next to all of my time is spent commuting. I drove a Corolla CE 5speed the other day, it was peppy enough around town, and on the freeway it got right up to 80. There are a few hills in the area, I'll see how it does on them next time. Someday I'd like to get a LGT wagon, but I'm going to buy a Condo in the next year, and need to save a little money first. Anyone else with milage figures?

[SeattleJeremy]

Thanks northvibe, if it helps that much i'd likely get a CAI.

[AKLGT]

CAI will help with power, but usually you'll experience a bit of a mpg loss.

[SeattleJeremy]

My Grand Am did a little better in both departments So we'll see.

[northvibe]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »CAI will help with power, but usually you'll experience a bit of a mpg loss. It depends on how you drive it if you drive and keep it under 3k rpm then your mileage should be fine or increase. If you like to hear the engine rumble with the cai and drive like i sometimes do then your mileage will decrease. Even a supercharged car if driven properly will get increased gas mileage (dont believe me check out the cobalt ss sc, ppl can get 38 mpg in that)

[AKLGT]

if you are driving under 3K rpms, then don't bother with a CAI. all power from both the 1zz and 2zz engines come well above 3K rpms. you really don't get your power and torque until atleast 4500 rpms. there is another thread that was just started discussing this same thing. check the active topics link on the top. as i said earlier, i have much more power and torque than stock, getting better mpg due to opening my exhaust, using higher octane gas, and remapping the air/fuel maps. if i keep the car (for the most part) under 2500 rpms (boost) then i can get very decent fuel economy. the same applies to the vibe and vibe gt. like i said, depending on driving style, you should be able to get get good fuel economy in both cars. the downside to the gt is that it does require 92 octane or better. the base will give you better mpg too. the gt is good gas mileage with pep for when you need it or have the urge. it's really what the driver is looking for.

[northvibe]

well a cai alone is letting more air into the system than stock. he isnt looking for power just mileage. like i said if i drive under 3k with my cai i get better mileage, heck even normal me driving i noticed a increase. but yea the power is really in the high rpms as our engines put out the hp/torq for speed at higher rpms.

[GMJAP]

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »well a cai alone is letting more air into the system than stock. he isnt looking for power just mileage. like i said if i drive under 3k with my cai i get better mileage, heck even normal me driving i noticed a increase. but yea the power is really in the high rpms as our engines put out the hp/torq for speed at higher rpms.Prolly be more cost-effective then to get an aftermarket filter rather than a whole CAI if you just want more airflow for mileage.

[SeattleJeremy]

So the GT's require 92 octane. That's a very helpfull tidbit of info.Another way I'd like to lower my monthly bills is to get something that doesn't require Premium. So the Base 5 speed it is Your right It might be more cost effective to get a drop in, but i'd like to be able to get on it once and a while and have a little bit of power. Maybe I can pick up a CAI used.

[AKLGT]

the 05+ require some kinds of special intake. by the time you get yours, Injen may have one available. otherwise, only one out there for sale is a cosmo and imo, you get what you pay for. i figure, if you are going from a wrx to something with better fuel economy, you're better off with the base 5 spd. still has enough pep in it if just on the hwy commuting. if you don't need all the zip or want to spend the extra $$$ for gas, then that's your best bet.

[Kissfan79]

I have 64,000 miles on my GT and I almost always get 30.5-31.5 MPG on the highway (which is where most of my driving is at). Jim

[binary]

Let my signature speak for itself... I drive about 80% highway. ~70-75mph

[Mavrik]

you would switch a WRX for a Vibe? lol I'm looking to do the opposite.22mpg is pretty good for a WRX turbo so I'd stick with that. I don't believe a base or GT Vibe will get much better and certainly so if you mod it. In town with my Vibe I'm getting around 500KM per tank of fuel which is about 41.66666666666...... KM per gal. 500KM is about 357 miles so I'm getting around 29 mile per gal in town with my intake and exhaust.The trade off for better fuel is less power.

[northvibe]

only problem with WRX is their weak tranny, i keep hearing 2nd gear blows out. if you switch to a vibe thats like 10 more mpg about or more, not bad if you ask me. Binary, nice mpg!! is yours still stock?

[SeattleJeremy]

Mavrik : My WRX does okay for gas mileage, but I drive A LOT. I spent $480USD for gas last month alone + The 450 car payment. For me, now, it's just too expensive. It'll be a heck of a shock the first few times I try to go fast, and find the power isn't quite there. But between 1-3000 rpm the Toyota 1zz should be just about the same (if not better than) the WRX, because that’s where turbo lag is really present. Please don't let me discurage you from getting one. It's an awesome car to drive! Attacking the Twisties is an entirely new experiance with the power of Turbo & AWD. I wish it had a G meter :DI'd love to keep it, but I'd like to buy a condo in the next year, and need to save money somewhere.northvibe: Your very right, 2nd gear is known to go out. The problem lies in the stock gearing and the driver. If WRX 5speed owners just learn to wait, and rev match there would not be a problem. The 04+ WRX's have 1mm wider gears that have slowed the rate at which people grenade there transmissions. Unfortunately the gear ratios where keep the same, so rev matching is still harder than it should be.

[northvibe]

yea, i wanted to get a impreza bad, but at the time it would of been a 2.5 rs. if i got one now it would be the STi no matter what so it had that bullet proof tranny . prolly should learn how to drive a manual better hahhah

[ZubenElGenubi]

Quote, originally posted by Jeremy96gase »Rex has spent 99% of it's life Commuting. The other 1% was the best time of my life, in a car. I can't believed you slipped that in without a ROFL before me. That was great! or maybe my mind is in the gutter... I have a base '04 Auto. Total mpg since purchase is 28.6 mpg. Rolling average over last six months is 29.39 mpg. My mileage definitely improved after installing a CAI (well, after a couple of tankfuls! )If you want to see more "real world" mpg results, go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov and view the real world results posted by other drivers. Several results posted for 2003-2006 Vibes.

[SeattleJeremy]

hehe, Zuben, I only did that in the Grand Am The back seat in Rex is too small. What I meant was there's only about 500 Really Hard miles on the car. Canyon and Coast line roads are SO MUCH FUN! After I find out how the Vibe does, I'll think about upgrading rims and sway bars.

[nygiantzz1]

I have a 2006 Base with 1300 miles on it. I didn't bother calculating the first tank, but since then: Tank 2 - 28.1mpg, Tank 3 - 31.5mpg, Tank 4 - 32.2mpg. 70% Hwy/ 30% City. Most of the mileage on tanks 3 and 4 involved hauling lumber and deck blocks up mountain roads to my camp (building a deck) so, I'm surprised it was that good. I had about 700-800lbs of material per trip. This weekend I go up empty, I'll bet I get 35-36.

[Mavrik]

Quote, originally posted by Jeremy96gase »Mavrik : My WRX does okay for gas mileage, but I drive A LOT. I spent $480USD for gas last month alone + The 450 car payment. For me, now, it's just too expensive. It'll be a heck of a shock the first few times I try to go fast, and find the power isn't quite there. But between 1-3000 rpm the Toyota 1zz should be just about the same (if not better than) the WRX, because that’s where turbo lag is really present. Please don't let me discurage you from getting one. It's an awesome car to drive! Attacking the Twisties is an entirely new experiance with the power of Turbo & AWD. I wish it had a G meter :DI'd love to keep it, but I'd like to buy a condo in the next year, and need to save money somewhere. Are you on http://www.nasioc.com? If so I'm on there as Mavrik for the AKIC chapter. I work for Subaru also. (after I bought the Vibe) It will take a lot to convince me to buy something else... unless something better comes along in the next year for the same power and price and made by Subaru.Quote, originally posted by northvibe »only problem with WRX is their weak tranny, i keep hearing 2nd gear blows out. if you switch to a vibe thats like 10 more mpg about or more, not bad if you ask me. Binary, nice mpg!! is yours still stock?The "glass" transmission is a myth. Yes people have blown their second gear but most were clear signs of abuse/aftermarket products that took the gears beyond what they were designed for (IE aftermarket clutch, more torque and HP Mods) But there are several Vibe owners with transmission issues to with bearings going and what not. But the Vibe is still a great car and the average Subaru WRX manual transmission owner hardly has any tranny issues that make it less of a great car either.

[SeattleJeremy]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »Are you on http://www.nasioc.com? If so I'm on there as Mavrik for the AKIC chapter. I work for Subaru also. (after I bought the Vibe) It will take a lot to convince me to buy something else... unless something better comes along in the next year for the same power and price and made by Subaru.Yes I do have an account on NASIOC, but I mostly hang out on http://www.clubwrx.net as "jeremy96gase". It's good to see so many prominent Subaru owners on this forum. When made the switch from Pontiac to Subaru it seemed like no one knew (or cared) what I was talking about. I feel so welcome here I look foward to being a Vibe owner soon.

[RaveVibe]

Ok well I just posted a help topic for my mpg problem and created a new thread somewhere else sorry... anyway i will just re-post here maybe and i will get less criticism, maybe not anyway here is my dilemma:Ok, so I got my VibeGT about a week ago and when I first began driving it the mileage seemed great. But through the week I have been playing with it a little, (maybe a lot by someone elses standards) trying out the lift and the pure adrenaline that rushes you when you fly by a ricer at about 7k emanating a sound reminiscent of a "turbo"being engaged. So recently I noticed that my mileage per tank has drastically decreased, I am driving MUCH less aggressive to see if that would help, but when I Hit the trip meter at a full tank I still got about 300 gallons to the tank when i was completely empty, sometimes a little more. Divided by a 13 gallon tank that gives me roughly 23mpg. On a 1.8 four cylinder that is not being driven hard, i mean highway speeds of 60mph or less, and shifting between 2k and 3, accelerating SLOWLY. Granted the traffic lights suck terribly here in that they are syncronized to alternate the red and green lights perfectly so that if you do get passed one intersection on green light you inevitably get stopped at the next one not even 50 yards away by the next stoplight, every time. Needless to say, hard city driving. I hope that this may account completely for it, but 23mpg?! thats a bit rediculous for this engine in the first place, and doesn't even come close to the proported 35 mpg. If anyone has any ideas as to what could by the problem, or perhaps some tips to change my driving style or the best shift point that yeilds the most optimal economy and performance, ( I consider myself quite proficient with a manual) I would very much appreciate it, because this decrease in mileage has me really bummed out, the selling point on this car was that it was a GT that got 35MPG. Is it really that easy to rag this engine out?! Also if this has already been discussed I am really sorry, this is only my second post. thanks again for your imput and suggestions. (By the way I use 93 octane, the highest sold here, so discount the gas factor) Is there anyway that such moderately hard driving could ever effect mileage so dramatically within only a weeks time?! It has 54000 miles on it, so it is completely broke in, and I am very concerned. Again thanks

[SeattleJeremy]

Quote, originally posted by RaveVibe »Ok, so I got my VibeGT about a week agoIt takes a cople of tanks to figure out your average MPG.Also you can't just devide miles driven by 13. It's Miles / Gallons put in the tank. The GT has an estamated 32mpg highway and 25 city. Keep your foot out of it, stay out of lift (this is a big one), and you should be golden.