During a 60 mph cruise you will be getting close to 38 but not quite. Maybe 37. Understand this is while doing 60 mph, not 65 and this includes no stops, no getting up to speed, no warm up. This is only while on the highway with a warm engine.

It is impossible to achieve this mileage for the trip because you have to get to the highway and get up to speed and the engine must warm up and you must come to a stop.

 

Thanks for the quick response.
So, it is possible to achieve mileage 12-15% above what the mfr sticker says.

I currently have a '98 Saturn wagon which gets 36-38 with a 4 cylinder and thought that a v6 might not be able to get anywhere near the same mileage.

As said, I've been an active member of Saturnfans.com for years, and it is refreshing to find another vehicle site which is also actively assisting DIY owners.

I hope to purchase this MAXX LE VE with 60K on it within a week. Thanks, I will be back !

 

It is usually easy to exceed the EPA mileage figures at a constant 60 mph. The EPA figures are based on a test at varying speeds. You can see the details here...http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml

Don't expect a Malibu to return mileage similar to your Saturn.

 

^^ Um, you said "Don't expect a Malibu to return mileage similar to your Saturn.", whereas earlier you said I might get 37-38 hwy and I said my Satty got 36-38. Sounds similar.

 

The Malibu might achieve 37 mpg while at 60mph.

During a commute, including warm up, reversing out of your driveway, making your way to a highway, getting up to speed, merging with traffic, exiting and making your way to work the Malibu will not average any where near 37 mpg.

 

I've posted this before so I'll keep this short.

I used to have a Gen7 2011 V6 3.6L with 6-speed automatic transmission. (I have another that replaced it after losing it to a flood.) In November 2012 I drove from Louisville, KY to Washington, DC. I set my cruise control at 60 mph for the whole trip until I filled up 503.5 miles later, using 14.6 gallons, averaging 34.5 (34.486) mpg.

That is an extreme case, since I usually get between 27-30 on most trips. The EPA rating is 17/26 city/hwy. But what it shows is the true ability of any engine when operated as efficiently as possible.

 

38 mpg is not realistic for typical highway conditions (i.e. 70 mph and maybe some hills or traffic). You could certainly get 30-34 mpg.

The only way that vehicle achieved 38 mpg is with hyper-miling techniques like going obnoxiously slow, drafting a semi truck, coasting with the vehicle off, etc. It's just not feasible. The Maxx is heavy, it's not particularly aerodynamic, and its a 6-cylinder engine with the compromised gearing of a 4-speed automatic.

Drunken Elvis basically said if you clench your butt-cheeks and hold a miserable 60 mph cruise, you could reach mid-upper 30s in fuel economy.

 

I have an '06 Maxx with the same 3.5 V6. The best mileage we ever got was 35 running on the highway cruise set for 70 with a tailwind. Typically we get right at 27 combined, as we don't do a lot of distance driving with it.

I have managed to keep the same brand and model of tire it had when we bought it nearly new. They have been discontinued, so at the next tire change, I will have to find something else :-(. I usually keep my tires at 35 psi, which is a fair compromise for mileage and tire life.

 

I know I'm an outlier, but I've been able to achieve some pretty absurd MPG trips (see the link my signature) under unique conditions. Things that have helped me:

• Mobil 1 0W-30
• 93 octane fuel
• tail winds
• cruise control set to 55mph to 60mph, as traffic allowed
• AC turned off

I've had 5 or so 30+ MPG trips in around 100 fuel-ups over 15 months.

Overall, you can expect roughly 30MPG on the highway, and between 17-26MPG in town. My average hovers roughly around 25MPG.

 

Exactly as above. 30-34 on a trip, good conditions is not unusual. 26-28 around town pretty much normal.

 

2004 Malibu Maxx LS with the 3.5 V6. I've gotten as high as 35 on the highway and usually average about 18-19 around town. I always have some sort of climate enhancement on, be it A/C or heat.

38mpg for this car is insane. Don't believe it for a minute. ALTHOUGH this might be what the Driver Information Center says - it's always been overly optimistic.

 

Well, purchased the car about 3 weeks ago....absolutely a very nice ride. Performance is tops.
Gas mileage? I presume previous owner did not keep records. I believe she only referred to whatever the DIC panel on the console indicated it was at that moment in time. I have put on ~1200 miles, mostly hwy speeds of 60, and the car is averaging 31-31.6 at tops. I baby the throttle without frustrating drivers behind me, but chuckle when I realized that heading downhill for long distances, the DIC displays 99.9 mpg (ala coasting).
A very small bit disappointed, but realistically, it only costs $4-5 more per week than my much smaller, much less comfortable Saturn SW2 (which is being sold tomorrow!).
This Malibu Maxx only had 62K on it. Zero oil or anything else showing leakage under the engine. Nice, clean and tight. Has 63.4K now.
Great car.

 

It says 99 mpg when the DFCO (deceleration fuel cut-off) engages. You are literally getting infinite miles-per-gallon because no gas is being sprayed!

Don't be disappointed, 31 mpg with 200 horsepower is great!

 

on my malibu, its 04 LS V6, i got 40mpg on higway(at ~65) sometimes more its stock engine , i just recently change spark plug but still stock

 

^^ are you saying you had this terrific mileage as a result of these new sparkplugs? If so, what brand/sparkplug # did you use?
I had used Pilot Nitrode (wide, elongated spark) with another vehicle and got 37 with a 4cyl automatic.

How many miles, how many fillups led you to the conclusion of the 40 mpg ??

 

40 mpg is VERY hard to believe without solid evidence. That almost sounds like watching instant fuel economy in the gauge cluster.

At any rate, 40 mpg is not typical. Compact cars that weigh under 3000 lbs and have tiny 4-cylinder engines and better geared transmissions have trouble achieving that.

 

when i saw that the first time was surprise ,i change for the same ACDelco spark plug but with the old plug was the same MPG it just have more power and better response. btw i see that on 4 fillup when i do only highway when i do quebec-NY , but during night it was less due to electric load just the exterior light is still halogen the inside is full led, cluster, roof, switches, radio, and climate control and i precise during this travel i was alone inside with few bag, new tires(the good size this time 205/65/15) at 38psi and was align, car was polish 2 times this spring, but the major thing i do is a brake job little resurfacing disc and pad grease every thing guide, pad to spring make sure it move freely, bleed brake system change one rear caliper, push back pistons, so each wheel was mooving freely after sit piston against pad. oh and the last thing, switch conventional to high mileage semi-sythetic that it. the DIC show 5.5l/100km and calculate myslef and shown 5.9l/100km, but for every day im more around 7.5l/100km with 30km highway 5km city that depend how much i push it... and the street light XD
i do one time pure city in traffic... just see the gauge go down fast as he pump gas -_-

P.S. i have the sedan not the hatchback

P.S. 2 , also the sedan as 3.05 axle ratio instead of 3.29 for the maxx...

 

Jackfrench, 2 issues.
1- what year Malibu and do you have the 4cyl or 3.5v6?
2- You list your tires as 205/65/15? My car has 215/65/16. If you indeed have these smaller tires, then your speedometer is off by over 6% which might account for the 'high gas mileage' readings, which would be inflated by 6% also.
You are traveling 4-5 miles per hour slower than what the speedometer reads then.
If you have the correct tires, then I don't know what to think.

 

1) its a 2004 new style sedan with the 3.5l V6 and the 4T45e 3.05 axle ratio(this ratio is important), cause the maxx has a 3.29 axle ratio so you engine rev more than me at 100km/h and around 1700-1750 rpm
2) on the inside driver door that write 205/65/15 so the speedo is set to that and i check with gps and OBDII and they are close like 1-2km/h different but i know the speedo is factory ofset on 3-4km/h to prevent overspeed and police problem so i correct it myself and drive at the speed ODBII tell me. Ex: my speedo is at 100km/h obdII tell me 97km/h i believe on the computer as is close to gps ... trust me the first time i buy this car and driving few week with it and check how much gas a pay compare with some friend had 4cyl from varius brand im the 2nd in low consuption the first is 05 echo. and on the car paper my car weight 1450kg.

 

The lower axle ratio will allow for better mileage on the highway. The MAXX is also heavier than the standard sedan. I found the specs on a 2005 Malibu stating curb weight is 3174-3315 pounds, and the '05 Maxx comes in at 3459-3477 pounds. That is curb weight of the empty vehicle and will vary by options added.

Jack is correct on his ratios as I have found them online.

 

actully im around 8.4l/100km i dont know why its increase that much i do the same travel every day, its started to incresed slowly i dont think my habits change that much, at a moment ths consumption goes to 9l/100km i try to lowest that but i dont drive so fast(100km/h its the limit), i dont push the engine more than 20% of its power, i rarely use all the engine power probably one time on the full fill of the tank, my brakes dont hold, i remplaced the gas cap since i brought the car is not the original one so i take one from the scrap yard a original one but i dont think is that or its the tire the ~7l/100km is from old set was completly worn and smaller now i have "new" had around 25000km on them so i dont know