2012 Chevy Impala Gas Mileage Rated At 30 MPG Highway
2013 Nissan Altima: 31-MPG Combined Rating For Mid-Size Sedan
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With discussions of raising gas-mileage standards beyond the 34 mpg they'll reach in 2015, there's a lot of shrieking about how we'll all be driving subcompacts if the rules get any tougher.
Hogwash.
Consider the 2012 Chevrolet Impala, Chevy's rapidly aging full-sized four-door sedan. Equipped with an engine transplant and soldiering on for another few years in a body first launched for the 2006 model year, the 2012 Impala will be rated at 18 mpg city and a notable 30 mpg highway.
Think of it: A full-size American sedan that consumes no more gas on the highway than the compact cars of just a few years ago.
And that's with a V-6 engine, too. Specifically, a 3.6-liter V-6 that puts out 302 horsepower, according to the folks at GMInsiderNews. It's mated to GM's modern six-speed automatic transmission for the first time.
Note that the new engine's power is just a single horsepower below the old Impala SS model, which required a V-8 to produce that power--and was rated just at 16 mpg city, 24 mpg highway.
The 2012 mileage figures are slightly better than the Impala's older V-6 options, but a number of 30 mpg or above definitely gets attention in such a large and powerful car.
Imagine what the Impala could do if fitted with, say, a turbocharged 2.5-liter four with the eAssist mild-hybrid system, in a lighter, more aerodynamic body.
For advances like that, though, we'll have to wait a few more years. The replacement for the current Impala was frozen during GM's bankruptcy crisis, and so we're not likely to see an all-new model until early 2013, as a 2014 model.
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I'll explain; I recently drove a gas MINI rated at 28/36. Driven in the most dull way I got up to 38mpg at 40mph but it fell to 33 in normal stop-start and less than 20 when driven hard - and that's only a light (ish) car.
A larger car that can cruise at 30mpg on the highway is great but, in the hands of a rough driver, with 300bhp on tap there's only one place that power is coming from; it's not a super efficient engine, it's just by digesting a lot more fuel!
I think that pursuing best case fuel-ecconomy isn't a strong enough regulation. We should consider maximum fuel consumption as a metric too.
Also, I did not enjoy driving the Crown Vic at all. Just like driving a boat.
On the other hand, I have no problem sitting in the front of a Corolla or a Prius.
On the third hand, the back seat head room is somewhat limited in a Corolla or a Prius.
So perhaps the Crown Vic is good for moving around a group of four tall people.
The article clearly notes that the 30-mpg number is a highway rating. If your test drive was in stop-and-go traffic with lots of acceleration and braking, then the 18 mpg you achieved was right in line with the EPA city rating.
If your test drive was a blend of city and highway driving, you should have achieved roughly 22 mpg, in line with the combined rating. Hope this helps.
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