n00b in OH!

[WarBird69]

Howdy y'all!

As the title states, I'm new to these forums. I don't currently own a Grand Am, but I am in the market for a 4 cyl 1999+ GA to serve as my second vehicle, espically in the winter time. My current car is a 2007 Mustang GT, and while I love this car and wouldn't trade it even for a Lambourgini, it has 2 things wrong with it:

1. Gas mileage is pretty bad. Its not bad for a V8, but with gas hovering around $3.50 and still on the rise, I need better.

2. It *SUCKS* in the snow. Period. 300 RWHP/TRQ + snow = bad. Last winter I couldn't even get it over a little 1/2" piece of ice.

I'm hoping a nice Grand Am can fill in these voids for me (or something similar, though a GA is my top pick). What type of gas mileage does the 4 cyl get and how do they do in the snow?

Thanks :)

EDIT: I forgot to mention I had a 1996 Grand Am in the past, and it did wonderfully, both in the snow and on the gas mileage. I want 1999+ just because I think they look better, both inside and out.

[LargeFish]

Welcome from the North Coast.

[RazorDX]

I'd expect roughly 25-26 city and around 33 highway. Add a couple on if it's a manual. Take a few off if it isn't decently maintained.

[bballr4567]

Originally posted by RazorDX
I'd expect roughly 25-26 city and around 33 highway. Add a couple on if it's a manual. Take a few off if it isn't decently maintained. Smoking crack if a 99+ GA gets that much in the city. Even the 4 cyl sucks for MPG in the city due to the weight of the car. Youd get possibly 20-22 city and around 31 highway if you arent hounding on it.


Welcome man!!!

[urweak]

welcome

i use to get about 20mpg or so, and that was all short trip stop and go stuff. Now i do a lot of highway driving and im seeing more like 25-26mpg.

[WarBird69]

Wow...thats it? *cry*

Well... looks like I need to expand my search for a vehicle. I'm sure the weight of the GA would help in winter time driving (snow, ice, ect), but that gas mileage is pretty sub-par.

I'll keep a GA in mind, espically since it is once of the sexiest cars on the road, but right now gas mileage/winter drivability trumps sexy.

[bballr4567]

Oh dont get me wrong a GA is great for winter driving especially with winter tires on.

I usually get about 250-275 with purely city driving but that is with the V6. You really will be hard pressed to find another car that is in the same size class with a 4cyl get that gas mileage in the city unless you get a brand new car.

[Shadow-D]

:welcome:

[Jaimerz]

:welcome:

[exiter]

:welcome:

[RazorDX]

Originally posted by bballr4567
Smoking crack if a 99+ GA gets that much in the city. Even the 4 cyl sucks for MPG in the city due to the weight of the car. Youd get possibly 20-22 city and around 31 highway if you arent hounding on it.


Welcome man!!!

Call me a crackhead then, because I get that all the time. Mixed city/highway I get 30mpg, about 50/50. When I do purely city driving and short, windy 35mph roads (the kind where you go 15 mph, then 45, then 15, then 40, then 10, then 50) I get 25mpg. I guess it's all in how you drive it.

You can't treat the 4cyl GA like it's a V8... keeping it at low RPMs won't help your fuel economy. Drive like a teenager until you get to the speed limit. Then drive normal.

I did an informal study... I drove like a grandma, got 26 mpg combined on average. I drove the same routes, but drove very spiritedly, and got 30-31mpg. IIRC, the point of efficiency for the Quad 4 at least is at around 4500rpms.

EDIT: Keep in mind, this is for the pre '96 4 cylinder engine that the GA came with. The newer 2.4 and 2.2l Ecotec engines may do better or worse.