That would be on our new (since February) 2007 model Pontiac Vibe, which we just drove from Taos to Dubuque and back, over 2,400 miles counting all the to and fro in Iowa.
The car had about 2,500 miles on it when we started. I had the oil changed to Mobil 1 synthetic the week before. Our two highest gas mileage figures were 38.6 and 37.5 mpg, both at high altitude, and the trip average was 35.5 mpg. So I still haven’t hit the magic 40 mpg figure, but with a little more break-in (and driving less than 80 mph on midwestern Interstates), that ought to be within reach.
Is it suitable as a car for long-distance travel? Hell, yes. We were totally comfy throughout, and the Vibe has an excellent filtered ventilation system. The one time I used the AC showed that feature to be flawless and simple to use. Oh, and the cruise control is an absolute delight.
There was plenty of room for all our gear, and then some. I find the Vibe to be extremely stable at speed, nimble on the curvy back roads, and very well suspended: enough “give” to make for a great ride, but nicely damped. The five-speed manual transmission is a delight to use and helps one get the most from the smallish 1.8 liter 4-cylinder engine, which loves to rev. The overall gearing is rather high, I think, since the tach reads only about 3,000 rpm at 80 mph. Bottom line: very mechanically satisfying to operate and drive. I had fun the whole way up and back.
Consumer Reports (which I normally don’t give a damn for) does show this model Vibe to be “much better than average” in all areas, giving it a higher reliability rating than my sister-in-law’s new Japanese Buick (Camry). Hey, I’ll take what I can get.
I don’t like what Pontiac did to the Vibe for the 2009 model year — a lower gas mileage rating in exchange for less than 10 more horsepower, among other atrocities — but the 2008s are just like ours. Even if you do get an ’09 model, you likely couldn’t go wrong. These are very fine automobiles, and I’m just tickled pink.
Except for the ROCKS that cracked our windshield in Colorado, that is…
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Full synthetic at only three thousand miles? I’ve seen accounts of piston rings (albeit they were in motorcycle engines) never getting properly seated and oil consumption going to hell because the owner switched to synthetic lube prior to the first 20K or so. I suppose it’s okay as long as you used regular oil for the recommended break in period (presuming there was a break in period mentioned in the owners manual).
Well, there are those who think along those lines. According to Mobil, however, the following cars come from the factory filled with Mobil 1:
Acura RDX
Aston Martin
All Bentley Vehicles
All Cadillac Vehicles
Chevrolet Corvette C6 and Z06
Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS
Chrysler 300C SRT-8
Cobalt SS S/C Coupe
Dodge Caliber SRT-4, Charger SRT-8, and Magnum SRT-8
Jeep Cherokee SRT-8
Mercedes-Benz AMG Vehicles
Mercedes SLR
Mitsubishi Evolution
Pontiac Solstice GXP
All Porsche Vehicles
Saturn Ion Red Line and Saturn Sky Red Line
Viper SRT-10
Now that is pretty good company, and Mobil says you can use synthetic in any new car from the day you drive it home. Another synthetic oil manufacturer, Amsoil, recommends running regular oil in new vehicles for at least 500 miles and then switching. As for Pontiac, the manual doesn’t say a thing. It doesn’t even give a “break-in period.” All they say is, it has to be 5W-30 and I should change it every 5,000 miles.
Nonetheless, there are those who disagree. I suppose i could always change back to regular oil for a cycle before continuing with synthetic, if I were worried. But when you google this topic, you get a lot of articles about the “myth” of having to stick with dino oil for a while. I did have the original oil in there for 2,500 miles, though.