#2018 chevy equinox mpg manual#
What are the compromises? For starters, in Eco mode the engine may start lugging at 40 or 50 mph, Smith said, like a manual transmission that’s shifted too early into its topmost gear. “We could get a lot more out of it than we did … but drivability has to be within certain acceptable limits.” “It could have a broader range,” he said. The net effect? About 1 mpg more with it on, Smith said. It cuts the engine’s speed at idle, too, but it doesn’t affect the accelerator pedal. Specifically, Eco mode locks up the Equinox’s torque converter at lower speeds - most automatics do this at highway speeds - and changes shift patterns in the four-cylinder’s six-speed auto. At a press event last Friday near our Chicago offices, GM program engineering manager Doug Smith gave us a rundown. Eco mode doesn’t come without a cost to the driving experience, though. Thanks in part to that button, GM and Chevy say the four-cylinder Equinox achieves an impressive EPA-estimated 32 mpg on the highway.
The Equinox’s example is one of the few such buttons we’ve seen in a non-hybrid that actually influences the way the engine and transmission react. The goal is the same: Improving fuel economy. In other cars, “Eco” or “Econ” buttons can limit A/C usage or, in the case of the Honda Insight and Toyota Highlander Hybrid, scale back accelerator sensitivity. It comes in four-cylinder versions of the Equinox. Hop in the redesigned Chevrolet Equinox SUV, and you may notice an “Eco” button ahead of the automatic gearshift.
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