Well, not too many people live at 7000 ft. either. Of my 80% highway commute, it's all 55-60 mph, which is probably optimal for a car with overdrive and in the presence of 21% less air. I, too, had a hard time believing it on the first tank, but then when the second tank (for a total of 990 miles) gave the same result, I knew it was at least close. I'd bet not many people average 495 miles on a tank. BTW, I also verified that the odometer/trip-odometer is accurate. That was something I was worried about.

Harpozep,
Thanks for the heads-up on the snow handling. I'm planning on getting skinny tires (to minimize rolling resistance) when these ones are worn out (which will probably be another 10K miles).


BTW, I'm not trying to brag on the Vibe or put down the HHR. I'd love it if I could fit in one, and I was really bummed when I couldn't. They're one of the coolest cars GM has made in the last 30 years (The '94-'96 Impala SS is also in that list).

 

The vibes gas tank must be smaller than the hhr's. If you really try, 600+ miles on a tank is not impossible with a bone stock SS.

 

With my current commute, I average at least 450 miles per tank, the highest has been 540 once. I've broken into the 500 range a couple of times. If traffice is rolling, I'll get in the upper 400's. I usually average 29-31 by the DIC and around 28-30 with a calcualtor.

 

AWD=12.0 gallons
FWD=13.0 gallons

HHR=16.2 gallons

 

Yes, the Vibe has a 13 gallon tank and the low fuel light goes on with about 1.6 gallons left. I was specifically addressing the challenge that my stated gas mileage for the Vibe was in error.

BTW, I just got back from a 1200 mile round trip to Phoenix for the holiday in the Vibe.
1199.4 miles / 30.216 gal. = 39.7 mpg. That was with myself, my wife, two kids (5 and 7) and lots of cargo, and the cruise set on 73-75 the whole way.
Much better than I expected for that speed.