Finally got some extended time in our 2008 SS, on a road trip to visit my son's family in KC, KS.

A few random impressions and comparisons:

-No grab handle for passenger; extremely bad omission.
-****pit is narrower than on our 2005 Ford Escape, but seats are better.
-Waterfall transition to console is too wide; hurts my knees.
-Got 27.2 MPG; very nice; even with 91 octane.
-Decent hauling space; took one of my large collies (109 lbs) along and he was pretty comfortable
-Nice power and pickup for merging and passing Iowegian left-lane road hogs.
Fairly quiet ride on decent pavement.

Questions:

What is the round, vented "button" on the rearward side of the sunroof controls?

Jim

 

I think that is the microphone for the OnStar.

 

This^^^

 

"No grab handle for passenger; extremely bad omission"

You can thank the passenger side airbag for that omission, it wouldn't do GM's liability lawyers any good if they have to settle lawsuits because an "oh #@%^!" handle became a part of someone's anatomy.

"Waterfall transition to console is too wide; hurts my knees"

Yes they could have padded the sides of the waterfall because if you're the right height or build, you knee rests against it and after a few hundred miles and you get this painful dent in your leg.

And yes the "Roosterpit" is narrow compared to other vehicles, but you do get used to it after a while. Every time I get into anything after driving nothing but the HHR's for a few days, the interiors seem to be 10 miles wide. But I like the snug environs of the HHR, when you hop out of an HHR and get into something old like my '37 Chevy, it feels familiar in a way.

 

Just did 400 miles in mine. 29 mpg with some very spirited driving. Road noise could be less but my only real gripe is that they could have padded the door armrests. How much could that cost? Hard as a rock.....

 

Glad to see your enjoying your SS. I enjoyed mine intill I drove a 2nd gen Lightning. After that, cargo space and mpg didn't matter to me anymore. But, I'm single and in my 20's so I have to have a hotrod before I settle down. I must say for a family, the SS is the perfect blend of speed and function. But, I would only buy an SS in 5 speed trim now, for a DD. Enjoy it and do you have any mods planned?

Dave

 

I recently went on a long trip myself, around 600 miles, I got an average 27.3 MPG with the cruise control set around 75MPH. I was actually slightly disapointed. I expected to get around 30 MPG, but I guess that is the trade off for having 260HP.

 

Mods for the SS? Not sure at this point. Still researching from posts on the internet. Would like a CAI, but seems you have to have a tune if you do it. A Trifecta tune seems possible, especially for the price. It's actually the wife's car, so not sure how much she'll want mew to mess with it.

The SS is a nice little unit, but the HP and Torque of the Lightning is in another league, entirely. All that power under your right foot is addicting.

BTW, WMS is have a tuning sale thru Sept (over on Lightning Rodder): Their lifetime canned tune for $125 instead of $185. I have a 2 lber on my L right now, and a 4lber in the drawer all ready to go on. Changing the plugs for the 4lb tune has been my reason for not doing it. But now, I may have to.

Jim

 

My experience has been that when your speed exceeds 65 MPH, it starts to seriously affect the MPG. For 75 MPH, 27.3 MPG is pretty good. Remember that this is only a 4-speed (assuming you have an auto).