Long-Term Road Tests

Jiminy Christmas.
  
I'm really surprised, again, at the attacks on the entry, the author, and the car. I mean, okay, Scott doesn't like the Tahoe, but he still has to drive it. Right? The editors can't only drive the cars they like or you'd never get anything but glowy reviews! (How boring would that be!)
  
And if he's got to drive it, he's got to write about it. Since he's an editor, so.. I'm not sure what it is you all want him to do.
  
Haven't you ever been stuck with a car you didn't like? Didn't everything about it drive you up the wall and make you hate it more?
  
tackepj has the best point, I think:
"The onboard computer switches to 'fuel range low' when it can no longer accurately predict the miles remaining."
  
I don't find the estimated numbers useless, myself. It's happened on occasion that I've not paid close enough attention to the fuel level and frankly, it's useful to know you've got enough to make it out of Joshua Tree National Park and into 29 Palms to get gas and not just be stressed out hoping you'll make it. (:
  
@benson
I'm not trying to dogpile, but I personally think the fuel door arrow is a very cool thing. How can people forget which side it's on? Easy, the same way people forget about /a ton/ of what might be considered basic information. It happens.
  
It's nice that the OEMs have this little reminder that you don't have to hunt down in case you /do/ forget.
  
On top of which, a lot of people don't even realize what that arrow's for! And folks I've met, once they find out its use, they're just tickled about it. So, insulting? Really? I don't think that's the point of it.
 
(also: what altimadude00 said. (: )

The lengths that people will go for saying "I'm right and you're wrong" astounds me.
 
This whole "feed me" light thing is totally dependent on the driver and the driver's habits and not the car's technology. While having a gauge that says "I can go this far until I die on you." is handy, squeezing every drop out of the tank is not necessary, unless you want to brag to your friends that you got 400 miles from one tank of gas and how you were nervously sweating and biting your lip the last 10 miles for fear of your car starving.
 
And if you're going to come back with the "I want to see how far I can go" argument: Take your best ever fuel economy number, multiply that by the capacity of your tank, then you get the maximum safe distance you can get with your tank under the same driving conditions.

Benson,
 
I would have to say Chavis proved his point effectively. I dont know why you thought that a fuel door arrow was stupid but he has shown that MANY brands do this. Of course, you have never seen that in a non GM vehicle but I think he did a good job of clearing things up for you since you were a little misinformed.

"ol and what does the Q7 have to do with the blog? DO you have any clue as to what I was responding to? Obviously you don't because once again you have taken someones argument out of context and turned into some Pro-GM rant. Too funny."
 
How is stating that many manufacturers produce large vehicles with poor fuel economy a "pro-GM rant"? Too funny indeed. Lets stop with the double standards and call a spade a spade. If we are going to attack all vehicles with less than Prius mileage than lets do it consistently.

Benson,
"The fact is that my opinion is that an arrow on the fuel gauge indicating where the filler cap is is insulting. How can you not know where the filler cap is on your car unless you have some kind of short term amnesia. I presume the only reason would be if the car was intended for fleet duty"
 
So it is your argument that every car that has a gas filler arrow is for a rental fleet? That's the most ridiculously stupid point I've ever heard. It's amazing what lengths people will go to just to try and bash GM.
 
R class, Fit, Miata, Camry, G35, etc all have fuel door arrows. Guess they're all intended for Hertz....
 
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/1055
 
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/1605
 
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/.ee99246
 
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/.ee9b968
 
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/191
 
Also, since your time is so precious, try and use it more efficiently and come up with better, more sound critisms.

Carsurvey.org.
I don't really agree with the fuel filler light coming on at 40 miles. It's an odd number, for starts. And sometimes situations do arise where you end up going so far without filling up that that light is needed. But, if that were to happen and the light came on, I'd want to know exactly how many miles are left. 40 is an awfully large range, so I mean the gas could be anywhere from 39 miles to 8 miles and no one would know the difference. Either you keep expecting to run out of gas soon and you don't, or (most likely) you run out of gas much sooner than expected. I don't like driving with doubts about such things, especially if it happens to be out of my hands for the time being. If I were to pass a gas sign that said "gas 33 miles," I'd want to know for sure that I can make it there safely and not be succumbed to guess-work on the matter.
I have a '94 Cherokee, 14 years old, that tells me the mileage remaining down to the last mile. And, its accurate too. Found that out the hard way. So why can't a vehicle 14 years newer? o.O

This entire discussion is crazy!! If 40 miles is not good enough, what would be? 20 miles ? 10 miles? 5 miles???? Come on!
You have already driven the car waaaay BELOW the empty line, the orange light is on and the car is telling you the fuel range is too low! There is absolutly nothing wrong with the car but there is something seriously wrong with the driver!! Just go get some gas!
  
This is a truck that most likely has a trailer hitch, too. So when this thing shows 40 right before you load it up and start pulling a boat, how long do you think the range will actually really be??
I can already hear the stranded-by-the-side-of-the-road-lazy bastards crying and saying:" but when I started the car, the range said 40 miles....". Just go get some gas already!!

Insulting? What can it hurt, Benson? A little piece of triangular ink on the face of the gas gauge costs nothing.
 
Some people have more than one car at home - sometimes 3 or 4. And the side on which the filler is located is far from standardized - not even within a brand. And yes, some models sell heavily into rental car and other fleets. I can see not caring about such things, but I can't see how it is insulting.

"The Tahoe is no more of a pig than the Q7 or any number of other large V8 SUVs but of course you wouldn't know that since you are oblivious to any negative attributes of non-GM vehicles."
 
lol and what does the Q7 have to do with the blog? DO you have any clue as to what I was responding to? Obviously you don't because once again you have taken someones argument out of context and turned into some Pro-GM rant. Too funny.

chavis what facts? The fact is that my opinion is that an arrow on the fuel gauge indicating where the filler cap is is insulting. How can you not know where the filler cap is on your car unless you have some kind of short term amnesia. I presume the only reason would be if the car was intended for fleet duty. What facts or research do I need to say that? I guess I could go out and find pictures of interiors that don't have the indicator but I don't have that much time on my hands.

"What a lame comeback. Ya that's it, so I shouldn't believe that the Tahoe is a gas guzzling pig. "
 
what does that have to do with the blog entry? Nothing. The Tahoe is no more of a pig than the Q7 or any number of other large V8 SUVs but of course you wouldn't know that since you are oblivious to any negative attributes of non-GM vehicles.
 
If the blog author or anyone else has a problem with the DIC display with regards to remaining range they should a)ignore it or b)gas up the vehicle when at 1/4 tank to avoid getting to the point where there are less than 40 miles of range left. The whole blog post is stupid and is just one more rant by an anti-SUV fanatic who is out to prove that the world would be better off without what he deems an unecessary product.

Benson- it's hard to develop an opinion when you're so light on facts. Just about every car I've driven in recent memory has an indicator in or adjacent to the fuel gauge indicating which side the fuel filler neck resides.
 
Perhaps you should spend less time trying to be clever and do a little more research.
 
ie: http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/1466

No, I don't even know which website you're talking about, sorry. Is that on Edmunds?

anythngbutgm, would you happen to be the one posting on the carsurvey website as well under the 2007 tundra review?

"anythingbutgm, I don't know what you're saying. Are you saying that you took this to mean the Tahoe has a range of 40 miles? If so that's absurd. Are you saying having 40 miles left when you get a low fuel warning is bad?"
 
I'm saying if I owned one of these things, I would never let my tank get below say a 1/4. Travel out to western MA sometime, Gas stations CAN be 40 miles apart, or more.
 
"As per your user name, you've made up your mind about what you want to believe about GM vehicles, and you'll say anything to make what you want true."
 
What a lame comeback. Ya that's it, so I shouldn't believe that the Tahoe is a gas guzzling pig. Nothing needs to be "made up" here because it's a fact. Oh, and if you've got a problem with my handle, take it up with the mods.

I also love how the car has to tell you on which side the fuel filler is. But I guess most of these cars are made for rental fleets anyways so it kinda makes sense.

I'm gonna go with Kurt here and say that it's another useless feature. Why have anything else other than a fuel gauge. You look: you see it's near E, you get gas; pretty simple. Why have any other mumbo jumbo. Unless you're an idiot and the concept of the E is too complicated for you.

Few if any gas guages are acurate for the last gallon. Wide flat tanks like the Tahoe are the worst of all. The gas moves around constantly while driveing making it impossible to give a precise measurement.
 
A read out that went right down to zero miles would be giving false info most of the time.

anythingbutgm, I don't know what you're saying. Are you saying that you took this to mean the Tahoe has a range of 40 miles? If so that's absurd. Are you saying having 40 miles left when you get a low fuel warning is bad? Maybe, but it runs counter to your argument that it is bad for people who live out in the sticks. If you're that far from a gas station, an earlier low fuel warning is more helpful. As per your user name, you've made up your mind about what you want to believe about GM vehicles, and you'll say anything to make what you want true.

Yeah, I don't see what the problem/complaint is. The reason they do that is because the accuracy of range when there's less than a gallon or two left in the tank isn't all that great (i.e. one full throttle launch 0-60 could quickly drop your range from 40 miles to 10 miles in a matter of seconds). The point of the message is to get gas now stupid. Maybe it should say that instead of range low.
 
At least it is better at warning you than most Nissan/Infiniti vehicles, which have nothing more than a little orange LED light buried in the gas gauge itself. Doesn't even say low fuel - just a random orange light that you're supposed to know means that. You would have to be staring at the gas gauge to even notice it come on.
 
To answer another poster's question: this is standard GM functionality for all vehicles with the driver information console. My '02 Z06 says the same thing. It gives two warnings: "LOW FUEL" and "RANGE LOW". I forgot what the mile range is when each comes on. It also has an extra warning on the dash and the head-up display that says "check gauges" when it gets to "range low". You would have to be completely brain dead not to notice all the low fuel warnings.