pretty disappointing. ive been keeping an eye on the sonic. even the 2012 yaris, using an 12 + year old powertrain, pulls 30 mpg city and 38 highway with the manual.
i guess im not too surprised. the sonic doesnt appear to have very good aerodynmaics and it is WAY to heavy for the class. 138 hp sounds good, but not on a 2800 lb car.....a killer for any amount of driving requiring repeated acceleration cycles.
the 1.4t may end up with better numbers, but that will come at a price.
whoever insinuated that honda/toyota game the epa system must be out of their minds. go look at fueleconomy.gov. honda and toyota have long had deserved reputations for beating epa numbers in the real world. ive noticed that the cars that tend to hold up to or beat epa numbers have good aerodynamics. the new accent is right around .29 drag coefficient, as is the previous and new yaris and current corolla.
ok, found it...cd for the sonic is 0.33, not horrible, but none to great for the class.
for fair disclosure, i have the new hyundai accent...40 mpg epa highway...and my lowerst tank has been 42.2 mpg (calculated, not by computer). so, its not just hype. it is a very nice car for the class. why have i been keeping tabs on the sonic? because i would love to drive a domestic, as long as it isnt a step down from the others. i will wait and see how the other variants turn out.
i fear that curb weight will not only hurt the fe but also the fun factor.