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To me, driver legroom is the same as my 9000. I move the driver's seat the same amount forward as I did on the 9000. So if you fit in a 9000, at least in theory you should fit in an Aerio, leg room wise. The headroom is considerably more than a 9000 both in front and back, I suspect even in a 9000 without a sunroof (though I have never been in such a beast). The cabin is certainly noticeably narrower, so there is less space between the front seats, and also less space between the outer edges of the seats and the door panels. But I wouldn't say it feels crowded, like some cars do. Best bet is to go sit in one, of course. In the rear seat, you obviously notice the narrow cabin much more, no way would three people be comfortable back there like in the 9000. But, there is a surprising amount of rear legroom. With the front seats all the way back, I still don't hit my knees on the front seatbacks, or if I do it's just barely. I haven't seen my brother since I got the car, he's 6'4 with noticeably longer legs than mine, but may see him in the near future.
As for MPG, yes, it isn't the car's strongest suit, at least by the EPA sticker. Of the cars I drove, it had the 2nd lowest (Suzuki Reno was the worst at 22/30). The Aerio SX is rated at 25/31 for either transmission. It's nice that (and this was true of all the cars I shopped) you don't take a hit with the automatic transmission, but a bummer that you don't get a bonus in MPG for the manual. Now, I have read many places online of people getting into the mid-30's with cruising at 60 MPH, and people as low as the low 20's in all city driving with their AWD automatic Aerios. I have not been through enough tanks to give much accurate data. For my first two tanks, in which I was still doing the engine break in and thus changing RPMs a lot and accelerating a bit more aggresively than I normally would, I got 29 MPG and 30 MPG. My driving is at least 80% highway though (and by that I mean little traffic also - not normal 'free'way driving for the Seattle area, which is worse than city driving). I'm on the third tank now, first with my normal driving habits, so I'll see where it comes out in a few days. It is nice at the pump only putting in 9-12 gallons of 87 octane, but I know I am going to miss the 18 gallon tank of the Saab on long trips. The Aerio holds 13.2 gallons. I can usually beat the EPA numbers by a couple MPG. For reference, the Scion xB was the best, rated at 31/35. But, I seriously would question those numbers under any normal driving, because with only 108 HP, you really have to floor it when performing ANY maneuver that requires you to accelerate. And it seems common sense that the box shape doesn't help once you get over 60 mph... but maybe the cD is lower than you'd expect..
Aaron Gilbert
posted by 198.22.123...
, Mon, 3 Oct 2005 10:28:48
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