Took a 130 mile trip up to the Ionia County fairgrounds to work as a vendor, and to be security up there. anyhow, on the trip up there, and back, I got an average of 36.5 MPG average, with an average speed of 57 MPH. Not too bad at all for such a heavy car, and two other passengers other than myself! My gas gauge never even left the full mark. :o

wow....thats really really good...the highest ive seen is 28mpg, and that was all highway at between 65-70 mph, but with several spirited runs mind you.

What sort of gear ratio do you have again? That probably makes a big difference between our cars.

An average speed of 57? that doesnt sound like highway driving, sounds more like a curvy backroad with lots of revving up and down.

I have the 3.29 gear ratio. I get the best gas mileage between 50 and 60 MPH easily. Once I get above 70, my instant fuel economy according to my DIC is around 29 MPG. At 53 MPH my DIC usually reads around 43 MPG instant.

the higher gear ratio is evident in this picture



This road is sort of like a "back road" except there are very few curves, no stop signs, and no stop lights. It'* a consistent 55 MPH.

hmm i really havent figured out what gear ratio i have yet. Some say that all the NAed W-bodies have the 3.29 gear ratio...but most ppl dont realize the Intrigue exists either..and ive heard mixed info as to whether or not is has a 3.29 or 3.05 gear ratio.

My tach reads about the same yours does, except that im usually right at 70 or a little over when doing so...i might take a pic later.

according to my service manual, only the 3.29 was available for the Intrigue in the 2000 Model Year. For the 1999 3.5 Intrigues, both the 3.05 and the 3.29 were offered, so your 2000 Intrigue should indeed have the 3.29 gears.

oh really? well thats good i guess...but i was noticing on the way home tonight that my engine rpms are just a little lower than in your picture, and i was also going a little bit faster as well, and this was even uphill on the highway...so im thinking just minor electrical/cosmetic differences to make it seem a little different? such as our gauge overlays being off just a little or something?

But if the service manual says its got 3.29, i suppose it probably does.

why not just check the RPO codes, and find a real answer??

Its hard to find RPO codes for our specific cars, but i did find some that should crossover.

FR9- Ratio, Transaxle Final Drive, 3.29

F83- Ratio, Transaxle Final Drive, 3.05

unfortuneately i came up with the short end of the stick and found a lovely little F83 on my sticker, these are codes from Buick Regals....so I hope yours is one of those custom so we can settle this

That F83 code is also on this site? So did some Bonnevilles come with that gearing? thats news to me.

Here'* my RPO sticker:


EDIT: On an interesting note, I also have FE3 suspension, meaning it'* the sport suspension. I wondered why it rode more stiffly than even our SSEi does.

LOL hidding part of your vin...oh brother