I finished up my fuel economy testing (which consisted of about 60 percent city driving and 40 percent highway cruising, all done with a light pedal foot) with the trip computer sitting at 24.7 mpg. Total system power under most conditions adds up to 182 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque, but you're most likely interested in fuel economy, which the EPA estimates at 25 city, 37 highway, and 29 combined mpg. One that you'll likely never see is the active shutter technology, but that's because you'd have to be outside of the vehicle at highway speeds to see this mechanical shutter close off the lower grille opening to reduce aerodynamic drag. The Malibu Eco also features an array of aerodynamic tweaks that differentiate it from the standard Chevrolet Malibu, although you'll have to look closely to see any of them. The result is restarting that's smoother than, for example, the BMW 3 Series' autostart but still not as seamless as the Toyota's Hybrid Synergy drive. It may not seem like much, but this second or so of electric motivation smoothes out the stop-start transition and takes much of the jerkiness out of the auto-stop system. The electric motor is able to supply a momentary burst of up to 110 pound-feet of torque when you tap the accelerator to get the vehicle moving while the main gasoline engine fires up. An additional benefit of the electric system comes into play when the autostop system deactivates the gasoline engine when, for example, you're waiting at a traffic light.