1985 Chevrolet Cavalier Specs

8 powertrain configurations on federal record for the 1985 Chevrolet Cavalier: 2.0L 4-cyl Regular Gasoline; 2.8L 6-cyl Regular Gasoline, rated up to 26 MPG combined by the EPA.

Source: EPA federal records (fueleconomy.gov) · Updated 2026-10-26 · By CarWhere Research

1985 Chevrolet Cavalier engines, transmissions, drivetrains and EPA gas mileage
Engine	Transmission	Drivetrain	City	Highway	Combined
2.0L 4-cyl Regular Gasoline	Automatic 3-spd	Front-Wheel Drive	19	26	22
2.0L 4-cyl Regular Gasoline	Manual 4-spd	Front-Wheel Drive	22	29	25
2.0L 4-cyl Regular Gasoline	Manual 5-spd	Front-Wheel Drive	21	29	24
2.8L 6-cyl Regular Gasoline	Automatic 3-spd	Front-Wheel Drive	16	22	18
2.8L 6-cyl Regular Gasoline	Manual 4-spd	Front-Wheel Drive	15	22	18
2.0L 4-cyl Regular Gasoline	Automatic 3-spd	Front-Wheel Drive	22	27	24
2.0L 4-cyl Regular Gasoline	Manual 4-spd	Front-Wheel Drive	23	32	26
2.8L 6-cyl Regular Gasoline	Automatic 3-spd	Front-Wheel Drive	17	22	19

Cavalier by year

2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984

Buying a used Cavalier? Specs are the easy half.

then check the specific car: the Full VIN Report shows that VIN's factory build, recall record, and market history before you pay for it.

Frequently asked questions

What engines does the 1985 Chevrolet Cavalier have?

2 engines on federal record: 2.0L 4-cyl Regular Gasoline; 2.8L 6-cyl Regular Gasoline, offered with Automatic 3-spd, Manual 4-spd, Manual 5-spd and Front-Wheel Drive. The full per-configuration table is above.

What gas mileage does the 1985 Chevrolet Cavalier get?

EPA combined ratings run 18–26 MPG depending on configuration — the table above shows city/highway/combined for each engine, transmission, and drivetrain.

How do I get the specs for my exact VIN?

These are the federal-record configurations for the 1985 Chevrolet Cavalier overall. For one specific vehicle — its exact engine, trim, factory options, and original window sticker — decode the 17-character VIN free at carwhere.com/tools/vin-decoder.

Where does this data come from?

The U.S. EPA's public vehicle dataset (fueleconomy.gov) — the federal record of every US-market configuration since 1984 — refreshed 2026-10-26. Public-domain data; republish with attribution to CarWhere (carwhere.com).