Gas prices (and diesel prices) aren’t exactly great right now. There is a war on, or a few actually, and that’s doing little to help the situation. That leads me to today’s Autopian Asks—what’s the worst fuel economy you’re willing to put up with?
Of course, this applies strictly to cars that burn fossil fuels. We can argue about how many fathoms per joule you get out of your EV, but it’s just going to confuse things. We’re talkin’ liquids here, baby.
This question is one that is important car enthusiasts and normies alike. If you’re into cars, you’re probably willing to trade off some fuel economy for better performance, or for a vehicle that truly lights up your heart. If you’re a normie, you might see cars as appliances, and you just want the best efficiency possible. Alternatively, you might demand a certain level of luxury or cargo space at the cost of some extra fuel burn.
I grew up during the turmoil of the second Gulf War, albeit in the safe confines of Australia. We saw our gas prices hit new highs, and I was stuck driving a 1992 Ford Falcon. It had no working odometer, so I couldn’t accurately measure its fuel economy. Regardless, that 4.0-liter six sure loved to suck down the dino juice, and I’d estimate it was pulling down around 15 L/100 km around town, or around 15 mpg in your American money.
That formative experience routinely sent me broke. Since then, I’ve owned a wide variety of cars, and I’ve settled on a figure I find comfortable. It’s 10 L/100 km, or about 23 mpg. My 1998 Mercedes E240, 1992 Daihatsu Feroza, and 1992 Mazda Miata all hit about this mark. They were all cool in their own ways, and they justified their fuel use in turn.
I’ve had more efficient cars, of course. My BMW 320D routinely achieves 29 mpg or better. My 1989 Mazda 121 was a star at 36 mpg. That made them more attractive. By contrast, I felt strongly compelled to sell my Volvo 740 Turbo wagon when its fuel economy mysteriously slipped from 19 mpg to 15 mpg over a few months.
My question to you is thus—what’s the worst fuel economy you’re willing to put up with and why? Maybe it’s for performance, maybe it’s for seating, maybe you’re making a trade-off by running big chunky mud tires. Sound off and tell me how much pain you can take at the pump!
Depends on the use case. DD – 25mpg+. Any other use case? I don’t really care. I use my DD for long trips 90% of the time, so the MPG of my other garbage doesn’t really impact my bottom line. They are just for fun.
14/15 mpg is the absolute unloaded minimum for me and that’s full-sized truck values.
~ 50-mile rural round trip commute daily
It’s nice in the summer to ride my ’22 klr and get 48 mpg.
I had a borrowed hot-rodded dodge Durango for a while, 8mpg was pretty painful.
14/15 mpg is the absolute unloaded minimum for me and that’s full-sized truck values.
~ 50-mile rural round trip commute daily
It’s nice in the summer to ride my ’22 klr and get 48 mpg.
I had a borrowed hot-rodded dodge Durango for a while, 8mpg was pretty painful.
For a daily driver that’s fun to drive, a real world around 30 mpg average per tank. Focus ST averaged just under that over its lifetime and the GR86 is a little above. A daily driver that isn’t fun (if I had to), it would have to be close to 40 and do it on cheapest fuel. For something older that’s not a daily, whatever it gets (though it probably wouldn’t be too big of a gas hog, either).
For a daily driver that’s fun to drive, a real world around 30 mpg average per tank. Focus ST averaged just under that over its lifetime and the GR86 is a little above. A daily driver that isn’t fun (if I had to), it would have to be close to 40 and do it on cheapest fuel. For something older that’s not a daily, whatever it gets (though it probably wouldn’t be too big of a gas hog, either).
One of the reasons I got an EV for my daily was so MPG in whatever weekend vehicle I had could be absolutely atrocious and it wouldn’t affect the monthly budget.
My old Jeep gets 13-15mpg and I couldn’t care less. Driving it for leisure, I only need to fill it a few times a year at $60 a pop. I’ve considered getting a UNIMOG or deuce and a half and even low single digit mpg wouldn’t matter.
Charging my EV daily driver at home is about $24/month for all my normal commuting and errands.
One of the reasons I got an EV for my daily was so MPG in whatever weekend vehicle I had could be absolutely atrocious and it wouldn’t affect the monthly budget.
My old Jeep gets 13-15mpg and I couldn’t care less. Driving it for leisure, I only need to fill it a few times a year at $60 a pop. I’ve considered getting a UNIMOG or deuce and a half and even low single digit mpg wouldn’t matter.
Charging my EV daily driver at home is about $24/month for all my normal commuting and errands.
I split my daily driving between my ’05 Escalade ESV (6.0 AWD), and my ’79 VW Westy (2.0, dual Dellorto 40s). The Escalade routinely manages 12-13 around town and 16-17hwy on E10, and the bus seems to average 15-16mpg or so in mostly in-town driving, but requires non-ethanol fuel.
Now, I work from home, so I no longer have the 22-mile daily commute I had in the Beforetimes, and I live in OK, where fuel prices generally stay lower than the national average (currently $2.99 for E10). Where the Escalade is concerned, I justify it through the fact that 1. It’s an ultra-reliable and comfortable GMT800, 2. It’s paid off, 3. It currently only has a shade over 100k miles, and 4. I routinely need to pull a tandem-axle trailer hauling one of the decrepit VWs I insist on keeping around. All that being said, I can put up with some pretty crappy mileage given the use case. And I understand what a privilege that is in the world of 2024.
I should add that we also own a 2019 Golf Alltrack that gets 30-32hwy, that serves as my wife’s primary driver and occasional roadtripper. We also have two kids under the age of 10, and a 4-hour trip to Dallas this weekend in the Alltrack with those two a-holes in the back seat reminded us that sometimes paying the higher fuel bill is worth it.
I split my daily driving between my ’05 Escalade ESV (6.0 AWD), and my ’79 VW Westy (2.0, dual Dellorto 40s). The Escalade routinely manages 12-13 around town and 16-17hwy on E10, and the bus seems to average 15-16mpg or so in mostly in-town driving, but requires non-ethanol fuel.
Now, I work from home, so I no longer have the 22-mile daily commute I had in the Beforetimes, and I live in OK, where fuel prices generally stay lower than the national average (currently $2.99 for E10). Where the Escalade is concerned, I justify it through the fact that 1. It’s an ultra-reliable and comfortable GMT800, 2. It’s paid off, 3. It currently only has a shade over 100k miles, and 4. I routinely need to pull a tandem-axle trailer hauling one of the decrepit VWs I insist on keeping around. All that being said, I can put up with some pretty crappy mileage given the use case. And I understand what a privilege that is in the world of 2024.
I should add that we also own a 2019 Golf Alltrack that gets 30-32hwy, that serves as my wife’s primary driver and occasional roadtripper. We also have two kids under the age of 10, and a 4-hour trip to Dallas this weekend in the Alltrack with those two a-holes in the back seat reminded us that sometimes paying the higher fuel bill is worth it.
Gas prices don’t affect me much because I don’t drive much. I think we fill our cars about once a month or so. My Maverick gets close to 40 mpg and my Benz probably gets low 20s, though I probably get closer to 30 and my wife probably gets closer to 20. I equate fuel economy with pollution (I know this isn’t necessarily correct), so I like to have a reasonably high MPG, like 25+. While this doesn’t necessarily sound like much, the beaters we had when I was growing up probably averaged around 10 mpg. I’m willing to accept less if it’s a performance vehicle, and I expect more if it’s an economy car.
Gas prices don’t affect me much because I don’t drive much. I think we fill our cars about once a month or so. My Maverick gets close to 40 mpg and my Benz probably gets low 20s, though I probably get closer to 30 and my wife probably gets closer to 20. I equate fuel economy with pollution (I know this isn’t necessarily correct), so I like to have a reasonably high MPG, like 25+. While this doesn’t necessarily sound like much, the beaters we had when I was growing up probably averaged around 10 mpg. I’m willing to accept less if it’s a performance vehicle, and I expect more if it’s an economy car.
I average around 13. So that.
I average around 13. So that.
My ’77 F250 gets around 5 mpg. I used that as a daily driver for 3 years when I only drove ~4000 miles per year due to a short commute. I wasn’t bothered by the poor fuel economy as much as the small fuel tank (15 gallons). Even with my 4 mile round trip commute I still had to fill up weekly. Worse yet, if I took it on the highway I could see the needle moving on the fuel gauge.
I recently added a 44 gallon tank which makes it much better to drive. The fuel economy still sucks (although I have been getting 7 mpg after adding the new tank; I have no idea why that is happening), but at least I can drive ~200 miles between fuel stops.
Post engine rebuild, our F250 just got 8MPG highway with a camper in the bed, and 7.5 on the way home with camper + empty horse trailer. I’d love to do better, but the 460 is thirsty no mater what you do.
The weird thing about these trucks is that MPG doesn’t seem to change depending on how I am using it. My truck gets similar MPG in the city and highway, as well as when towing or hauling.
My truck also has some mild performance modifications and 35 inch off road tires, though. It also doesn’t help that it has a 3 speed automatic. On the highway it is going at ~3500 rpm. I imagine a 460 burns a substantial amount of fuel just running at that speed.
A friend had a ’97 Dodge 2500 with the V10 that acted similarly. It got 10MPG under every condition.
Haha, I feel your pain on that. When I was a kid I had a squarebody Chevy on 35’s with a 16gallon tank and a 350 with a Holley 650, I was ALWAYS putting fuel in that thing.
My ’77 F250 gets around 5 mpg. I used that as a daily driver for 3 years when I only drove ~4000 miles per year due to a short commute. I wasn’t bothered by the poor fuel economy as much as the small fuel tank (15 gallons). Even with my 4 mile round trip commute I still had to fill up weekly. Worse yet, if I took it on the highway I could see the needle moving on the fuel gauge.
I recently added a 44 gallon tank which makes it much better to drive. The fuel economy still sucks (although I have been getting 7 mpg after adding the new tank; I have no idea why that is happening), but at least I can drive ~200 miles between fuel stops.
Post engine rebuild, our F250 just got 8MPG highway with a camper in the bed, and 7.5 on the way home with camper + empty horse trailer. I’d love to do better, but the 460 is thirsty no mater what you do.
The weird thing about these trucks is that MPG doesn’t seem to change depending on how I am using it. My truck gets similar MPG in the city and highway, as well as when towing or hauling.
My truck also has some mild performance modifications and 35 inch off road tires, though. It also doesn’t help that it has a 3 speed automatic. On the highway it is going at ~3500 rpm. I imagine a 460 burns a substantial amount of fuel just running at that speed.
A friend had a ’97 Dodge 2500 with the V10 that acted similarly. It got 10MPG under every condition.
Haha, I feel your pain on that. When I was a kid I had a squarebody Chevy on 35’s with a 16gallon tank and a 350 with a Holley 650, I was ALWAYS putting fuel in that thing.
I put up with some pretty low fuel economy in some of my cars, but none really get that much usage. I balance it with my wife’s PHEV that operates on electric so much that we only fill up the 10 gallon tank every 5 weeks or so, but it gets in the low 40’s for MPG when we take long trips.
We are typically under 10-12,000 miles a year on all our cars. I have an 8 mile commute just 2 days a week, and the wife has just a 1 mile commute.
My truck probably averages about 19 and only gets between 11-12 when towing. I have it to tow and it gets driven to work 2 times a week and that’s about it (I work from home 3 days a week). It’s usually getting 9-10,000 miles a year.
My middle son’s 08 STS with a Northstar is probably the worst on gas, but the car was a hand me down from my parents, is long paid off and gas is the only real expense. It gets around 15-16 in city driving. It can get in the high 20’s if you set the cruise at 70 and just go, but it’s a gas hog around town. But he’s still in college and probably averages under 5,000 miles a year. Since I got it almost 6 years ago, its only needed a battery, tires, fluid changes, and rear brakes, so I’m certainly not going to complain about the bad fuel economy. The running costs are super cheap. I do hope to get him something newer eventually, but hopefully this will keep running well to get passed down to kid #3.
I put up with some pretty low fuel economy in some of my cars, but none really get that much usage. I balance it with my wife’s PHEV that operates on electric so much that we only fill up the 10 gallon tank every 5 weeks or so, but it gets in the low 40’s for MPG when we take long trips.
We are typically under 10-12,000 miles a year on all our cars. I have an 8 mile commute just 2 days a week, and the wife has just a 1 mile commute.
My truck probably averages about 19 and only gets between 11-12 when towing. I have it to tow and it gets driven to work 2 times a week and that’s about it (I work from home 3 days a week). It’s usually getting 9-10,000 miles a year.
My middle son’s 08 STS with a Northstar is probably the worst on gas, but the car was a hand me down from my parents, is long paid off and gas is the only real expense. It gets around 15-16 in city driving. It can get in the high 20’s if you set the cruise at 70 and just go, but it’s a gas hog around town. But he’s still in college and probably averages under 5,000 miles a year. Since I got it almost 6 years ago, its only needed a battery, tires, fluid changes, and rear brakes, so I’m certainly not going to complain about the bad fuel economy. The running costs are super cheap. I do hope to get him something newer eventually, but hopefully this will keep running well to get passed down to kid #3.
My commute is sub 10km so day to day it wouldn’t make a huge difference. My Kia averages 9.5 to 10 l/100km (24-25 mpg) around town or on the highway and I can easily live with that. My Mustang isn’t great, on the highway it gets 12l/100km (20mpg) and daily commute is 15l/100km (15mpg). If I had a longer commute I’d not drive it much despite the massive smile I have driving it even after 13 years.
If my commute was longer or I drove more wouldn’t want below 30mpg.
Same. My Legacy only gets about 25MPG on my ~2 mile commute and I just don’t care.
My commute is sub 10km so day to day it wouldn’t make a huge difference. My Kia averages 9.5 to 10 l/100km (24-25 mpg) around town or on the highway and I can easily live with that. My Mustang isn’t great, on the highway it gets 12l/100km (20mpg) and daily commute is 15l/100km (15mpg). If I had a longer commute I’d not drive it much despite the massive smile I have driving it even after 13 years.
If my commute was longer or I drove more wouldn’t want below 30mpg.
Same. My Legacy only gets about 25MPG on my ~2 mile commute and I just don’t care.
6 months ago I was living with an F150 that got 16mpg but only driving it 3500 miles a year. Combined with a 36 gal tank meant I was only filling up every month or two and getting my grocery store points $1 per gallon discount took some of the pain away. Still, the $110 fill up wasn’t unusual.
Worst of all time was my 85 F150 that got 10 mpg and took premium. I was driving 15k miles a year at that time and gas was about $1 per gallon.
Why on earth were you putting premium fuel in a 1985 f150
It had the 351 HO and thats what it took.
6 months ago I was living with an F150 that got 16mpg but only driving it 3500 miles a year. Combined with a 36 gal tank meant I was only filling up every month or two and getting my grocery store points $1 per gallon discount took some of the pain away. Still, the $110 fill up wasn’t unusual.
Worst of all time was my 85 F150 that got 10 mpg and took premium. I was driving 15k miles a year at that time and gas was about $1 per gallon.
Why on earth were you putting premium fuel in a 1985 f150
It had the 351 HO and thats what it took.
My previous DD got 10-12mpg around town and maybe 15-16 highway. The payoff was having 510hp available via the right pedal. I was quite happy to live with that since I was driving only 6K-7K miles each year.
As a friend put it, I would have gotten better mileage if I’d kept my foot out of the water pump. 🙂
The current DD will get 32 highway from a 2-liter turbo, which is nice considering I’m driving a bit more these days.
My previous DD got 10-12mpg around town and maybe 15-16 highway. The payoff was having 510hp available via the right pedal. I was quite happy to live with that since I was driving only 6K-7K miles each year.
As a friend put it, I would have gotten better mileage if I’d kept my foot out of the water pump. 🙂
The current DD will get 32 highway from a 2-liter turbo, which is nice considering I’m driving a bit more these days.
I’ll deal with high teens mixed but that highway mileage better be near 10 higher. It’s why I’ve stopped myself from pulling the trigger on German cars multiple times.
I’ll deal with high teens mixed but that highway mileage better be near 10 higher. It’s why I’ve stopped myself from pulling the trigger on German cars multiple times.