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!
I’m not super happy with the wife’s sequoia, it returns 13-14 average and she shuttles kids around a lot. Probably will switch to a 4 runner at some point. I really wish I could find something as durable as my xj to run the mail route with because at 14 mpg, the 132 miles I have run 6 days a week adds up quick. I absolutely loved the 54 mpg my metro got back in the day.
I’m not super happy with the wife’s sequoia, it returns 13-14 average and she shuttles kids around a lot. Probably will switch to a 4 runner at some point. I really wish I could find something as durable as my xj to run the mail route with because at 14 mpg, the 132 miles I have run 6 days a week adds up quick. I absolutely loved the 54 mpg my metro got back in the day.
Gas is very expensive where I live (western wa). It was becoming a real issue, and my commute is only about 20 miles one way. My main drivers (01 Tracker and 97 Grand Marquis) both managed about 20-24 on this commute. 8-10 bucks a day really adds up! I bought my Volt, don’t use any gas on my commute anymore. Even with the purchase price of the car, it’ll pay for itself in about 4-5 years.
My pickup gets 10 mpg. No matter what. It is reserved for purely truck duties, I’ve only put about 4000 miles on it in the past 3 years.
Gas is very expensive where I live (western wa). It was becoming a real issue, and my commute is only about 20 miles one way. My main drivers (01 Tracker and 97 Grand Marquis) both managed about 20-24 on this commute. 8-10 bucks a day really adds up! I bought my Volt, don’t use any gas on my commute anymore. Even with the purchase price of the car, it’ll pay for itself in about 4-5 years.
My pickup gets 10 mpg. No matter what. It is reserved for purely truck duties, I’ve only put about 4000 miles on it in the past 3 years.
17mpg for me. I used to be all macho about driving (Japanese) V8s with 1UZ and 3UZ powered Lexuses and not caring about their 18mpg, but then I got into an LX470 for a while that averaged around 13. That was when I started to care about fuel economy.
17mpg for me. I used to be all macho about driving (Japanese) V8s with 1UZ and 3UZ powered Lexuses and not caring about their 18mpg, but then I got into an LX470 for a while that averaged around 13. That was when I started to care about fuel economy.
My 1982 Buick Skylard with 2.8-litre V6 emptied the tank at an alarming rate after I replaced the fire-damaged vacuum tubes used for the rudimentary emission control system. On good days, it would return 8 to 10 mpg. Otherwise, it’d manage to do 5 mpg. My father told me to get rid of it asap.
My 1982 Buick Skylard with 2.8-litre V6 emptied the tank at an alarming rate after I replaced the fire-damaged vacuum tubes used for the rudimentary emission control system. On good days, it would return 8 to 10 mpg. Otherwise, it’d manage to do 5 mpg. My father told me to get rid of it asap.
I’m gonna say 28mpg. And that’s just on the principle of it.
I think I realized from an early age that a basic fuel efficient car will do most of what I need most of the time.
This has been a tension I’ve lived with as a car enthusiast but also love efficiency – it probably all goes back to my first car being a 3-cylinder Chevy Sprint which got over 40mpg. Loved that thing.
Now the family has a Ford C-max Energi and I’m watching the average MPGs creep up above 54mpg. It’s so hard to think of going backwards in MPGs.
I’m gonna say 28mpg. And that’s just on the principle of it.
I think I realized from an early age that a basic fuel efficient car will do most of what I need most of the time.
This has been a tension I’ve lived with as a car enthusiast but also love efficiency – it probably all goes back to my first car being a 3-cylinder Chevy Sprint which got over 40mpg. Loved that thing.
Now the family has a Ford C-max Energi and I’m watching the average MPGs creep up above 54mpg. It’s so hard to think of going backwards in MPGs.
I work 5 miles away from home, so honestly I could deal with almost any city MPG. My daily is a 996 and I’ll get 15 MPG when I’m stuck in stop and go (though it increases to a respectable.p.ish 25 when I get on the highway). I still only have to fuel it up every other week or so, unless I get a day to go and thrash some windy country roads.
I could probably live with as low as 10 MPG for the right classic, but I’d rather save high-consuming cars for fun driving.
I work 5 miles away from home, so honestly I could deal with almost any city MPG. My daily is a 996 and I’ll get 15 MPG when I’m stuck in stop and go (though it increases to a respectable.p.ish 25 when I get on the highway). I still only have to fuel it up every other week or so, unless I get a day to go and thrash some windy country roads.
I could probably live with as low as 10 MPG for the right classic, but I’d rather save high-consuming cars for fun driving.
I don’t think i could accept any worse than what i get driving around town in my E92 M3, which comes to about 12.5 MPG (on a good day). With more aggressive driving i can make it dip into 11.9 territory, but safety is more important.
I don’t think i could accept any worse than what i get driving around town in my E92 M3, which comes to about 12.5 MPG (on a good day). With more aggressive driving i can make it dip into 11.9 territory, but safety is more important.
Living with it now. . .about 20 mpg +/- in my F150.
Used to have a small car for commuting, but got rid of it due to change in jobs/less driving. Looking to get another car soon to leave the truck in the garage for “truck things”. It is getting up there in miles, but is payed off and worth more for utility and as a 3rd vehicle then I would get on trade.
Living with it now. . .about 20 mpg +/- in my F150.
Used to have a small car for commuting, but got rid of it due to change in jobs/less driving. Looking to get another car soon to leave the truck in the garage for “truck things”. It is getting up there in miles, but is payed off and worth more for utility and as a 3rd vehicle then I would get on trade.
My figure would be 10/L/100KM too. I get 9L/100km (26ish MPG) in my Forester S-Edition on the highway, 15L/100KM (~16 MPG!) if I’m stuck in the city. Spirited driving ends up somewhere in between, but the tank is so small (45-50L usable) fill-ups are a very frequent thing.
My figure would be 10/L/100KM too. I get 9L/100km (26ish MPG) in my Forester S-Edition on the highway, 15L/100KM (~16 MPG!) if I’m stuck in the city. Spirited driving ends up somewhere in between, but the tank is so small (45-50L usable) fill-ups are a very frequent thing.
Daily driver – This would continue to be some type of hybrid so 35-40mpg, 20-25mpg if I needed a van or SUV that I couldn’t get as a hybrid, but if that was needed I’d get a hybrid awd Sienna.
Fun car/rare use vehicle – as low as 8 mpg
Daily driver – This would continue to be some type of hybrid so 35-40mpg, 20-25mpg if I needed a van or SUV that I couldn’t get as a hybrid, but if that was needed I’d get a hybrid awd Sienna.
Fun car/rare use vehicle – as low as 8 mpg
I barely drive at all due to WFH and decent transit to the big city. My daily does 19-22mpg (mostly in town) and the old MBs do 9-12. All use premium. But it is what it is.
If I had to commute, I’d drive a partially electric car.
I barely drive at all due to WFH and decent transit to the big city. My daily does 19-22mpg (mostly in town) and the old MBs do 9-12. All use premium. But it is what it is.
If I had to commute, I’d drive a partially electric car.
My 2009 Mazda 3s (2.3-liter, 5-speed automatic) was rated at 22/29 when new, as they had just updated the EPA test. When I lived in the suburbs, I had a 12-mile commute on a mostly open freeway with maybe a mile at each end on the surface and got about 25 mpg at around 65-75 mph. Road trips were 32 mpg at somewhat faster speeds, with congestion, reckless driving laws and generally prudent Mid-Atlantic drivers south of Fredericksburg keeping speeds down. When I moved into what passes for a city here, my commute shrank to less that four miles, but my fuel mileage hit 18 mpg. It didn’t make much difference to me at around 5,000 miles per year, but I’d like my next car to be rated at at least 30 MPG city.
If I can afford it and can find one that doesn’t need too much of a painful tradeoff, I’d seriously consider an EV to avoid issues with an ICE car used for very short trips. Otherwise, a PHEV (again, if I can find one), and if that’s not workable or if I have to worry about moving to an apartment without on-site charging, then the Civic Hybrid hatchback looks tempting. Huge, but tempting.
My 2009 Mazda 3s (2.3-liter, 5-speed automatic) was rated at 22/29 when new, as they had just updated the EPA test. When I lived in the suburbs, I had a 12-mile commute on a mostly open freeway with maybe a mile at each end on the surface and got about 25 mpg at around 65-75 mph. Road trips were 32 mpg at somewhat faster speeds, with congestion, reckless driving laws and generally prudent Mid-Atlantic drivers south of Fredericksburg keeping speeds down. When I moved into what passes for a city here, my commute shrank to less that four miles, but my fuel mileage hit 18 mpg. It didn’t make much difference to me at around 5,000 miles per year, but I’d like my next car to be rated at at least 30 MPG city.
If I can afford it and can find one that doesn’t need too much of a painful tradeoff, I’d seriously consider an EV to avoid issues with an ICE car used for very short trips. Otherwise, a PHEV (again, if I can find one), and if that’s not workable or if I have to worry about moving to an apartment without on-site charging, then the Civic Hybrid hatchback looks tempting. Huge, but tempting.
I get about 13-15 mpg in my Chevy Avalanche, and I can live with it. Then again, I work remote so I don’t have to commute with that kind of mpg.