If you buy car right now, is MPG important for you?
Jul 24, 2008 at 7:54 AM Post #76 of 131
Mileage is important, but speed is equally important. I drive FAST. If a car can't cruise at a steady 110mph, it's of no use to me, and in order to do that, it has to have a top speed of about 140 or so at least, and be comfortable and stable at high speeds.

If you experiment a bit, you'll find that how you drive is almost as important as what you drive. I've got an Acura CL 3.2 Type-S, which can get anywhere from 17 to 32mpg depending on how it's driven. When I race a lot, drive hard, and keep it above 100mph on the highway, my mileage is well below 20 - 17-18 being about average for seriously quick driving. But, at around 70-75mph, avoiding hard acceleration, drafting trucks, coasting in neutral, I've been able to get 30-32mpg out of it without too much effort, and that's with AC and other amenities. I could probably get it into the mid to high 30s with all the gizmos off. At the same time, this is a car that will happily cruise at 110mph all day long and has pretty good acceleration, about mid 6's 0-60 and high 14's in the quarter if you launch it right. Hardly fast or groundbreaking, but it's quicker than average.

Though to be honest, my favorite feature of that car is the noise. In VTEC at 6000 rpm, it sounds absolutely fantastic. Very NSX-like, though of course more muted.

I wish we switched over to diesel. My family were in Italy for a vacation and rented a Mercedes C220CDI. Driven at a steady 110mph (this was Italy, after all) it averaged 41mpg. Under slower driving, it will get Prius-like mileage, but still has a 141mph top speed and a sub-9 second 0-60 time. Put that in your pipe, Mr. Prius, and smoke it, like the 220 will smoke you off the line.

I think ideal cars would be for me something like the Elise, which is fast but can still return 30mpg. Though in the long haul, it may be a bit uncomfortable.

I'll just keep my Acura until it breaks down, and then get a BMW 335. My father has one, and it's simply great, though we'll have to see how it holds up in the long run. The handling is quite nice, with its 50/50 weight distribution, and that twin-turbo straight 6 is simply stellar. Mileage is ok, low to high 20s usually, but he hasn't tried to seriously max it out.
 
Jul 24, 2008 at 8:22 AM Post #77 of 131
Quote:

Originally Posted by catscratch /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Mileage is important, but speed is equally important. I drive FAST. If a car can't cruise at a steady 110mph, it's of no use to me, and in order to do that, it has to have a top speed of about 140 or so at least, and be comfortable and stable at high speeds.



Assuming you live in the US, where can you do that without getting constantly pulled over?

I've only found two interstates in 10 years of driving that I could do that on - I-70, the stretch from Kansas City to Topeka, and I-79 through central WV. I wouldn't even want to do it for more than a minute or two at a time, either, due to my tire compound.

Not quite sure why being able to drive a good 50mph above just about every posted speed limit is a "necessity", either. I love driving fast, but 110mph, constantly, is just asking for trouble.
 
Jul 24, 2008 at 9:43 PM Post #79 of 131
Quote:

Originally Posted by DemonicLemming /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Assuming you live in the US, where can you do that without getting constantly pulled over?

I've only found two interstates in 10 years of driving that I could do that on - I-70, the stretch from Kansas City to Topeka, and I-79 through central WV. I wouldn't even want to do it for more than a minute or two at a time, either, due to my tire compound.

Not quite sure why being able to drive a good 50mph above just about every posted speed limit is a "necessity", either. I love driving fast, but 110mph, constantly, is just asking for trouble.


Oh trust me, I don't have any delusions about that kind of speed. One slip-up and you're either in jail or worse. So, I won't make excuses, I'm just honest about it.

I've taken the same stretch of I95/NJ Turnpike for 5 years, and I know it like the back of my hand. So far, I've got clean records, and now I've shifted to economy driving rather than madman driving, so it's a good bet the records will stay clean for a while. 17mpg when your car runs on premium is a bit much to handle, especially when I don't have as strict a time constraint anymore.

Still, what I was referring in my post to was basically effortlessness. I want a car that can handle high speed effortlessly, accelerate effortlessly, brake from 100mph better than most cars can brake from 70, and be more stable and planted at that kind of speed than a minivan would be at 55. Even if I may not be using it all the time.

Better still, I want a car that has dual personalities, so to speak. One personality for when you're just cruising along, where it's comfortable, quiet, and doesn't really get in the way. The other, though, is for when you want to drive like you just sat on a wasp. That's why I like the 3 series so much, because it does have that two-sided personality going. I was thinking of selling the CL and getting something a lot quicker/better handling (STi, Evo, S2000), but I would lose out on the relaxed personality by doing so, and I don't want a car that's hard-edged and aggressive all the time. It should be able to be hard-edged and aggressive, but only when I need it to be.
 
Jul 24, 2008 at 10:01 PM Post #80 of 131
Man at the moment i'm actually trying to find a geo metro. These little suckers get such great gas mileage! Like 40 mpg i believe (or close to it)! It's hard to find in good condition right now though.

Being stuck with this ford ranger pickup is no fun.
 
Jul 25, 2008 at 3:06 AM Post #81 of 131
The 2009 Passat BlueTDI manages 40-50mpg (according to EPA and some sites) , so that really would be the car to get if you do long distance driving, around $20k too.

I read an article about this guy who put his geo metro on blocks because the (then) falling gas price meant he could drive a nicer car, but now its back on the road!
 
Jul 25, 2008 at 4:44 AM Post #82 of 131
MPG was a huge deciding factor when I last bought a car. I bought a 2005 Hyundai Accent GT back in March, just a little bit before gas went insanely through the roof. I get 33-36mpg around town and I average around 40-43 on longer highway trips. The car is actually rated for less mpg than that, but I've adapted very conservative brake and accel feet due to high gas prices.
 
Jul 25, 2008 at 4:50 AM Post #83 of 131
aw never put the geo on blocks
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it's so cool haha.
 
Jul 25, 2008 at 3:26 PM Post #84 of 131
I was buying a different German car every 2 years unit about 5 years ago I bought a used salvage titel Civic to bridge until my VW was fixed. The VW went to the Junkyard and I am still driving the Civic. Only thing it has ever needed was belts, brakes, and tires.

I live near Philly and would be interested in your civic if you are selling.
 
Jul 25, 2008 at 3:45 PM Post #85 of 131
I get over 40 MPG on the highway in my 96 Saturn. I don't worry that much about MPG.
 
Jul 25, 2008 at 6:07 PM Post #87 of 131
Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio-Omega /img/forum/go_quote.gif
VW cars are not reliable ?


They are if they're well maintained. All I've had so far for 73,000 miles were a couple electrical problems.


I'm getting 24-25mpg even though everyone else is getting 30+ on the 2.0 engine. I think the o2 sensor might need to be replaced. But if I were getting a new car: yes.
 
Jul 25, 2008 at 6:25 PM Post #88 of 131
I had a 91 civic si hatch for a while and it was pretty good but started to rust and turn into a beater pretty quickly. I sold it for $100 about 5 years ago and bought a used 2001 VW GTI 1.8T and man.. it's a whole other world driving it compared to the civic, it makes the civic feel like it was made of aluminum foil.

After 5 years I've only had the oil changed regularly, new tires and a couple recalls. (knock on wood) great gas mileage too.
 
Jul 25, 2008 at 7:40 PM Post #90 of 131
Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio-Omega /img/forum/go_quote.gif
VW cars are not reliable ?


You don't buy a VW because you want a reliable car (you could be disappointed), you get a VW because they're more fun and have nicer interiors than anything near their price range- my MkV Jetta has a nicer interior and is way more fun than all the other cars I've owned- Infiniti 1997 & 2000 QX4, 2003 I35, 2006 FX35 (parent's car), 2006 Acura TL (parent's car), 2000 Nissan Maxima, and a 1989 Mercury s***heap. To be fair to VW reliability though, a friend of mine just bought a Golf with something like 700,000 miles on it and it still runs perfectly... better than my '06 actually
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I just have a minimum standard of 25mpg average, anything above that is a bonus. My employer gives out free bus passes, meaning I only drive/bike a couple miles to a park and ride, and walk to the grocery store. Since I don't use much gas for my daily routine, I prefer a car that's fun to drive over squeezing out every last mpg. For now that means a VW GTI or GLI in the next few months... then a Lotus Exige (at a respectable 23 city/41hwy) in a few years
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