what do u consider "acceptable" gas milage

[bayside blue]

i personally think anything 30+hwy is good/great..but i see alot of cars have 25hwy and i see alot of them on the roads still even with gas prices..

edit: the poll didnt show up but i had 5 choices of <20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, >36.....this is talking about hwy mpg even tho an overall would be best. they dont usually have that info about the cars. unless you took the number that falls in the middle of the city and hwy...list weather you used hwy, city, or overall

[SIIK2NR]

It's all acceptable if they have the means to afford it. I assume that you still see the same amount of people driving because in times such as these, transportation to and from work is the priority over just about everything else, regardless of gas price.

[FLuXeXigeS]

just a guesstimation, but from what ive observed the "most peoples" MPG is roughly around 25mpg...ranging from 9mpg hummers to 45mpg hybrids, i dont have any 411 to back that up, just a speculation from diff cars ive driven

anything above 25mpg (combined) would be borderllne acceptable in my book

but then again as S2K said, it all depends on what people are willing to pay for...my 02

[jasond]

Originally Posted by bayside blue

but i see alot of cars have 25hwy and i see alot of them on the roads still even with gas prices..

I did read an article that sales for fuel-efficient compacts is supposedly up since the rise in gas prices, but I doubt people are gonna rush out to dump their gas guzzlers just because gas prices go up a dollar.

I would go with what you feel comfortable with, instead of what others are doing. For instance, I get about 10 mpg on my daily driver, so that's "acceptable" to me. Of course, I only have a 4 mile commute to work

[kestrel74]

If I don't get at LEAST 45 in my DD I'm stressin ! ( 2003 Golf TDI ) ( I've gotten 62 on the highway ) ( best in the Elise: 33 )

[Chris D.]

I won't drive anything that gets less than 30 MPG on regular gas for a daily commuter, and my Mazda 3s averages about 32 MPG. Obviously, I own other cars that don't get near that, but I am not driving the wheels off of them everyday. The fact is that there are several cars that are in the same MPG range as my Mazda, so I don't get why someone would purchase a comparable size (or smaller) car with comparable or worse performance that get's less gas mileage.

[SweetDaddyD]

I'm disappointed that the "fuel efficient" cars now don't get the mileage of the fuel efficient cars 20 years ago. Seems like we should be able to do better. 25-30 really isn't that great. The Smart is a big let down. Doesn't even get what a CRX used to.

TDI is the way to go, even if diesel does cost 50 cents more or so. My well used 86 Golf diesel used to get 52 mpg.

Compacts should get 35mpg+ easily.

Overall I'm happy with my DD's mileage (Lotus) as for the level of performance the car gives, the mileage is still good. Other manufactures need to rediscover light weight.

[lotusforsale]

In the grand scheme of things, there is no mpg that is 'acceptable' ie it is a finite resource, and it will get used up. Higher mpg only prolongs the inevitable, kinda like smoking low tar cigarettes.

If the question what is 'tolerable?' I think that is something that a whole lot of folks are reconsidering these days.

[ZAMMY1]

'06 elise 12475 miles, 30.80 mpg. lifetime average.
my toyota echo gets 40 real mpg.
i sold the dodge b-3500 because it got less than 15.
the corolla xrs gets 30+
the subaru impreza gets 28+
the turbine powered scooter gets ~9 on jet-a.
the honda gyro gets ~60+

i'd accept whatever mileage i could make a buck profit on.

[antinym]

I wonder about people buying $30k,$40k, and $50k cars and worrying about gas prices. Why are they really concerned about loosing (spending) an extra $1000 bucks a year on gas when their depreciation and maintenance costs are 3-5 times that. If they're trying to save money, they should buy a cheaper car.

My '97 astro van gets 17 mpg on average. With how much I drive it, I cannot justify buying something that gets twice the mpg to replace it, unless it was along the lines of a '86 VW TDI. A slightly used Prius would take 4-6 years to reach a positive ROI.

humphh.

[evomind]

Originally Posted by antinym

I wonder about people buying $30k,$40k, and $50k cars and worrying about gas prices. Why are they really concerned about loosing (spending) an extra $1000 bucks a year on gas when their depreciation and maintenance costs are 3-5 times that. If they're trying to save money, they should buy a cheaper car.

My '97 astro van gets 17 mpg on average. With how much I drive it, I cannot justify buying something that gets twice the mpg to replace it, unless it was along the lines of a '86 VW TDI. A slightly used Prius would take 4-6 years to reach a positive ROI.

humphh.

haha, ive said that b4 too.....even ppl who drive 70k dollar cars, like an exige s or something i hear them rattle on abt gas mileage.

i thought the elise was refreshing to get good gas mileage from a sportscar, i think i would get abt 190-200 miles between fillups.

the viper is a killer on gas mileage....ive had tanks where i averaged abt 9mpg....but i DO enjoy driving it!

as far as whats "acceptable gas mileage," that depends. to me, it depends on the vehicle and what i want it for.
i guess mpg isnt all that important to me as i take a train to and from work.

[evilfij]

12 mpg in the range rover is acceptable to me.

[SweetDaddyD]

Well in a couple years perhaps there really will be this option:

VW Confirms 1L Concept Will Become Reality in 2010 : Gas 2.0

235 miles gallon should be acceptable.

[bayside blue]

alot of the sporty cars get 20city-25hwy. ex. the evo, sti, s2k, 350z, ect....but at the same time car companys are advertising are advertising that 30mpg is amazing...i went up to NY (about 600 miles during the trip) and i averaged 17 mpg. about 500miles was hwy and the rest was city/back roads. my car is rated at 20/28(epa est.) i think my car gets horrible gas milage while alot of people think that 25 is not great yet not bad

[Kaliuzhkin]

My Elise typically gets about 18mpg on premium gas. I'm not happy with that - not because of money but because of responsible use of the resource fuel.

That figure (18mpg) is based on city driving. If I do more highway driving, I can get in the low 20s. The fuel efficiency is definitely determined by rpm. It's lovely to be able to drive in whatever gear I want. Third, Fourth, Fifth or Sixth are all fine for highway driving. However, the fuel efficiency is highest in third, and lowest in sixth.

[jonmorrison19]

I get 15 if i'm lucky
i think it might be the turbos

[BrendanDolan]

I get between 15-18 in my DD, and that's fine by me. Short 7 mile commute, and I like having a well of torque under my right foot. She'll turn 28mpg on the freeway, so it's not all bad.

When I drove 20k miles a year in college, the 30 mpg my Jetta averaged wasn't good enough, but at 8k miles a year, 15 is just fine.

[XPcarguy]

I care more about other people's mileage than my own. I'm so sick of being stuck behind some tool trying to "hypermile" between fillups that the "flow" is usually 30 mph in a 45. I see it all the time, every single day. If you can't afford your gas, take the bus. Don't slow down the world b/c you have to check your check register when you get to the Chevron.

Sorry, that vent was not directed at you.

But honestly, I don't care. I'd like to get better mileage between home and work b/c that drive isn't fun. When I'm having fun (weekends, nights, trackdays, autox, road trips), I don't give it a second thought. IMO if you're getting good mileage in a sportscar, you are wasting your sportscar.

I'd drive the new VW 200 mpg phallic mobile (prototype) to work if it were available. But when I'm trying to enjoy myself, I'll drive what is fast enough, sexy enough, and/or comfortable enough.

FWIW I've maxed out my OBC reading at 99.9 mpg going 80 mph in neutral down the grapevine (curiosity). I've gotten 7 mpg on the track. And I normally get 15-24 mpg around town.

[NMRJock]

I get around 48 mpg overall in my daily ('00 TDI Jetta) and we have a new TDI on order. For me, acceptable fuel economy is a moving target. If I'm buying a FWD commuter, I want high 40's because I know that I can have it. But if I am looking at 'fun' cars, then I am willing to drive something that gets half that. I'd be willing to take RS4 fuel economy to drive an RS4.

My truck gets like 12.5 mpg overall, but I hardly drive it (Though I do have to take it to OH this weekend ).

[codymac]

Originally Posted by XPcarguy

But honestly, I don't care. I'd like to get better mileage between home and work b/c that drive isn't fun. When I'm having fun (weekends, nights, trackdays, autox, road trips), I don't give it a second thought. IMO if you're getting good mileage in a sportscar, you are wasting your sportscar.

There's only one thing about your position which you should adjust - if the drive between home and work isn't fun, you should find a better route!


Aside from that, I'm 100% in agreement!
Don't like it? Walk!