Will Your Next Car Be Fuel Efficient?

[darren19]

My car lease ends in June 2009, I currently have a 2005 Golf with a 115hp engine which consumes 9.8 L/100 km in the city. It's okay but not that great for the size of the car.

The Saturn Astra(3 doors) could be my next one. It was imported from the German manufacturer Opel, it does 8.5 L/100 km with a 138hp engine. Also comes with standard 17" wheels!! ...and 18" for not much more!!

[koreysecord1992]

I ride a bike...one of the more fuel efficient vehicles. Though it isn't out of any desire to be "green." It's cheaper, easier, and I don't need a car at the moment.

[Glory_Days]

I take the bus to get to school. But often enough, to get around town, i will take my mom's car. It's a Honda CR-V, which has an average of more or less 14.5 litres/100km. It's already an upgrade compared to the Tribute we had before. But i don't go far or drive it often enough to think about the gas...

[mortwinkler]

I actually did the stupidest thing in terms of vehicle buying.

Two years ago I bought a Dodge Dakota truck. It's not a big truck, but it is horrible on gas.

I tried to see if I could trade it in, but I haven't been paying long enough so they'd need an additional $8,000.

Then I tried to sell it privatley and no luck with that either.

So for now I'm stuck with it.

I learned a valuable lesson though - next time, no trucks and next time I'm going to lease.

[lfrommtl]

dont have a car yet.

but when i get one.

fuel efficient. no doubt about it.

[Johnny_rudeboy]

I ride a bike...one of the more fuel efficient vehicles. Though it isn't out of any desire to be "green." It's cheaper, easier, and I don't need a car at the moment.

I did that for many years especially when I went to university; because I loved (and still do love) biking.

I did not get my license until I was 24 years old: after which I would rent one when I needed one, and I did not own a car until I was 28 (4 years later).

If I lived in a big city again I would get rid of my car, walk, bike and take the bus in the winter to get around. Mostly because it is a lot cheaper and healthier.

[Bumblebee_mtl]

I got an Echo Hatchback (2004 5-door automatic, bought it the week they came out) and the tank lasts me two weeks usually. (Especially when I miss rush hour traffic; I drive from Dollard to Namur metro and back daily, which is about 20km each way). It used to cost 20$ to fill up too, but now with the gas prices it's 30-35$. But they're hard to find. My mom has a Yaris Hatchback though and it's got about the same gas mileage but fits 5 people as opposed to my car that only fits 4. Oh, and they're bigger on the inside ;D Tardis car!

If mine ever dies on me I'll probably get a Yaris myself, though I do like the new Matrix even though it's got a bigger(ish) engine. I love these cars.

[GreekHockeyCoach]

My Mercedes only takes premium fuel so I'm screwed

My wife's Mercedes SUV only takes premium fuel so I'm screwed

The problem is that when you get used to a certain type of luxury car, it's hard to give it up and go back to a Huyndai Pony which was my first car when I was 16.

Without wanting to act or sound arrogant I'll say that most people won't give up their toys if they can afford them regardless of what the gas prices are.

[tmash]

This poll is very misleading. For one thing, getting a compact normal car is better than getting a hybrid SUV for example. For another, if "alternate fuel" means ethanol, this does not make a car fuel efficient nor is it good for the environment. Ethanol is one of the worst things that could have happened to the environment, at least as far as global warming goes. Not to mention how it is driving up food prices and causing people in third world countries to starve. Ethanol is one of the biggest scams around. Hybrids aren't a total scam, however, they are not as great as people say. A non-hybrid that gets 20mpg is better than a hybrid that gets 19mpg.

[GreekHockeyCoach]

This poll is very misleading. For one thing, getting a compact normal car is better than getting a hybrid SUV for example. For another, if "alternate fuel" means ethanol, this does not make a car fuel efficient nor is it good for the environment. Ethanol is one of the worst things that could have happened to the environment, at least as far as global warming goes. Not to mention how it is driving up food prices and causing people in third world countries to starve. Ethanol is one of the biggest scams around. Hybrids aren't a total scam, however, they are not as great as people say. A non-hybrid that gets 20mpg is better than a hybrid that gets 19mpg.

One of my colleagues at work bought the Lexus Hybrid SUV, the R400h. Although it's really nice it still only gets about 18 miles to the gallon and is about 8 thousand dollars more than the regular one. Although I agree that the hybrids are not a total scam, you're not actually saving any money on gas when you factor in the extra money that you have to spend in order to get one.

[darren19]

One of my colleagues at work bought the Lexus Hybrid SUV, the R400h. Although it's really nice it still only gets about 18 miles to the gallon and is about 8 thousand dollars more than the regular one. Although I agree that the hybrids are not a total scam, you're not actually saving any money on gas when you factor in the extra money that you have to spend in order to get one.

Lexus Hybrid SUV, that's like a really bad oxymoron... but it's true that most hybrids on the market are meduim size sedans and SUVs which kinda defeats the real purpose of hybrid technology.

...and what's a gallon? It drives me nuts when people use the imperial system...

[King-Carey-31]

here is my question, what happened to synthetic fuels?

[royownsall]

Yo! I ride the bus!! Yo lol

[GreekHockeyCoach]

Lexus Hybrid SUV, that's like a really bad oxymoron... but it's true that most hybrids on the market are meduim size sedans and SUVs which kinda defeats the real purpose of hybrid technology.

...and what's a gallon? It drives me nuts when people use the imperial system...

LMAO, I've been living in the U.S. for a few years now because my work brought me here and I'm using their lingo now

P.S. One gallon equals approx. 4 litres

[Johnny_rudeboy]

LMAO, I've been living in the U.S. for a few years now because my work brought me here and I'm using their lingo now

P.S. One gallon equals approx. 4 litres

And the US gallon is smaller than the Imperial gallon.

[Mauro-Biello]

Hybrid technology is not advanced enough yet to be used by people. The mileage they get from testing only happens under controlled conditions and you probably won't ever get that from driving around town. Plus the production and the getting rid of batteries is totally not environmentally friendly. Getting a sub-compact would definately be better for now.

I live in a suburbanish part of Montreal that's relatively close to NDG/CDN so I get off pretty with public transportation. But for doing groceries and other stuff it's a lot less of a pain to use a car. My parents drive an early 2000ish V6 Camry and a 96 civic sedan. I've always believed in good functional urban planning, so I don't think I would ever want to get a car, unless I'll be forced to live in a remote region. I probably won't be able to afford one anytime soon anyways, I'd rather save up to live on my own than live with parents and own a car.

[gracie12]

my last 3 cars have all been civics & all roughly around the 1L = 20/22 KM. Not too bad - although the fill ups used to be $20 and are now close to $40. At least my commute is only 5k each way instead of the 40 I used to do. I really should start riding my bike in the summer though.

[ryan_go_habs]

My 1997 Sunfire gives me 8.5L/100km.

[tmash]

Interesting article: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...18?s_name=Autos

[JuniorSTLB]

It will be whether it's gas or Hybrid. I drive 25 minutes to work Im not taking any buses. Then I like to go out to the mall which is about 20 minutes from me. So I need a car.

[Randy15]

Presently, I leave my car at my office and take masstransit to work. I use the car for weekend trips or work related business meetings. Its a 6 cylinder mazda 6 and I love its acceleration on the highways even though I know Im burning up gasoline doing it.

That being said, cars are a luxury item Ive never really scene the allure to. I hate the feel of driving SUVs, Ive always been a coupe, stick shift, speeder. This is my first 'fast' car, and even with the 6 cylinder i get about 22-25 mpg on the highway, and I have no problem going back to a 4 cylinder stick shift, 29 mpg cruiser in the future.

In societies driven by capitalism i.e. U.S. & Canada, change is only effectuated via the dollar. People might hold onto their SUVs for now, but at $7.50 a gallon....they will be a fading memory. It wont be today or next year, but in 5-10 years we will all be driving around like present day europeans in what by today's, north american standards are miniature cars. Economics trumps aesthetics 100% of the time.

[dfrancis]

i don't have a car yet, but when i get my license, i will probably be driving a 2003 toyota corolla (mom's car) and its pretty good on gas. i will probably end up getting a toyota or some small 6 cylinder car for my own car.

[Johnny_rudeboy]

Presently, I leave my car at my office and take masstransit to work. I use the car for weekend trips or work related business meetings. Its a 6 cylinder mazda 6 and I love its acceleration on the highways even though I know Im burning up gasoline doing it.

That being said, cars are a luxury item Ive never really scene the allure to. I hate the feel of driving SUVs, Ive always been a coupe, stick shift, speeder. This is my first 'fast' car, and even with the 6 cylinder i get about 22-25 mpg on the highway, and I have no problem going back to a 4 cylinder stick shift, 29 mpg cruiser in the future.

In societies driven by capitalism i.e. U.S. & Canada, change is only effectuated via the dollar. People might hold onto their SUVs for now, but at $7.50 a gallon....they will be a fading memory. It wont be today or next year, but in 5-10 years we will all be driving around like present day europeans in what by today's, north american standards are miniature cars. Economics trumps aesthetics 100% of the time.

Actually it is very cyclical. There was the so called gas shortage in the 1970s, then there was the move to more fuel efficient cars in the 1980s and even early 1990s. In the late 1990s and early 2000s gas prices dropped again and SUVs and trucks were all the rage.

Shoot I just got rid of my 1995 Neon last winter. When I bought it the mileage was 50 mpg on the highway and 39 mpg in the city. Now 13 years later there are a few new cars that are starting to meet that standard again. I have a few family members who worked and still work in the auto industry. The car manufacturers could change the gear ratios to increase fuel efficiency.

It is business and in order to make money off oil you have to use it. I have a relative working in the Tar Sands and he told me that it only costs $28 to extract a barrel of oil from the ground (taking into account the high labour costs right now) and in Saudi Arabia it costs about $1 as it requires less of a process to refine it.

Right now the war is eating up oil like crazy (and oil companies limiting the amount they are refining); from tanks and planes to ships and everything in between. If the war in IRAQ and Afghanistan ever ends then you will see a drastic drop in oil demand and a drop in gas prices. Until then the Oil Companies will continue to set new record profits every year. Small cars are on the horizon within the next 2-5 years but when oil prices do drop again then most likely luxury will once again be a priority.

[GreekHockeyCoach]

Actually it is very cyclical. There was the so called gas shortage in the 1970s, then there was the move to more fuel efficient cars in the 1980s and even early 1990s. In the late 1990s and early 2000s gas prices dropped again and SUVs and trucks were all the rage.

Shoot I just got rid of my 1995 Neon last winter. When I bought it the mileage was 50 mpg on the highway and 39 mpg in the city. Now 13 years later there are a few new cars that are starting to meet that standard again. I have a few family members who worked and still work in the auto industry. The car manufacturers could change the gear ratios to increase fuel efficiency.

It is business and in order to make money off oil you have to use it. I have a relative working in the Tar Sands and he told me that it only costs $28 to extract a barrel of oil from the ground (taking into account the high labour costs right now) and in Saudi Arabia it costs about $1 as it requires less of a process to refine it.

Right now the war is eating up oil like crazy (and oil companies limiting the amount they are refining); from tanks and planes to ships and everything in between. If the war in IRAQ and Afghanistan ever ends then you will see a drastic drop in oil demand and a drop in gas prices. Until then the Oil Companies will continue to set new record profits every year. Small cars are on the horizon within the next 2-5 years but when oil prices do drop again then most likely luxury will once again be a priority.

Excellent post. Let's not forget the strength of the Euro that's also causing gas prices to go up in North America. Also, the reason that gas prices are higher in Canada than the U.S. is because of taxes. In the U.S. people write and complain to their congressman and you'll be surprised to learn that in most states, charge no tax for gas. In others, it's only about 5-7%. I believe in Quebec, the taxes on gas are about 35%.

[darren19]

Actually it is very cyclical. There was the so called gas shortage in the 1970s, then there was the move to more fuel efficient cars in the 1980s and even early 1990s. In the late 1990s and early 2000s gas prices dropped again and SUVs and trucks were all the rage.

This time, I think the price for oil is irreversible. We might see a little drop but nothing more.