Sporty cars and fuel inefficiencies

In the UK there's similar anti-SUV and anti-4x4 sentiment, but it's not just about fuel economy. People dislike them because they are so big and brash which sends out bad vibes. Sports cars on the other hand are seen as fun, for the enjoyment of driving, and therefore with their additional prestige I guess attract less criticism.

Although they don't escape the same tax penalties as SUVs here; the annual road tax in the UK is determined by the amount of CO2 per kilometre produced by the car (the Prius is measured at 104g/km incidentally, one of the lowest), and the cost of this for the worst polluters has recently increased dramatically. Over the next couple of years, the maximum will increase further in stages to around 400 GBP (about 780 USD).

The Prius is in one of the lowest bands and attracts 35 GBP tax (around 65 USD) - one reason they're so popular right now, never mind its "green" credentials.

 

I have a Miata that gets anywhere from 22-30mpg depending on on how I drive it. I would say the difference really is that SUV's are the physical representation of how wasteful American society is, while sports cars just dont garner the same criticism. Why?... Sports cars are typically second cars and not driven every day like most SUV's seem to be. Plus, they just aren't as big and wasteful. Maybe not any better on fuel, but not hogging the road and the parking spaces like SUV's. Just a guess...

 

this is so right... european prefers hatchbacks for utility.. and diesel for fuel efficiency. and sports cars for fun. and in europe you'll never see a young lady driving her hummer to mcdonalds just to get a cheeseburger.

 

I just sold my Mercedes SLK,not only did it suck gas but it took supreme.
It sure was fun to drive tho.
I am old and ugly but this car had young chicks hitting on me.
Mama sure was glad to see her (the car) go!

 

420 hp and 25 mpg is not bad for the Corvette. The MB SLR I believe has almost 600 hp. These are top notch performance cars. Are you attempting to compare apples to oranges?

 

There are plenty of owners on corvetteforum.com reporting trip mileage in the high 20's/low 30's.

 

Commuting in my old 2000 C5 Corvette A4 would net 28mpg over 76 miles of driving at 75mph. Slowing down and a little more efficient driving would have put me over 30mpg easy. The 6-spd cars had it even better. The new C6 gets worse milage but puts out less pollution.

Kind of an impractical car in all other terms besides racing, cruising and chasing chicks. lol

I used to be a regular on Corvetteforum.com as well as the LS1 sites.

 

That's a very good point. Honestly I think it's because SUV's look more wasteful, which I suppose is rather silly. Also, where I live I see far more SUV's and pickup trucks than I see sports cars. Out of sight out of mind.

Also, and to me most importantly, I don't run into tons of sportscar owners who complain about gas prices.

 

There aren't as many of them, and their buyers don't get a tax deduction for buying them.

 

I had a 2006 Trailblazer SS. My friend has a 2007 Vette 6 speed manual with the same all aluminum engine. Trailblazer weighs around 4500 lbs and got an all time best hwy MPG of 15. The Vette gets 25-26 hwy all the time. It weighs around 3300 lbs. Aerodynamics, gearing and weight make a huge difference. The TBSS only comes with a 4.10 rear axle.

 

This is why I like our fuel sipping Celica and its 1.8L motor. It looks fast, but it's about as fast as a turd. At least I can get 32mpg highway in it!

 

Used to have a 78 Trans Am in high school with a built 455. Got about 9 mpg and you could literally see the needle on the gas gauge move as you drove. When I first got it I thought the gauge was broken. Back then gas was $1.

I was reading a review of the 08 Escalade recently and Motor Trend got 11mpg over a 500 mile drive. You would think GM could do better. I was thinking wow that thing must cost an arm and a leg to fill up with its 26 gallon tank and requiring premium. Sure my Trans Am was lighter but the engine was bigger than the Escalade's and it had a 4 barrel carb.

 

I have to point out that sporty cars have more then 4 cylinders and a larger displacement....

 

Not this one. 4 cyl 1.8 with avg 27mpg. 0-60 in 4.9sec. Top speed 150mph

 

^+1^
2008 prius touring

and 2007 exige S 0-60 in 4.1sec, top speed of 150mph, handles like a dream, and gets 25-29mpg

 

That's because it has a Toyota powerplant. I was always amazed by the Gurney Eagle Toyota that was racing in the IMSA endurance series. 700+ hp from a 2.1 liter turbo Toyota that ran in 1st place for 24 hrs straight without failure. Even heavy rain barely slowed the car down.

 

yea 1.8L vvtl-i 2zzge toyota engine that uses Lotus specific computers and a roots type supercharger LOL, did a trip calculation in my lotus today i am avg close to 30mpg's at about 75mph