Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

International Fuel Consumption (Cars)

S

silbeej

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 3, 2007
797
0
Is it just me, or do European vehicles get much better fuel economy than those which are sold here in the states? I don't want to judge anyone, but come on, how about the companies sell us some decent vehicles here in America.
 
silbeej said:
Is it just me, or do European vehicles get much better fuel economy than those which are sold here in the states? I don't want to judge anyone, but come on, how about the companies sell us some decent vehicles here in America.
Click to expand...

It's you. We have Smart city cars and stuff too, you just don't see them because Americans don't care.

Here you are: http://www.smartusa.com/ 45 MPG highway... enjoy!
 
I didn't mean like those, i'm talking about diesel cars and such. Also, as i look at the US sites online, and those from Europe, the same car gets better mpg in the European car than the American car.
 
Yes, Americans don't like diesels, although I just looked at a few cars with the same engines here and there and they have about the same fuel economy.
 
I think that as fuel costs a hell of a lot cheaper over in the states, maybe people dont look at mpg as much as us brits do?

I get 42mpg out of my 2.7litre diesel on the motorway and i want more as the price is currently about £1.05 a litre! :(
 
Just for example, as far as i know, Europe is crazy about emissions, where as America could care less, but even if i'm wrong, here is an example i was talking about.

American Audi Q7 4.2 FSI Premium quattro 350hp: Consumption Combined 14mpg

European Audi Q7 S line 4.2 FSI quattro 350 PS: Combined 21.2 mpg, with 28.2 Highway

This is a huge difference. If i could get that European edition, i wouldn't be too turned off by SUV's.

Edit: The 4.2 american gets 14, not 17, which is the 3.6
 
silbeej said:
Europe is crazy about emissions, where as America could care less
Click to expand...

it's the other way around (for better or for worse), that is also why you don't see that many diesels in the U.S. (wouldn't say EU doesn't care, though). however, '08/'09 is supposed to be teh year that VW/AoA/honda to import diesels that meet all 50 states' emission standards.
 
Ok, i guess i was wrong on that emissions thing, but just look at my post about the Q7, that gas milage is insane. I also just did the conversion for the Audi A4 3.2, gets 26mpg combined, where as the American one is like 21 or soemthing.

Once again, it is 19, not 21.
 
i think someone should post up a "cost per mile" figure combined from petrol cost and average mpg in the states.

It costs me around 13 pence per mile in fuel, about 25 cents.
 
Now i don't want this to fall into a major cost of fuel/America sucks thread. All i wanted to know is why cars for say the UK market, get so much better fuel economy then cars for the US market. One thing that i was interested in finding out, is how far people in the UK have to drive to get places. I just looked at google maps, and although gas is cheaper here in the states compared to that in the UK, the US is also a lot bigger in area, and we usually have to drive longer distances to get anywhere. So, that being said, the UK gets twice as better fuel economy, and i would guess have to drive half as much. Thats how Smart cars and stuff work so well, because everything is a lot more compact, in say London for example. So no fighting, just raw facts please. And feel free to correct mine at any point.
 
I will however agree that us americans love our power and stuff. I heard on TV that if Texas were to separate from America, it would be the 8th largest polluting nation. Think over that for a bit.
 
silbeej said:
Ok, i guess i was wrong on that emissions thing, but just look at my post about the Q7, that gas milage is insane. I also just did the conversion for the Audi A4 3.2, gets 26mpg combined, where as the American one is like 21 or soemthing.
Click to expand...

You have to be careful with these conversions... combined fuel economy is notoriously dependent on the parameters of the test. Remember, the new US system has only just now gone into place is very aggressive. For example, the combined efficiency of the X5/3.0, a somewhat similar vehicle, went down by 2 mpg purely as a result of the test. That's almost half the difference between your figures in itself.

The other problem is that certain tests are overly kind or aggressive to certain vehicles. A good example is how much higher real-world fuel consumption of the first gen hybrids was than their posted fuel economy. This was quite notorious -- for instance, many people who were used to getting combined fuel economy above the US DOE ratings suddenly were getting 10-15 MPG less than the stated values for the first gen Prius (not that this is not impressive)....

The gearing of the US and EU versions is probably slightly different also, and the US emissions system probably does reduce economy at the cost of particulate and NOx emissions, which contributes to this as well, but I suspect a large part of the effect you're seeing is testing differences and not product differences.
 
I understand that America as a vast place, and that the UK pales in comparison, but I could never understand the need for such big cars in America.


My car is a little Ford Fiesta 1.25 16v petrol engine with a meager 74bhp. The highest speed limit in the UK is 70mph.

Ok, so I'm only 19 years old, and I don't need a big car etc. But the Fiesta is perfectly adequate for me. I get 43mpg round town (urban) and then when I make the 170 mile trip from where I stay in term-time to my home, sticking to 70mph (all motorway driving) I get 48mpg.

Perfect for me. In fact, I'm gonna try and get hold of one of the 1.4TDCi models, as my stepmum used to have one and regularly got over 55mpg urban and close to 70mpg highway. I want one. I don't mind the higher fuel costs of around £1.05/litre as opposed to £1.02/litre for unleaded, as it would work out. Plus the road tax is ridiculously cheap thanks to it's low emissions. Win-win for both the planet and my pocket. Thank you Ford.
 
Yes, i do drive around wondering why so many people have massive SUV's. My plan is to have an SUV and an estate/sedan, whichever i decide on. I'll end up using the regular car most of the time, but there are times when you want to pack a lot of people and gear, but then again, if i get a decent wagon, it will fit just as much. Many too many people here have trucks that don't need them. For example, i see tons of trucks just for the sake of having one, where as my neighbor is a home builder, thus needs one, but we could probably get rid of 75% of massive vehicles if only those who needed them had them.
 
The US has lower standards when it comes to gas milage. In fact, I may be wrong, but we might have one of the lowest standards.
 
Prof. said:
The US has lower standards when it comes to gas milage. In fact, I may be wrong, but we might have one of the lowest standards.
Click to expand...

Now that would disagree with a post from above, where the person stated that American has tighter restrictions than Europe. I would really like to see the facts on that one.
 
emissions ≠ fuel consumptions, and they may not be directly proportional.

emission refers to gas (or air pollutants) emitted as a result of combustion.
 
Euro has a lot stricter emissions rules. As such the engines are slightly less powered, but also a lot more efficient.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back