Best / Worst Top-10 Fuel Economy Cars of 2005

[I love my 5 Series]

I had to pick up an H2 last year (drove from Pasadena to West side of Valley). Trip computer said 8 MPG mostly highway and that was at 75 MPH max.

Also, I've seen Prius deliver mid 50 MPG. I drove a Nissan Sentra (rated 34MPG highway) from West side of Valley to Dana Point and trip computer said 38 MPG (little stop and go, but mostly 75 MPH).

The trip computer on our 540i says 24 MPG at 95MPH and 27 MPH at 65 MPH. Not much difference for such a large speed difference.

 

[shadymilkman]

Then again, if you can afford a Murcielago- 60 bucks for a tank of gas really isnt a big deal now is it....

 

[epj3]

Then again, if you can afford a Murcielago- 60 bucks for a tank of gas really isnt a big deal now is it....

Eactly. Though, $70 of gas in my 89 535i IS a big deal

Sorry die hard "everything but bmw sucks" members, but my 5er just isn't as much fun as a lamborghini probably is.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

Then again, if you can afford a Murcielago- 60 bucks for a tank of gas really isnt a big deal now is it....

Actually if you can afford a car to drive in general, $60 a tank isn't a big deal either... IMHO if you can't afford gas you shouldn't own a car or be driving at all.

When I was in Germany 10 years ago I remember how my uncle would pull a 100 mark note out of his wallet to fill the gas tank in his Opel. It's high time Americans pay the same price for fuel and the price for driving large high-powered vehicles. There is always public transportation, and if the demand rose it would be met sufficiently...

 

[epj3]

Actually if you can afford a car to drive in general, $60 a tank isn't a big deal either... IMHO if you can't afford gas you shouldn't own a car or be driving at all.

When I was in Germany 10 years ago I remember how my uncle would pull a 100 mark note out of his wallet to fill the gas tank in his Opel. It's high time Americans pay the same price for fuel and the price for driving large high-powered vehicles. There is always public transportation, and if the demand rose it would be met sufficiently...

Yea you're right, the 10 miles each direction to college (hence, I'm a college student) is real cheap. $4 to get to school and back, 4 days a week that's $16 in gas alone plus the 5 days a week I have to drive to work. 1/3 my already small paycheck is spent on gas. So bite it, speak for yourself jackass. I can afford it but I have a right to bitch, since in the past $40 would fill my tank, now its taking $70. Thats a lot less money to use to pay off college bills and insurance..
Around here there is no public transportation. In fact except for LARGE cities, most places in the US barely have a county wide bus service. we do but it's not anywhere close to me, and would end up costing more.

 

[Average Jae]

Actually if you can afford a car to drive in general, $60 a tank isn't a big deal either... IMHO if you can't afford gas you shouldn't own a car or be driving at all.

When I was in Germany 10 years ago I remember how my uncle would pull a 100 mark note out of his wallet to fill the gas tank in his Opel. It's high time Americans pay the same price for fuel and the price for driving large high-powered vehicles. There is always public transportation, and if the demand rose it would be met sufficiently...

don't tell that to the people living paycheck to paycheck and has to think about the impact the gas prices has on a daily living expense.

sure you pay a lot in gas living in such countries, but they usually offer an alternative: ie mass trans, which is quite lacking across the country in the states. i love how i can hop on the el, the bart or... wait, none of them can take me to work or school. SINCE I HAVE ACCESS TO NONE!!

Steve, it must be nice to live in the NYC and roll a bimmer there, but your blanket statement does nothing, just like the goggles for the radio active man.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

Yea you're right, the 10 miles each direction to college (hence, I'm a college student) is real cheap. $4 to get to school and back, 4 days a week that's $16 in gas alone plus the 5 days a week I have to drive to work. 1/3 my already small paycheck is spent on gas. So bite it, speak for yourself jackass. I can afford it but I have a right to bitch, since in the past $40 would fill my tank, now its taking $70. Thats a lot less money to use to pay off college bills and insurance..
Around here there is no public transportation. In fact except for LARGE cities, most places in the US barely have a county wide bus service. we do but it's not anywhere close to me, and would end up costing more.

boooooohooooohoooo... the above post is exactly why those who can't afford to pay for gas shouldn't be driving. If you can't afford to drive by yourself then go carpool or buy a corolla or civic which uses less gas than that big I6 in that BMW. You're just upset because your lavish lifestlye and its privileges are being somewhat toned down. It's high time you deny some of life's pleasures and learn to sacrifice... Last but not least nobody is infringing upon a hounds right to vocally express itself.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

don't tell that to the people living paycheck to paycheck and has to think about the impact the gas prices has on a daily living expense.

sure you pay a lot in gas living in such countries, but they usually offer an alternative: ie mass trans, which is quite lacking across the country in the states. i love how i can hop on the el, the bart or... wait, none of them can take me to work or school. SINCE I HAVE ACCESS TO NONE!!

Steve, it must be nice to live in the NYC and roll a bimmer there, but your blanket statement does nothing, just like the goggles for the radio active man.

The people living from paycheck to paycheck aren't poor or making sacrifices if they drive expensive cars or SUVs and can't go anywhere without their cars. That point is about as rediculous as NYC taxi drivers who claimed they couldn't afford dinner tonight because gas prices went up 10 cents... from $2.10 to say $2.20 around then...

Jae... My main point was to say that the reason why we have these gas prices and problems is due to the fact that we buy these high performance engines and SUV's instead of a 150 inch long 80hp car which would get us 30-40mpg. Look at the new marketing ploys used by auto manufactures it's HP, 0-60 times, and SIZE. Also the extra $20 a tank isn't going to make or break anyone, people need to leave the car home or cut down on lifes pleasures... afterall the oil wont be here forever.

As for the transportation comment I was implying that if gasoline were $10 a gallon and the outcry was huge the government would provide more public transportation it's a simple issue of supply, lack of supply, and demand. Maybe it would make us all a better society, and driving would be looked at more as a privilege than a right.

 

[shadymilkman]

The people living from paycheck to paycheck aren't poor or making sacrifices if they drive expensive cars or SUVs and can't go anywhere without their cars. That point is about as rediculous as NYC taxi drivers who claimed they couldn't afford dinner tonight because gas prices went up 10 cents... from $2.10 to say $2.20 around then...

Jae... My main point was to say that the reason why we have these gas prices and problems is due to the fact that we buy these high performance engines and SUV's instead of a 150 inch long 80hp car which would get us 30-40mpg. Look at the new marketing ploys used by auto manufactures it's HP, 0-60 times, and SIZE. Also the extra $20 a tank isn't going to make or break anyone, people need to leave the car home or cut down on lifes pleasures... afterall the oil wont be here forever.

As for the transportation comment I was implying that if gasoline were $10 a gallon and the outcry was huge the government would provide more public transportation it's a simple issue of supply, lack of supply, and demand. Maybe it would make us all a better society, and driving would be looked at more as a privilege than a right.

I'm sorry, I don't care where you live, this is unacceptable:

Yes I am perfectly aware that people in Europe are paying twice what we are, but there are reasons for that. I could go into the socio economic factors as to why we deserve and get lower gas prices, but everyone can look it up if they dont already know it. The point is, when gas prices inflate to retarded amounts in a matter of weeks, then it's no surprise people are going to start bitching about it... and rightfully so. 60 dollars for gas is UNACCEPTABLE!

 

[epj3]

boooooohooooohoooo... the above post is exactly why those who can't afford to pay for gas shouldn't be driving. If you can't afford to drive by yourself then go carpool or buy a corolla or civic which uses less gas than that big I6 in that BMW. You're just upset because your lavish lifestlye and its privileges are being somewhat toned down. It's high time you deny some of life's pleasures and learn to sacrifice... Last but not least nobody is infringing upon a hounds right to vocally express itself.

Man, are you blind? I said I can afford it but why pay $3.80/gallon when it used to be $1.49? Thats a lot more money I could use on other stuff. My lifestyle is HARD from lavish. I haven't owned EITHER of my cars for the reason you have. I bought them because of the cars they are, not what other people (who dont matter) think. I think you're an ignorant son of a bitch, and you're the kind of person who is the reason for all the "bmw drivers are pricks" jokes.

Not to mention $20/tank is a lot when you're already paying for school, insurance, all maintainence, and gas and only making <$150/week. Maybe you came from a rich family but the LARGE majority of america isn't.

 

[Average Jae]

here's my point on gas prices. those that think we deserve the high gas prices usually brings up the SUV argument. along w/ well.. they have way higher prices in Europe and other nations. I don't drive a SUV, but having a high gas price still sucks. even if i'm getting good milage, $3+ a gallon is $3+ a gallon.

yes we don't pay the prices we pay out in europe, or other nations, but you have to remember that you also don't have to travel miles on end to get anywhere, (NYC excluded) like we do in most of US. oh and as for the outcry for public transportation? i sure as hell am gonna raise hell over rising taxes to cover the public transportation that may or may not cover the area that i live in. mass trans only works in highly populated places, there aren't too many cities like that in the states imo.

if you are an idealistic person and live up to your ideals and your comments then, all the power to you, and i can't say anything about that. (really with zero sarcasm) but i tend to see myself as a realist and i can't possibly say such things as "driving being looked at more as a privilege than a right." where i live, in the midwest; driving is a freakin necessity, not a privilege. and if your commute is 30mins + each way, then raising gas prices sure will hurt, SUVed or not.

even with your touted 80hp car, most people buy cars that they can afford to run. if the gas prices doubled, your gas budget will double, and will suck either way. i think the bigger issue w/ rising gas prices isn't the demand created by SUVs, but rather OPEC cutting production and China's new craving for gas. at least blame the right parties.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

Man, are you blind? I said I can afford it but why pay $3.80/gallon when it used to be $1.49? Thats a lot more money I could use on other stuff. My lifestyle is HARD from lavish. I haven't owned EITHER of my cars for the reason you have. I bought them because of the cars they are, not what other people (who dont matter) think. I think you're an ignorant son of a bitch, and you're the kind of person who is the reason for all the "bmw drivers are pricks" jokes.

Not to mention $20/tank is a lot when you're already paying for school, insurance, all maintainence, and gas and only making <$150/week. Maybe you came from a rich family but the LARGE majority of america isn't.

I stopped reading half way through your garbage post, and all I can say in regards to you is RIGHT BACK AT YOU. I could not care any lesser in regards to what your ignorant, egoistical, low class self has to say. Go post whore to someone else... Don't like my opinions then DON'T RESPOND TO THEM OR READ MY THREADS.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

here's my point on gas prices. those that think we deserve the high gas prices usually brings up the SUV argument. along w/ well.. they have way higher prices in Europe and other nations. I don't drive a SUV, but having a high gas price still sucks. even if i'm getting good milage, $3+ a gallon is $3+ a gallon.

yes we don't pay the prices we pay out in europe, or other nations, but you have to remember that you also don't have to travel miles on end to get anywhere, (NYC excluded) like we do in most of US. oh and as for the outcry for public transportation? i sure as hell am gonna raise hell over rising taxes to cover the public transportation that may or may not cover the area that i live in. mass trans only works in highly populated places, there aren't too many cities like that in the states imo.

if you are an idealistic person and live up to your ideals and your comments then, all the power to you, and i can't say anything about that. (really with zero sarcasm) but i tend to see myself as a realist and i can't possibly say such things as "driving being looked at more as a privilege than a right." where i live, in the midwest; driving is a freakin necessity, not a privilege. and if your commute is 30mins + each way, then raising gas prices sure will hurt, SUVed or not.

even with your touted 80hp car, most people buy cars that they can afford to run. if the gas prices doubled, your gas budget will double, and will suck either way. i think the bigger issue w/ rising gas prices isn't the demand created by SUVs, but rather OPEC cutting production and China's new craving for gas. at least blame the right parties.

You've missed the point, we have an oil/gas problem and it's not going to get any better unless we cut down severely on usage... to those who cannot do anything but drive due to their location then thats unfortunate and they're stuck paying these high prices. In other words they're getting shafted and there is nothing I or anyone else can really do about it. I agree that China's new hunger for oil and OPEC trying to preserve their inventories is raising gas prices but you have to understand that 1/3 of all people in America don't need to drive an SUV which gets 10-15mpg.

As for driving being more of a privilege than a right, I've said that before and heard it said by plenty of others before including this board... I also think the government would run more efficiently as opposed to paying 100k salaries to bureaucrats, if we had that big of an energy crisis. They can't raise taxes, nobody will be able to pay them. Lets all just sit and pray this never happens, but I have a feeling $3 a gallon is here to stay.

 

[Average Jae]

1/3 of America = nearly 12% of all registered vehicles? according to gm anyway.
pick up trucks also guzzle gas like crazy, is all over the south from what i hear. (haven't been there, so what do i know?) but the its always the SUVs that get the dubious mention.
i'm not a fan of SUVs, but i hate the SUV bashers for the sake of it.

i don't have any access to statistics that says getting SUVs off the road help will cut down severely on usage. so if you do, please enlighten me. but i have this sneaking suspicion that OPEC's reduction on production and China's higher demand is way higher on the reason for high gas prices than gas usage of 12% of cars on the road.

some research:
primary oil usageUS is of course leading the way.
we are not that bad per capita
per $ GDP
i don't know how much that helps, but i think those in the industry could help more w/ stats.

 

[epj3]

I stopped reading half way through your garbage post, and all I can say in regards to you is RIGHT BACK AT YOU. I could not care any lesser in regards to what your ignorant, egoistical, low class self has to say. Go post whore to someone else... Don't like my opinions then DON'T RESPOND TO THEM OR READ MY THREADS.

HAHA Ooookaaay!!!

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

I have nothing else to say, way to hijack jimmy's thread... I will say that I'll be the very last to complain when gas hits $10 a gallon. EVERYTHING happens for a reason, the old saying, whoever laughs last laughs best comes into play here.

 

[blondboinsd]

I think if anyone is patheic its you mr i'm so good, I happen to drive an x5 and I hate gas prices and i'm rich but it still pisses me off, so if you think your such a hot shot with you 330 *cough* then go elsewhere and be classless and snobby because those of us who drive bmw for the love of it have far better things to do then listen to you talk down to people because you somehow think your cool which hate to break it to ya is one misleading lie your living, cheers!

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

I think if anyone is patheic its you mr i'm so good, I happen to drive an x5 and I hate gas prices and i'm rich but it still pisses me off, so if you think your such a hot shot with you 330 *cough* then go elsewhere and be classless and snobby because those of us who drive bmw for the love of it have far better things to do then listen to you talk down to people because you somehow think your cool which hate to break it to ya is one misleading lie your living, cheers!

Who said I drove a BMW for the image? Who? Where did you get that? Who said I was snobby or talking down to anyone? You exemplify pathetic along with your X5... Also who exactly is "us with a BMW for the love it"? Are all the voices in your head in agreement? Who do you think you are to jump in knowing nothing and talking crap. Mind your place.

 

[epj3]

I have nothing else to say, way to hijack jimmy's thread... I will say that I'll be the very last to complain when gas hits $10 a gallon. EVERYTHING happens for a reason, the old saying, whoever laughs last laughs best comes into play here.

When people my age can't afford to drive to school, and the only people who can are rich pricks, it's just gonna suck when you are put in a retirement home and the only people working there are rich spoiled pricks who will treat you like shit.

 

[Big Daddy]

No more name calling! I will enforce the Terms of Service on any violators from hence forth. Like it has been said before, heated debate is a good thing, but lets respect each other and end the name calling.