Miles per gallon or smiles per mile?

[zoomzoom]

I'm leaving trucks and large SUV's out of this as I believe they're in a different category.

If you have a sedan or small to mid-sized SUV, what is more important to you?

Miles per gallon or smiles per mile? Let's assume reliability isn't really an issue since they're all "pretty good" compared to yesteryear.

MPG's are pretty self explanatory, get you there cheaply and without fuss. Smiles per mile are something more personal and have to do with the performance of the vehicle and how it makes you "feel" when driving.

I live in a very rural, hilly, narrow/bouncy road area. I can say that I hate driving a vehicle with a lackluster personality. Sloppy suspension and/or an engine with inadequate power... We have a new Toyota RAV-4 in the driveway and it just struggles in our area. Engine rev's are 3000+ just climbing hills.

I NEED smiles! A crisp ride with plenty of power! If it's a 4-banger, it better have turbo. I prefer a 6-cyl. It needs to go 0-60 in under 7 seconds.

What say you?

 

[Amish Heart]

Smiles. I like my Challenger.

 

[Tirediron]

Most small chassis "big" engine combos get better fuel milage in real world use anyway, sure the tiny engin can get milage on a flat concrete road.

 

[d_marsh]

Smiles. I like my Challenger.

 

[zoomzoom]

This is what I just traded in (internet photo) and it was over 20 years old.
Personal preference but I'd say your cars are "almost" as pretty as mine. Love the stance of the Dodge but I think this one is more sexy.
I really loved this car. Gas mileage was sh!t for the most part but damn, how it performed.

 

[d_marsh]

This is what I just traded in (internet photo) and it was over 20 years old.
Personal preference but I'd say your cars are "almost" as pretty as mine. Love the stance of the Dodge but I think this one is more sexy.
I really loved this car. Gas mileage was sh!t for the most part but damn, how it performed.

View attachment 161812

I guess if you're into white Germans, cough cough.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I only care about performance for any of my vehicles. Don't care about gas mileage during a blizzard or in deep mud.

 

[zoomzoom]

I guess if you're into white Germans, cough cough.

My wife is white Polish. Definitely a sexier, more aggressive storm than any BMW can think about.

 

[Tim Horton]

As a farm, work vehicle of most any size goes, if you need the work done, you got to feed it what ever it takes.. My old Super Duty, Mack, John Deere were tools that required feeding to be productive..

Every since high school I have had a habit of making the most millage out of a gallon of gas, rubber tire, or any vehicle I have owned.. Looks, fashion, status symbol of a vehicle has never been important to me.. That doesn't mean I don't take care of my vehicles, just that I don't spend extra on them..

 

[Amish Heart]

View attachment 161811

That looks like mine. A very dark grey with a little sparkle to it. V8

 

[Bacpacker]

I've got a 2005 camry as a DD. My Truck, 2008 Tundra Long Bed is my fun vehicle.

 

[zoomzoom]

I've got a 2005 camry as a DD.

I too love the old Toyota sedans (mine are older than your 2005). We have an old Avalon that just won't stop. It's got a V6, no rust and will run forever. My son's old Camry is going on 200,000 miles. Still runs OK.

The old Camry is one of those that has ZERO smiles. Just an old reliable 4-banger that has just enough umph to get out of its own way.

 

[Bacpacker]

I gets me to work and back every day. 30mph ain't great, but not terrible. It's got 130,000 on it, or something like that. FUGLY as it can be and paint is badly faded, but no rust. I'm sure I can get as much out of it as I paid for it after driving it for 5-6 years. I plan to get about 2 more years then sell it just before I retire

 

[UserNameTaken]

We have a '99 Jeep TJ and a 2010 Corvette, both are smiles, not miles. About 14mpg each. My F150 gets 21mpg and it'll go up hills just fine. Also the most luxurious vehicle I've owned except a suicide door Lincoln - now that was a car, and like 8 mpg. I once found a family of gypsies living in the trunk, with room to spare.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

I had a Boxster S for smiles. My 2500 gives me just as many smiles, but maybe not as fast.

 

[Tirediron]

A friend of mine has a 2012 camry, it is a pretty decent car, it has a tiny 4 banger but it has a very decent power level, and good on gas, I wanted to scale it and see how heavy but it never happened.

 

[teeceetx]

2023 Audi S6 ... Smiles per gallon ... this car is a real sleeper ... 444 hp. Gas mileage is acceptable.

 

[d_marsh]

2023 Audi S6 ... Smiles per gallon ... this car is a real sleeper ... 444 hp. Gas mileage is acceptable.

View attachment 161845

Hey! The lady has an S6 or maybe an S5. Hers is a sportback or something like that.

 

[teeceetx]

Hey! The lady has an S6 or maybe an S5. Hers is a sportback or something like that.

View attachment 161848

Looks like an S5 Sportback. Definitely not an S6 ... no Sportback S6. But there is an S7 Sportback.

Nice car! She has great taste!

 

[d_marsh]

Looks like an S5 Sportback. Definitely not an S6 ... no Sportback S6. But there is an S7 Sportback.

Nice car! She has great taste!

Must be an S5 then. It's a very smooth and responsive driver and the sound system is fantastic. The daughter has her old car which is also an Audi, but it's like a hatchback. I want to say A4. It's a bronze or goldish brown color.

 

[Tommyice]

I haven't had a car since I got my first truck/suv 30 years ago. Last one was a 1992 Cougar--cherry red, V8--that thing would $h!t and git. Only problem--it was like driving a squirrel on roller skates during the winters up here no matter how much weight I put into the trunk; the engine was too big for the weight of the body. Prior to that I had a 1986 Thunderbird--pure white and also a V8--had a ground effects package on that one. The T-bird was my favorite.

 

[LadyLocust]

I have a ‘90 bronco for smiles. We won’t talk about miles there. I’ve had it since’97 or ‘98 and restored it. For miles I have a Mitsubishi Mirage. It gets over 40 mpg, has 3 squirrels in a row. The first one I had was an ‘02. I sold in when it had about 320K miles and it was still getting 40 mpg. Called it the blue bullet - killed more deer than most rifles

@Amish Heart this is the same car my mom has. Talk about the little old lady from Pasadena.

 

[M0del_31]

Wife talked me into a new 2012 mustang...305hp 3.7L V6, a little slow off the line but a monster once the revs let it breath a little. 31+ mpg and a great grocery wagon.

 

[Amish Heart]

I have a ‘90 bronco for smiles. We won’t talk about miles there. I’ve had it since’97 or ‘98 and restored it. For miles I have a Mitsubishi Mirage. It gets over 40 mpg, has 3 squirrels in a row. The first one I had was an ‘02. I sold in when it had about 320K miles and it was still getting 40 mpg. Called it the blue bullet - killed more deer than most rifles

@Amish Heart this is the same car my mom has. Talk about the little old lady from Pasadena.
View attachment 161852

 

[Tim Horton]

Funny car story.....
On a whim my Canadian step son bought a ...Smart Car... He used it for a daily commuter for a round trip of about 120+ kilometers a day.. He did this for a bit less than 2 years for the duration of this assignment.. The little car had a 3 cylinder diesel motor and he said it ran something over 16 kilometers per liter of diesel.. The conversion is close to 60 miles per gallon..

Thing is he is a BIG guy.. I mean like Duane ..The Rock.. Johnson big.. I'm still a pretty good size even for an old guy.. One afternoon he and I piled into the Smart car to make a pizza run... About 40 kilometers into town.. We both bailed in the car and hit shoulders in the middle.. We had to take turns scrunching up to shut the doors individually.. We made the pizza run but it would not pull the 2 of us in high, 6th, gear.. I made a crack something like ...it is good we only ordered 3 pizzas or we would have to make another trip... He chuckled then told me to ..bugger off..

 

[Amish Heart]

Cool car, Lady L, cool Mom.
Hope she got the V8

I don't get to drive it much in the winter. We have dirt roads. Then I'm stuck with one of the Ford trucks with 4 wheel drive

 

[LadyLocust]

If you typed something, it’s not showing up.
Oops - kept reading. Yep V8.

 

[Amish Heart]

Don't know why it split like that, but it did.

 

[Tommyice]

Funny car story.....
On a whim my Canadian step son bought a ...Smart Car... He used it for a daily commuter for a round trip of about 120+ kilometers a day.. He did this for a bit less than 2 years for the duration of this assignment.. The little car had a 3 cylinder diesel motor and he said it ran something over 16 kilometers per liter of diesel.. The conversion is close to 60 miles per gallon..

Thing is he is a BIG guy.. I mean like Duane ..The Rock.. Johnson big.. I'm still a pretty good size even for an old guy.. One afternoon he and I piled into the Smart car to make a pizza run... About 40 kilometers into town.. We both bailed in the car and hit shoulders in the middle.. We had to take turns scrunching up to shut the doors individually.. We made the pizza run but it would not pull the 2 of us in high, 6th, gear.. I made a crack something like ...it is good we only ordered 3 pizzas or we would have to make another trip... He chuckled then told me to ..bugger off..

Aahhh Smart Cars. I've seen a few around here and everyone who drives them always looks like Magilla Gorilla.

 

[sonya123]

I think if you spend enough money you might be able to have both. We rented a small SUV in Germany and it was super nice AND powerful and got a ridiculous amount of gas mileage. I would buy one of those anytime if I could afford it .It was a VW Tiguan

we need our huge gas guzzling truck and Yukon to haul stuff , but if we just needed it to drive and maybe get groceries I think I would love to have one of those VWs