These Are The Cars You'd Put Up With Horrible Gas Mileage To Daily Drive
Earlier this week I asked you to share what cars you would put up with horrible gas mileage to daily drive, something you love so much that fuel economy would be no concern no matter how bad. My example was the Mercedes-AMG G63, which despite going mild-hybrid for 2025 is still horrible inefficient. In a week with one I averaged just 9 mpg, and surely not all the blame goes to my potentially heavy right foot. Even though it has a 26-gallon fuel tank, and fill-ups would cost well over $100 every twice-weekly visit to the pump, I love that damn thing so much that I'd deal with it. (If I was actually in the G-wagen's price bracket, at least.)
You all came up with tons of answers — well over one hundred, in fact — so I've whittled it down to my favorite baker's dozen. Some of you even own or owned the inefficient cars you love, which makes this even better. I'm not gonna bother even including the people who just answers "none," because booooo, have some fun. Keep reading to see all of the cars your fellow readers love enough to overlook horrible gas mileage, and let us know your favorites in the comments.
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I currently daily a 4Runner with semi-dumb tires.......so that one?
brother me too.
Same, homie. And with the way these damn things run, I'll be driving it to my own funeral.
My 5th Gen 4Runner TRD Off Road
Daily drove 4runners since 2017. Weekend toy but no room for 3 vehicles in our household.
Decided to switch it up to a Bronco Raptor. Similar horrible mileage but 10x more fun. Puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it.
We do have an EV6 GT which is used by whomever has the longer drive most days...
Suggested by: anon, FUNHAVER, sclass88, Tom, Az_CRaig
I can't believe how many of you are out here dailying those old-ass gas-guzzling things. The new one seems like a big improvement, at least.
A '66 Lincoln Continental 4 door convertible. The hardtop I had got 9mpg on a good day and drank super unleaded.
But I would GLADLY daily that 'vert!! If I drove it 3 out of 5 days to work, since my current daily gets 40mpg (motorcycle, FTW!!), I'd average out to about 21mpg.
Suggested by: Stillnotatony
I love someone who genuinely dailies something vintage like this.
In dreamland, Porsche 911 Turbo S, by the way in dreamland there is never traffic in my way, and my car emits O2 only. We don't live in dreamland, that's why I'm shopping for a Chevy Bolt, or a Leaf currently.
In my dreams, either a 911 4S or LC500. Leaning more towards the LC500 based on TCO.
My daily is a 911 Targa 4 GTS, gets around 17.5 around town
Suggested by: towman, KP, Fluffy_Black_Dog
The thing is, these latest 911s actually get pretty great fuel economy given the segment. I've easily seen over 30 mpg on the freeway and into the 20s in regular daily driving.
It would have to sound fantastic.
Even though my DD is actually an EV, there is a part of me that would like to have something V8 for a short while...mostly because I've never owned one, and I never tire of the sound of a good V8. So maybe it should be a convertible too.
I guess it has to be an LC500 then.
The LC500 is a great choice. Supremely comfortable and sounds pretty good too. Gas mileage isn't completely awful either.
Suggested by: dolsh, Featherlite
One of my favorite cars on sale, and they actually get pretty great gas mileage on the highway. Around town, though, you'll be wanting to floor it everywhere.
Once daily drove a 1992 600SEL. If you organize all the cars on the EPA website from 1984-2025 by city or highway or combined MPG, the 600SEL is on the last couple pages with old Lamborghinis and Ferraris lol EPA quoted 10/14/12 but in stop and go traffic the fuel economy gauge that read up to 50mpg (only while idling...) dropped to 0 as soon as you looked at the accelerator pedal, then slowly crept up to 8-12mpg. ''Twas a fascinating time, replaced it with a Geo XFi for a short time before going back to an S320 LWB
Suggested by: Tw@t
I'm not really a W140, but I'll always support a V12 Mercedes.
Sports cars don't count as gas hogs and how many people truly want to DD something stiff, loud and compromised in traffic?
For me, the nostalgia of my dad's V10 Excursion Limited is what I would love to DD. We did a little suspension work so it was much smoother and handled better on road, it towed our travel trailer everywhere, took the sports teams all over ,etc. Most tanks it got 10 mpg, I once saw 20 going downhill out of the gas station right after resetting the computer.
They look great, the V10 has a great sound and effortless torque, they are supremely comfortable with the right shocks and they are supremely capable.
Suggested by: cintocrunch1
One time, when I was living in Detroit, I called a normal Uber just for myself and the guy showed up in a V10 Excursion. I thought that was wild.
For a time, my daily driver was an '05 Ram SRT-10 Quad Cab.
That beast got single digit mileage in city and maybe cracked 12 on the highway thanks to the Viper V-10 and an old school 4 speed automatic.
I loved it because it was just so damn ridiculous on all levels. Then again, I wasn't paying for the gas as it was my company car.
I eventually switched out to a Regular cab SRT-10 with Tremec 6-speed that got like 13-14 mpg if I drove conservatively, which was damn near impossible.
Would I daily one of those bad boys today? I think I would, especially the regular cab with the Tremec.
Yeah, I daily drive my 2005 SRT-10 manual. 13-14mbg around town, but have hit 17 on the highway. Cannot give up the torque or that V10 sound!
Suggested by: Factoryhack, n/a
God, remember when Dodge used to really be cool? I love that we have multiple Jalops who have owned these.
(And sorry, I just had to include that iconic clip.)
Why, the car I drive every day! My Volvo 240 Turbo wagon! It gets 17 to 18 MPG whether you baby it or keep your foot in it, so why not enjoy the boost, I say. Out of 30 odd cars I've owned, it's easily one of my favorites, so it's worth it. For comparison, my old non-turbo 240 wagon would regularly turn in 24 to 25 MPG.
Suggested by: I_Borgward
I miss my 940 Turbo wagon so much. I never really got great gas mileage with it, but especially not after I straight-piped it.
A Bowler Defender. In Left hand drive for the US.
They have never made one, and never will. But if it existed, I would drive one.
Suggested by: 12MileGeo
Now we're talkin'.
I see a fair bit of chatter on RX8 forums about dailying the RX8. Having one myself, it is a fantastic chassis. I would drive it every day if I didn't have other options. The suicide rear doors also makes it [somewhat] practical. I can take the whole family out in mine. But with only about 200miles of range on the tank at 14mpg and requiring premium fuel, gets to be quite expensive.
If Mazda made another rotary-powered GT car that somehow managed to be magically reliable, I'd do it without hesitation, even in spite of horrible fuel economy. As someone who previously pressed 2 different RX-7s and an RX-8 into daily driver duties (though all at different times) I don't think I'd be willing to do it again given the downtime and maintenance headaches. However, if there were a new Cosmo or refreshed RX-8 that didn't give me constant rebuild anxiety, I'd certainly do it.
Having owned both RX-7s and an RX-8 in the past, the 8 is definitely my choice for a daily. While more raw, the 7s were too cramped, noisy, and hot as ovens inside to be enjoyable for long periods of time. The RX-8 was probably my favorite car I've owned for long road trips. The seating position never aggravated my back or shoulders, and the car is engaging enough to prevent fatigue caused by sheer boredom. I could manage about 28-30 MPG cruising on the interstate around 70mph, but my mixed mileage was also right around 14 MPG and sometimes as low as 9 MPG in hellish stop and go. While my current cars have more comfort and tech, I do miss how well the RX-8 could chew up hundreds of miles of road and make me smile the whole time.
Suggested by: kwhite, Luxurious King
If all of the other Rotary-related problems didn't exist, I'd love to daily an RX-8 even if the gas mileage still sucked. What a great car.
An E60 M5 manual. I did it for 5 years, getting about 12 mpg and less than 200 miles per tank.
And it was sooo worth it.
Suggested by: Jordan Sangerman
Another awesome V10 vehicle. I love the E60, but the Bangle 6 Series is what really owns my heart.
The F150 Raptor is the single best vehicle I've ever owned and I'll drive one as long as they keep making them and they stay as relatively reliable as they are. I've had a lot of great cars and will continue to have more - 911 Turbo S, Audi R8, C6 and C7 Z06, GTR, C63 AMG, S3, S4, etc, but my Raptor is the single best vehicle I've ever owned, even at 15-17mpg on average. Snow, rain, massive potholes, road debris, etc, doesn't matter. Raptor. Comfort for 5 on even a multi-state drive? Raptor. Luxury options, quiet, super easy to drive, Raptor. Towing the cars to the track? Raptor. Jumping this thing off-road and even tackling rocks, this thing will go anywhere it will fit. It's just one those rare vehicles that does everything better than most and lives up to the hype with the most minimal mods necessary to do even more (like adding bags for towing).
And worth mentioning my R8 and C63 got much worse mileage than my Raptor on 37s.
Suggested by: Dan Putnam
Honestly, I get it.
Tank, Tank is always the answer. Horrid gas mileage, check, terribly slow, check. Traffic, not with Tank, someone cut you off, not with tank, coworker p*ss you off, not with tank.
Suggested by: James Dodson
Maybe we should all be driving tanks.
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