It occurred to me the other day that my most fuel-efficient city car gets 17 mpg.
Not great. Granted it does get about 26 highway which, while still not great, is a damn sight better than the 19 or 13 I get with my other cars.
So, fleet update time in order from least to most terrible to the earth.
2006 Hyundai Azera.
3.8 liter V6. All Alloy, DOHC, VVT
263 HP @ 6000 rpm
257 lbs-ft @4600 rpm
69hp/liter
~3600 lbs
13.7 lbs/hp
5 speed auto - FWD open front diff with TC
17 city/26 highway - This is the smallest engine, most fuel-efficient vehicle in my fleet...which is sad.
Pros: better on gas...sorta. Really good sounding stereo. Comfy. Not slow (not fast, but not slow)
Cons: kinda crummy suspension. funky faults and failures.
2008 Lexus GX470
4.7 liter V8. Iron block, alloy heads. DOHC Dual VVT
268 hp @ 4800 rpm
328 lbs-ft @ 3400 rpm (subtract 6hp and 18 lbs-ft for regular fuel not premium)
57 hp/liter
~4900 lbs
18.3 lbs/hp
5 speed auto - Full time 4wd with Torsen center with locking and low range. open front and rear diffs with TC
15 city/19 highway
Pros: pulls like a train, rides great, pulls trailers like they aren’t there. Stereo is quite good. Very versatile.
Cons: crappy city mileage, not very refined from the transfer case back (driveline shunt and so on)
1997 Land Cruiser
4.5 Liter I6. Iron block alloy head. DOHC.
212 hp @ 4600 (pfft, right.)
275 lbs-ft @ 3200
47 hp/liter
~5400 lbs (as is)
25.5 lbs/hp
4 speed auto - Full time 4wd with viscous over open center differential with locking and low range. Front and rear e-locking diffs.
13 city/13 highway (once I got 17!)
Pros: Is a tank. Kills it off-road. Refuses to die. Extremely charismatic.
Cons: Most everything else. Ride is stiff to punishing (stupid overdamped ICON shocks!). Stereo sucks. It’s old. Crappy mileage everywhere. Loud. Hot.
Combined
13 liters and 20 cylinders
743 hp
860 lbs-ft
13,900 lbs
19.2 lbs/hp
15 mpg city/19 Highway
4.5 speeds
Minimum number of driven wheels 4 (1+1.5+1.5)
Maximum number of driven wheels 7 (1+2+4)
Over-all, pretty poor.