back to the cars thread

[susiej]

are there really no vehicles out there that carry bikes nicely AND get better than 25 mpg???? (that's pathetic!)

Our Toyata Matrix with a two-bike z-rack on the back gets its usual above 25 mpg city. About half of our driving is with my Trek on the back. Mileage has gotten worse with ethanol mixed into the gas, but hovers at 25 or 26. (That's a whole other rant entirely.)

My old Saturn SL was above 25 mpg even when I had the bike on the trunk rack for weeks.

We do buy the smaller engines with manual transmissions. We drive in the suburbs, so mileage is better than in a true city.

The lack of really great mileage in a car is why the Saturn's replacement might be a scooter. VW Beetles were getting 25 mpg in the 70s -- surely there should be a four-seater with some trunk space that gets 40 mpg by now!