i used to drive and like small cars, until i purchased an impala and it was like going to heaven, everything is better and nicer, the luxury, the power, and it looks like it will not explode if it hits a bike, i dont feel safe anymore on small cars.

and for most people they get the same mileage as the little cars. so i dont see the point. the only place where it wouldnt is if you drive all city

I must not be most people.

I only get about 20 city and maybe 30 highway in the GP,
whereas in the Escort I used to have,
I got 30 city and sometimes 40 highway.
Hated that car, but it was good on gas.

My 2000 SSEi got 24mpg. But with having to use premium gas it was cheaper to drive my 2004 Ford crewcab 4x4 1/2 ton that got 17-18mpg with cheap gas. that was one reason I sold it.

all depends how you drive. if you are impatient thats what you will get. i had a gp coupe with a 3100 and i could get 28 and 33-34hwy. the little cars are geared low, though normally you dont hear of one getting significantly better hwy. unless you are talking new cruise eco or something. i had a neon for a few years and it got 31 no matter what unless you started going more than 5 over the speed limit on the highway and then it would start going down significantly

never been a fan of the l67, my 3500 monte has the same power but gets more than 50% better mileage. my 98 bonnie sse has all the ssei stuff except the supercharger and gets 28 and my wife drives like john force. it would likely get 32 but its got lower gears than the se 3800, i know a bunch of people who get over 30 with l36'*

shooot i wish i got that mileage. lauren drives her car 95% highway and ets around 35mpg in her much lighter l36 powered impy. but she lives on the toll road. my car lives on city streets. i avg about 18mpg, but there are 25 lights on my 30 mile drive to work.

as i said the all city is the only place where the small cars have the advantage, you are trying to get probably 30 percent more weight than one of the neons or cruises. if i lived there though i still dont think i would buy one, even at 18 mpg if you dont drive that many miles you still dont spend that much. well 4 gal a day vs 2, i guess it would depend if that was worth the money or not

My brother has a neon with a five speed and he gets 38 to 40 mpg no matter what. It must be nice to only fill up once a month.

I have mixed feelings on this subject. While driving a bigger car does make a person feel safer, they will not get the fuel economy of a smaller car with a manual transmission that'* comparing it to a full size car with overdrive. Most of today'* cars don't have the overdrive gear. With the smart car I saw a video on YouTube of the crash testing of this car. I thought it was amazing how it hit a brick wall and just bounced like a ball. The dummy'* on the inside actually faired out well.