The MPG Generation..

[Hedge]

Its quite depressing that most of the young blokes I work with seem to be more keen on MPG than MPH. I remember when I was 17 and everyone seemed to want the fastest/sportiest little motor they could afford.

Now it seems Economy is something they all consider.

One of them posted a pic on facebook of his new Fabia VRs Mpg.He sold his Civic Sport which was a much nicer car, because even though hes sinking £8,000 on the Fabia, he thinks its worth it because of the Economy.

Living on an RAF base half of the lads here barely do any mileage. I know 2 people who bought Fiestas on finance for their first cars. One of them worked out about £14,000... he has done about 7,000 miles in 1 year. But because its cheap to run he seems to overlook the massive payments.

Maybe this is an isolated case but Boy Racers dont seem so prominent these days.

 

[Hedge]

Erm.... the price of fuel is extremely high. It will keep rising. Insurance is high for young drivers. Can you blame them? I'm not sure what this thread aims to achieve other than casual moaning about people who want high MPG cars. Just let them love their MPG and you go love your thirsty XYZ? Yes they overlook paying a vast some on a newer car outright. This has been happening for years.

I just think its a shame that fast cars, which have been the interest of men ever since they were created, arent getting the same attention any more.

It is just casual moaning yes . Bragging about how fast your car can get to 100mph is a lot more interesting than how far you can get on a tank.

 

[Hedge]

I guess what Im thinking is that people seem to brag about MPG, like its a super cool feature. I understand the points you guys all raise, insurance and fuel prices cant help young drivers. It just seems people seem so proud of "Omg 60mpg!"

Also I drive 300 miles from my base in Scotland to home in the North east quite often. Sometimes in my 306gti and sometimes in my friends 1.2fiesta. The petrol cost between the two is about £5. The fiesta Averages 39-41mpg. My Pug must be around 30-35 mark.

So some of these cheaper to run cars arent so great when they are having to contend with highland roads and changing speeds. Guess dropping into 3rd to get up hills doesnt help.

 

[Hedge]

I think this is something especially bad with RAF lads.

They suddenly have a chunk of disposable income and decide they want to do the "sensible" thing with it. The problem is, they don't understand what sensible is and they end up getting a 3 year old Fiesta/Corsa on finance for £8000-10000 as their first car.

I know plenty of people who did this, they just don't seem to grasp how stupid it is.

One of the lads I work with bought a Fiesta. It costs him £190 a month in car payments and £200 a month in Insurance. Hes drove less than 5000 miles in it this year. He bought it because it would be "reliable for the long drive home"... yet he hasnt drove "home" from Scotland in 6 months.

Ive tried telling him and others that its madness too, but they dont take any of it in.