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I bought a 1992 VX new, with 104 miles on it, and I now have 246k miles on it. I've replaced the distributor, the brake master cylinder, and the high/low beam switch. No other maintenance other than wear parts, and fluid changes.
The VX has a lower coefficient of drag than the HX. It's Cd is 0.3 which was outrageously low in 1992. In fact it was the first car with it's "shape". You see the same shape in so many cars now.
The engine is a VTEC, but it is different than others. Other VTECs vary valve timing with engine speed, but this engine only opens one intake valve below 2500 rpm. This results in very turbulent flow in the cylinder, and gives the engine lots of low end torque, sort of like a Diesel, and allows a very lean burn at idle, and low rpm. You can floor the car in top gear at 800 RPM and it smoothly accelerates.
It is mostly the aerodynamics, and the engine valve gimmick that give the car such high mileage. There is also no power steering pump, so no power steering, no right side mirror, the valve train has ball bearings on the followers, The pistons have only 2 rings, and very light aluminum wheels were standard equipment.
I get 45 mpg in normal driving, except for coasting where possible. I get 50 mpg on long highway trips without hypermileing, just coasting when possible. I also use coreplast to cover the radiator, and AC condenser air inlets in the winter. The engine is so efficient it runs better that way, and the heater is much more efficient.
Popular mileage mods are a whale tail, covering the front, and rear wheel holes, covering the underbody to make it smooth, and an inside the engine compartment air intake.
There is also an electronic modification you can make to use the lean burn more. In the original engine setup, it is used much less than is possible.
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