Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Charlie
It's not about getting great mileage compared to other cars, it's about getting great 96 Subaru mileage.
Worry about how your car compares to others when you're looking to buy a car. After that, that's the only car you have to worry about.
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Oh yeah! I'm not beating myself up about not getting the 40+ MPG of a Metro, or the 55+ of an Insight, at all.
With the much-reduced amount of driving I'm able to do these days (I've only filled up the Outback 12 times this year, and am trying to stretch the current tank into next), the cheap gas, and decent emissions of my car, wringing the most out of every gallon is more of a hobby in my case than anything else. In earlier posts on this forum, I thought that my '96 Subaru was a little too early for a ScanGauge to work, so I never bothered trying one. Now I'm having trouble finding evidence for that thought, so I ordered one and can't wait to see if it works. If I could step my winter average up to 25 MPG and my summer average to 30, I'd be pretty darned excited/content.
I've got a pretty good arrangement, but I try not to gloat or take it for granted -- many folks have longer commutes or other trips they need to do on a regular basis, so efficiency is more of a real concern, especially when gas prices are higher.
My wife and I have chatted about what we'll replace this Outback with when it inevitably dies. I've brought up cars like the Prius or Mirage, but we really dig the utility of an Outback-like car. We can throw a whole 6-7' Christmas tree in the back, or I can put in a bike or two without needing to remove any wheels, which is really nice. That storage area came in really handy for our recent move, too. So we may not end up with a super-efficient small car anyway -- the next car might just be another Outback or perhaps a Crosstrek.