Classic Fuel Sippers
Posted by David Kinney
As gasoline flirts with $5 a gallon in some places, more than a few people are pressing their collector cars into service as their daily, or possibly “more than occasional” drivers. It’s not an entirely hare-brained idea as most small-displacement sports cars from the 1960s and 1970s were pretty frugal. The following is a list of some of Cars That Matter’s favorites — most are capable of returning well over 20 mpg around town according to contemporary road tests:
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider — 28.0 mpg
Alfa Romeo Spider 1750 — 23.6 mpg
Austin-Healey Sprite — 36.0 mpg
Austin Mini Cooper S — 32.0 mpg
BMW 2002tii — 22.7 mpg
BMW Isetta — 44.0 mpg
Chevrolet Cosworth Vega — 24 mpg
Crosley Hot Shot — 48 mpg
Datsun 1600 roadster — 26.5 mpg
Datsun 240Z — 21.0 mpg
Datsun 510 — 25.0 mpg
Fiat 850 Spider — 38.5 mpg
Fiat 124 Coupe — 24.4 mpg
Fiat 124 Spider –23.5 mpg
Fiat Spider 2000 — 25.0 mpg
Fiat X1/9 — 34.0 mpg
Honda S800 — 42.0 mpg
Jensen-Healey — 24.8 mpg
Lotus Elan — 28.0 mpg
Lotus Elite — 38 mpg
Lotus Esprit S1 and S2 — 24.0 mpg
Lotus Europa — 29.0 mpg
MG Midget — 35.0 mpg
MGA –25.0 mpg
MGB — 24.1 mpg
Morris Minor — 35.0 mpg
Nash Metropolitan — 37.5 mpg
Opel GT — 25.9 mpg
Porsche 914 — 24.9 mpg
Porsche 356 A Normal — 28.5 mpg
Porsche 912E — 24.0 mpg
Porsche 912 — 23.5 mpg
Sunbeam Alpine — 27 mpg
Triumph Spitfire — 30.3 mpg
Triumph GT6 — 23.2 mpg
Volkswagen Karmann Ghia — 26.0 mpg
Volkswagen Beetle –30.0 mpg
An embarrassment of riches really, but if Cars That Matter had its druthers, we’d probably look for a slightly scruffy but mechanically sound Porsche 356 sunroof coupe. The combination of reliability and practicality is hard to beat in a daily driver. Still, you’ll want to take your SUV off the jack stands when winter rolls around if the roads are salted in your neighborhood. Few cars rust with the alacrity of an old Porsche.
If you want to buy American, the Cosworth example of the much maligned Chevy Vega is an interesting choice. Sold from 1975-76, only 3,508 were produced. Apparently, there was little demand for a Vega that cost nearly as much as a Corvette. Still, it’s quicker than a BMW 2002tii (although build quality is not in the same universe) and new ones occasionally show up at auctions still on the MSO.
Finally, if you’re looking for your favorite Detroit muscle car on the list, you’ll be disappointed, single digit gas mileage was the rule when gas was thirty cents a gallon. You will be surprised to find out though that Car and Driver magazine recently reported that the new Corvette is capable of delivering almost 27 mpg in real world (albeit mostly highway) driving.
Who would have thought it — The 2009 Corvette is a gas saver. I can see the scene now, repeated in households across North America “Honey, I’m thinking of trading the old gas guzzler for an economy car…”