Why Gasoline Cars Are Back With High City Fuel Consumption

Gasoline cars return with 10-liter city consumption as diesel holds its ground

The resurgence of gasoline engines brings a mathematical problem: they consume more than the diesel vehicles they aim to replace. On highways, differences narrow. In the city, they widen significantly. The new generation of automatic transmission gasoline SUVs exceeds 10 liters per 100 kilometers in urban traffic, according to forum participants, compared to the 6 liters typical of equivalent diesels from a decade ago. Average buyers often don't know this, and brochures don't highlight it.

How much does a gasoline SUV consume in the city?

One participant argues that a gasoline Omoda 5 exceeds 10 liters in the urban cycle. Physics is stubborn. In first and second gear, instantaneous consumption can spike to 15 liters, as another user recalls, and this surge isn't recovered later. Add the aerodynamics of a tall, wide, and heavy vehicle, and the result trinc naturally.

There is also a bureaucratic aggravating factor. The WLTP homologation cycle no longer breaks down urban consumption as the previous one did, so the average brochure figure remains even further from what is seen in traffic jams. Technology hasn't worsened by whim: some point out that internal combustion engines barely offer more performance. What has changed is the packaging.

Why are diesel and LPG back on the shopping list?

According to calculations circulating in the thread, the consumption differential favors diesel by around 40%. On highways, it narrows; in the city, with an automatic gearbox, it widens. Hence, diesel utility vehicles with over 250,000 kilometers and standard catalytic converters are cited, provided they are occasionally revved up to regenerate.

Alongside diesel, there is LPG, at €0.90 per liter, versus ultra-fast charging at EV stations costing €0.60 per kWh. For urban use and medium distances, some argue that a Dacia Sandero with an LPG engine is the cheapest option to maintain on the market. A secondary market detail weighs against it: such installations devalue the car upon resale, and not everyone is willing to accept that.

The hybrid that actually makes the numbers work

Compared to sticker-only mild hybrids, a true full hybrid plays with different cards. One participant reports that their Toyota Corolla 2.0 with 184 horsepower moves between 4 and 4.5 liters in the city and between 5.5 and 6 on the highway at 125 km/h. The key is that a large part of interurban travel can be done in electric mode—up to 65% according to shared experience—and even at 120 km/h for several kilometers. The electric motor acts like a turbo and lowers RPMs. And brake pads last much longer.

Country, city, and highway: which car for each use?

The most repeated classification is also the most sensible. For country roads, a diesel off-roader. For the city, a gasoline kei car or a small electric vehicle. For highways, a gasoline sedan. The urban SUV, they argue, is this decade's crossover MPV: it offers height and space, but in the city it has no dynamic advantage and higher consumption and a worse center of gravity. Basically, a washing machine on wheels.

Cars aren't sold anymore; they are financed

Here comes the second blow. Firms make little profit from selling the vehicle and expand business into loans. Sellers try to push financing at all costs. It is recommended to negotiate the early cancellation fee in writing before signing and, if worthwhile, cancel the loan the trinc month. Then there is the price: some are shocked that a KIA Ceed costs €30,000.

The fleet ages rapidly due to environmental labels

A 2007 gasoline Civic with 350,000 kilometers and only maintenance, according to its owner. A 2006 Mercedes 220 CDI with 440,000 kilometers, zero breakdowns, and no label, making it a car its owner never plans to sell. Among taxi drivers, hybrids with 600,000 and 700,000 kilometers are cited, and even some public service vehicles approaching a million. The practical conclusion: if it doesn't cause trouble, changing it is foolish; for occasional getaways, rent.

Electric cars and the range almost nobody needs

This calculation is disorienting. One hundred kilometers daily would be 36,500 annually, a figure almost no one meets. Most drive less than 50 kilometers a day, equivalent to about 10 kWh of battery. The problem isn't the car: it's the power capacity needed at night to plug them all in simultaneously. And a liter of gasoline, to put it in perspective, contains 10 kWh, more than half of which escapes through the exhaust pipe as heat.

Regarding plug-in hybrids, better not to mention them. Without available battery charge, the tank level drops visibly, and the thermal engine starts and stops literally at every corner. Zero savings; a Damocles' sword hanging over your wallet.

With these numbers on the table, it's strange that gasoline cars haven't returned sooner. Or have they never fully left?