Overview
Luxury cars are elegant, posh and ooze a lot of prestige, not to mention how incredibly expensive they can be. Hence, many assume that luxury cars will outperform other automobiles when it comes to mileage.
Interestingly, that is not the case. As a matter of fact, luxury cars tend to have abysmal mileage. This article will explain why.
Size and Material
Luxury automobiles are generally bulkier than other cars and there are reasons for this. A considerable amount of materials go into the development of a single luxury car; after all, something has to provide all that extravagance in the first instance. All these materials add massively to the car’s bulk and overall weight, but that is not all.
Auto engineers know that it can be quite complicated to develop automatic transmission systems with around three gear ratios. Such systems also have to generate enough power for acceleration, which is precisely what luxury cars need. Hence, car makers develop engines that produce an immense amount of power but only when they are in the slow mode. Without any surprise, these kinds of machines guzzle a lot of gas and cannot run as fast as people would have imagined or expected – so the luxury cars with their bulky frames and massive engines end up with low mileage.
Increased Space and Features
A luxury car calls for more room for optimal comfort and convenience but space will not create itself; more materials like metal have to be used to create a huge automobile. This means that there is additional mass, and for extra load, there has to be more power to allow the car to move.
Luxury cars typically come with massive wheels, bigger chassis and excellent suspension systems that ensure a drive stays smooth and free of stress. Luxury also means extra features like heated leather seats, refrigerating units, air conditioners, cool pockets, sound systems, etc. For all this to be done and optimal performance maintained, there have to be big engines.
Speed vs. Performance
Bigger engines that produce the power to haul the beast bring the extra weight with them. As a result of these engines, luxury cars can move smoothly around. Hence, the machines are designed to cope with all the extra weight, so they cannot be optimized for speed.
Therefore, a luxury car can typically move around from event to event and show off all its glory and opulence, but it is not designed for the race track. The engines are designed for high performance and not for speed. All these translate to a lower fuel economy or efficiency, which will lead to an overall plunge in the mileage stats.
Changing Times
Auto designers have been trying to work on car design advancements to tackle the issue of luxury cars having low mileage. As safety becomes a major issue worldwide, regulations put in place ensure that even the subcompacts can weigh a lot, but the overall bulk reduces. The typical subcompact today weighs as much as a regular car in the 1970s, so there has been a remarkable difference in the size, owing to its metal.
Computers have also been deployed in the transmission systems design, which has allowed for the production of several gear ratios. These changes have not been implemented in all luxury cars, so an overwhelming number of them still have horrible mileage.
