Often, we focus so much on the perception, history and speed of the car, that we neglect the most important feature. Gas mileage affects the performance and overall driving experience of your vehicle. Let’s take a look at cars with worst gas mileage, and what exactly this means.

Gas mileage is a phrase that is often thrown around with little thought to its actual meaning. While we might know what sort of gas mileage the car we drive receives, we may not know exactly why it's important or how it is even determined. We've broken it down for you so that you'll have all the answers.

When you purchase a car, you might feel like the gas mileage is irrelevant, as you’ll naturally focus on the car’s performance. However, good gas mileage is important as it obviously reduces your outgoing expenses in the long-run.

Gas prices fluctuate all the time, and it’d be a shame to have to sell your car, or use it less, because of a recent increase. If you’re travelling across the country and prices are different in each city, you might have to calculate and prepare your finances better than if they were all the same price. You’d also need to research where each gas pump is located in order to plan your route without entering the red of your fuel gauge.

This isn’t the only reason though, as you should always be prepared for the worst when out in your car. Let’s say you suddenly encounter a traffic delay and there’s no gas pump in sight. If your car doesn’t have good gas mileage, it’ll be stressful and difficult to continue the journey without fear of running out of gas.

Determining if your car has good or bad gas mileage is mainly down to understanding physics. If you’re driving at a steady speed, you’ll use most of the energy to counteract friction. The tyres and power take this into consideration. The softer your tyres, the more effort your car will require to push itself across a surface. Harder tyres are better for good gas mileage. However, they don’t absorb shock so well, and provide less braking power – especially in poor weather conditions. It’s important to inflate or deflate your tyres to the recommended standard outlined in the manufacturer’s guide.

Gas mileage is measured in order to determine if it’s good or bad. You can do this yourself, however, the environment you conduct it in won’t be the same every time and will lead to fluctuating results. Instead, car manufacturers all run tests on indoor rolling roads to stimulate a real driving experience. They concentrate on the makeup of the car’s exhaust to determine how much fuel is burned throughout one drive cycle. Thereby, a number is reached to estimate the overall gas mileage. Usually, you will find that there is one number for city driving and a different gas mileage for highway driving to account for the conditions.

Let’s take a look at a list of cars with worst gas mileage. You won’t be surprised by a few which have made it here. Others may sock you though. Even still, we want to stress that we love all of these supercars and sports cars.

The Pontiac Grand Prix is one of top cars with worst gas mileage. Poor gas mileage can be down to a number of problems. On average, the Pontiac Grand Prix Car costs $72 to fill the tank. You might be wondering why it’s so extortionate. Well, many owners of this vehicle have encountered a few faults and regular repairs which need fixing in order to improve its fuel consumption.

One easy fix is to reset the odometer each time you fill up. You can determine your average mpg by dividing the gallons added by the miles since your last fill. If you do this a few times, you would expect it to be at half a tank. To be on the safe side, always fill up no later than ¼ tank to ensure you’re never stranded.

If you’re looking for a car with excellent gas mileage, the rule would be to avoid a Dodge Viper. Manufactured from 1991 to 2017, the first prototype was tested in January 1989. In 1996, the second-generation model came onto the scene, which was referred to as generation 1.5.

The reduced back pressure increased the power to 415hp which caused it to increase its gas consumption. You can now buy a removable hardtop for the Dodge Viper for a sleeker appearance. However, as some steel suspension components were replaced with aluminium, the car became heavier at 27kg in total. As a result, this severely impacted the overall gas mileage of the vehicle.

Let’s face it, you don’t buy a Lamborghini to worry about its gas consumption. However, there’s no denying that it’s one of the top cars with worst gas mileage, despite how pleasant it is to look at and listen to. It’s fuel economy data is one of the worst of cars available to this day.

Using 700-hp and a 6.5-liter, V2 engine to power its incredible speed and performance, the Lamborghini Aventador Roadster accelerates quickly without even thinking about fuel consumption. On average, this sports car can reach 13 miles per gallon overall. Then again, you wouldn’t own one of these high-performance cars to gently accelerate.

The Ferrari FF is one of our favourite cars on the road for obvious reasons. It isn’t significantly worse than other competitor cars. However, as it roars around corners, it consumes a lot of gas when accelerating and handling. Similar to the Lamborghini Aventador Roadster, this Ferrari reaches 13 miles per gallon, whilst carrying four passengers and ski bags.

As there are additional seats and storage space, and the car itself is longer and thicker, this adds to the overall weight of the car. We all know that pushing something heavy exerts more energy and requires more power, hence why it’s one of the top cars with worst gas mileage. The Ferrari GTC4 Lusso will push 680-hp, though it won’t be any slower than this model (which we like the sound of).

No matter if you purchase a hardtop, coupe, or convertible, the Rolls-Royce Phantom model weighs nearly three tonnes. Combine that with a V-12, 6.8-liter engine, and you’ll get a measly 14 miles per gallon. To own one, you’ll need between $400,000 and $550,000 spare.

However, if you have that much money lying around, you probably don’t need to worry about the gas price. It’s a thirsty car due to its weight, engine size, and sheer volume of the car. However, thanks for its 80-litre tank, the Rolls-Royce Phantom can cover 300 miles from full to empty which is enough to drive you a reasonable distance.  

Built to turn heads, the Bugatti Veyron is every car lover’s dream and is one of the fastest cars in the world. It’s easily capable of reaching 60mph in just 2.4 seconds and can comfortably reach a top speed of 254mph. It’s one of the most notorious cars with worst gas mileage, but we forgive this because of its exceptional performance.

The Bugatti Veyron reaches just 10.4 miles per gallon with a 16-cylinder, 1,200-hp. As a result, the speed doesn’t calculate well with fuel efficiency. By driving at nearly a top speed, it will empty a 26.4-gollon fuel tank in just over 12 minutes. But, we don’t really sympathize with Bugatti owners because they’re happy enough racing around the roads making a considerable impression on spectators.

Pagani is one of the most notorious car brands in the world, and makes, on average, less than 10 cars per year. As a result, they’re extremely rare and can set you back nearly $1 million just for one. Compared to the above cars with worst gas mileage, reaching 13.2 miles per gallon is slightly forgiving. 

If you consider its quick speed of 0 to 60 mph in just 3 seconds, with a top speed of 224 mph, it’s no surprise it made the list. Why does it have such a poor fuel efficiency? This supercar is made entirely from carbon fibre. It’s retro-futuristic and powered by a twin-turbo V12 engine along with 730-hp. Don’t expect to own one of these bad boys and not fork out an excessive amount on gas.

Thanks to the invention of electric cars, we’re seeing better fuel consumption on the roads, as well as saving ourselves hundreds of dollars. The above supercars are mesmerizing to see in action, not to mention have a wonderful roar which is addictive.

But, what cars do you know which have a bad gas mileage? Share your knowledge and insights in the comments to keep this discussion going.

Related Article: American Supercars That Made History With Their Performance