5 least fuel efficient cars sold today

Hybrids and electric cars have begun to take over the market. Most mainstream car makers have plans to expand their electric car portfolio by a large margin in the next 10 years. The age of pure-petrol power (or diesel for that matter) is coming to an end. While the era when automobile manufacturers could make a car like the 0.18mpg (0.06kmpl) BMW Brutus ended a more than a couple of decades ago, there are still some cars that really make you pay through your nose (and other orifices) to drive them.

One of the best ways to get over the past is to list out the very worst that the period had to offer. This is why Carquirks has come up with a list of some of the least fuel efficient mass-production cars in recent years. It isn’t all that surprising that a massive SUV, an ultra luxury car, and a bunch of supercars feature on this list:

Bugatti Veyron 13.3mpg*

(Image source: Wikipedia Commons)

The holder of the fastest car in the world title from 2005 to 2012 and again from 2013 until the end of its production in 2014, the Veyron is unsurprisingly one of the thirstiest supercars around. Its 1000bhp (1184bhp in the Super Sport and Grand Sport Vitesse model) 16-cylinder 8-litre engine is capable of rocketing the car to 62mph (100kmph) from standstill in just 2.46 seconds and achieve a top speed of 253.81mph (408.47kmph) in the standard model. The Super Sport and Grand Sport Vitesse can hit the record making 267.856mph (431.072kmph). These figures are especially impressive if one considers that the car weighs nearly 1.9 tons!

However, the Veyron’s portly figure combined with the massive engine does cost it dearly in terms of fuel economy. Driving the supercar at a normal pace, the engine can go an average of 13.3 miles on a gallon of petrol (4.66kmpl). Try to achieve a top speed run and the figure drops down to 3.6mpg (1.28kmpl). In other words, it uses 1.2 gallons (5.3-litres) of fuel every minute. That means a top speed run would empty the 22 gallon (100-litre) fuel tank in just 18 minutes!

Mercedes-AMG G 65 16.6mpg

(Image source: Daimler press site)

Over-the-top is merely an expression until one looks at the Mercedes-AMG G 65. The large 621bhp 6-litre V12 engine has to lug around a 2.6 ton frame, which makes the SUVs’ performance figure admirable with 0-60mph (100kmph) in 5.3 seconds, but also makes the fuel consumption figures abysmal. While the manufacturer claims that the fast SUV can achieve 16.6mpg (5.88kmpl), a review by Car and Driver says its real world fuel economy is closer to 9.6 miles per gallon (3.4 kilometres per litre).

Lamborghini Aventador 17.6mpg

(Image source: Lamborghini press site)

This bonkers supercar has everything you could want out of a marque like Lamborghini; an exorbitant price tag, looks that kill, and performance that warps surroundings when in motion. The Aventador uses a 690bhp 6.5-litre V12 motor to take this 1.7 ton supercar to 62mph (100kmph) in 2.9 seconds and attain a top whack of 217mph (350kmph). While the new V12 engine is claimed to be 20% more fuel efficient than the older one found in the Murcielago, even the manufacturer says it will deliver just 17.6mpg (6.25kmpl). The figure accurately reflects the real world fuel economy as well according to Car and Driver and Autocar.

Ferrari FF 18.4mpg

(Image source: Wikipedia Commons)

The Italian supercar maker’s attempt at a grand tourer is nothing short of spectacular. It looks beautiful, is practical, and boasts performance figures that place it squarely in supercar territory. The FF comes with a 651bhp 6.3-litre V12 engine, propelling nearly 1.9 tons of steel, aluminium and carbon-fibre to 62mph (100kmph) in 3.7 seconds and a maximum speed of 208mph (335kmph). When it was launched in 2011, it was the fastest four-seat automobile in the world. The only chink in its otherwise impenetrable armour is its fuel economy, which is claimed at a disappointing 18.4mpg (6.5kmpl).

Bentley Mulsanne 18.8mpg

(Image source: Bentley press site)

The flagship Bentley is in a class of its own compared to the manufacturers other cars, offering sheer opulence and untamed performance in one superb package. The ultra luxury saloon features a loud 505bhp 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V8 pushing this 2.6 ton behemoth in a claimed 5.3 seconds to 62mph (100kmph), and a top speed of 184mph (296kmph). The Mulsanne is a thirsty car though and can only go 18.8miles on a gallon of fuel (6.65kmpl) according to Top Gear.

Let’s be honest, the sort of people that can buy these cars wouldn’t really care about how efficient they are. Still, it is refreshing to see (at least for me) that there are cars out there that guzzle fuel by the gallons. If asked why I feel this way, my only answer is perhaps nostalgia.

*All mpg figures are in Imperial units, not US units.