Two identical cars?

Question

Lets say 1999 Pontiac Grand Am. But one has a V-6 and the other a 4 cylinder. Will the 4 cylinder get better gas? Now lets say there is a much bigger car that has a twin perhaps a 1999 Bonneville one with a V-8 and the other a V-6. Will the V-6 be easier on gas? In other words this question is getting at does the smaller engine ALWAYS get better gas than the bigger one?

Answer 1

we have a v6 nissan altima and a 4 cyl.now the gov says the v6 gets11.4/8.6L/100km in hwy/city and the 4 cyl 10.1/6.5 but It really depends,say if the v6 was on a smooth straight highway with cruise on but the 4 banger was on hilly terrain with more passengers and say the a.c. on then the v6 would be using less gas.driving habbits such as how fast you accelerate will also effect this

Answer 2

Not always... there are always costs/benefits with everything.  Running air conditioning on 4-cylinder will slow down the car significantly... go to yahoo autos for great comparisons.  Still, small engines typically use smaller amounts of fuel

Answer 3

In general, the less cylinders the car's engine has (in relation to an "identical" model with more cylinders), the better gas mileage it's going to get.

That being said, the bigger the car is, the less difference it's going to make which engine you choose.  So for your example you'd probably see a significant (3-4+ mpg) difference in fuel economy between a 4cyl and a V6 Grand Am if each car is driven by the same driver in the same way.  With the Bonneville you might only see a ~2 mpg difference in real-world driving between the V6 and the V8 since the Bonneville is a bigger, heavier car to haul down the road to begin with for either engine.

Answer 4

Typically yes. However there are some exceptions. Top Gear did a test around a track with a Toyota Prius (Hybrid) and a BMW M3 (V8). They pushed the Prius to its limits, while the M3 followed easily around behind the Prius for 10 laps. They recorded the gas mileage and as I expected, the Prius came out with 17 mpg and the M3 came out with 19 mpg. So basically what I'm trying to say is the smaller engine won't always be better on gas than a bigger one. It depends on the driver and their driving habits. In the Prius and M3 case, the Prius was all pedal to the metal, while the M3 was just cruising. Cars with smaller engines are more apt to getting better gas mileage, as long as you know how to drive them properly.