Https://guia-automovil.com/2019/08/01/autos-con-peor-consumo-de-combustible: A Love Letter to the Cars That Drank the Road

There’s a particular kind of romance to a car that wears its inefficiency like a badge of honor. You’ve seen them—hulking SUVs idling at stoplights, their engines rumbling with a bassline that vibrates your ribcage, or sleek supercars that scream past you on the highway, leaving a trail of exhaust and envy. In 2019, as the world teetered on the edge of an electric revolution, these gas-guzzling beasts continued to roar, defiant and unapologetic. This isn’t a scolding lecture about carbon footprints or fuel economy spreadsheets. It’s a story about desire, compromise, and the machines that made us feel alive, even as they drained our wallets.

The Paradox of Power: Why We Loved What Hurt Us

I’ll never forget the afternoon I met a man named Joe at a gas station off Route 66. He was leaning against a Ford Expedition, its chrome grille gleaming like a smile, as the pump ticked away what felt like his life savings. “Yeah, she’s thirsty,” he admitted, patting the hood like it was a loyal but mischievous dog. “But when you’re hauling three kids, a dog, and a pop-up camper, you need a beast that won’t flinch.” Joe’s Expedition averaged 15 miles per gallon on a good day, but to him, it wasn’t a car—it was a vessel for family memories, a metal-and-leather heirloom in the making.

This was the heart of the 2019 gas-guzzler’s appeal: raw, unbridled capability. In an era where “eco mode” buttons and hybrid badges were becoming status symbols, these cars whispered a different promise: Live boldly, and damn the consequences.

The Titans of Thirst: Stories from the Pump

1. The Ford Expedition: A Suburban Leviathan

The 2019 Ford Expedition was less a car and more a mobile living room. With a twin-turbo V6 engine that gulped premium fuel, it was engineered for families who viewed road trips as endurance sports. I spoke to a mother in Colorado who drove one—a woman named Marissa with a laugh as big as her SUV. “I know it’s ridiculous,” she said, gesturing to the Expedition’s cavernous interior, strewn with soccer gear and granola bar wrappers. “But when you’re navigating mountain passes in a blizzard, you want something that feels like it could climb Everest.”

Marissa didn’t buy the Expedition for its 17 MPG highway rating. She bought it because it could tow her family’s boat, swallow eight passengers, and plow through snowdrifts without breaking a sweat. “I’ll pay extra at the pump,” she shrugged. “Safety isn’t negotiable.”

2. Dodge Durango SRT: The Rebel With a Cause

Then there was the Dodge Durango SRT—a SUV that wore its 6.4-liter Hemi V8 engine like a leather jacket. This was the car for dads who refused to surrender to minivans. At 13 MPG in the city, it was a middle finger to practicality. I met a guy named Tony in Arizona who’d traded his sensible sedan for a Durango SRT after his divorce. “It’s stupid, I know,” he grinned, revving the engine in a parking lot. “But when you’re 45 and your ex thinks you’re having a crisis, you might as well sound the part.”

The Durango wasn’t just a car; it was therapy. It growled through midlife crises and soccer practice drop-offs, its fuel consumption a small price for the thrill of feeling 475 horsepower at your toe-tips.

3. Bentley Bentayga: Luxury’s Dirty Secret

In Beverly Hills, the Bentley Bentayga reigned supreme—a $200,000 SUV that averaged 14 MPG while swaddled in hand-stitched leather. I once chatted with a valet at a boutique hotel who parked them weekly. “You’d think these owners care about gas money,” he said, rolling his eyes. “But they’re too busy arguing about which private jet to take to Napa.”

The Bentayga’s allure wasn’t about efficiency. It was about exclusivity. Its W12 engine was a flex, a statement that its driver existed beyond the realm of carbon guilt. As one owner told me, “If I wanted to save the planet, I’d donate to a charity. This car is for living.”

The Unspoken Trade-Offs: Guilt, Glory, and Gasoline

Owning these cars was an exercise in cognitive dissonance. At a time when Greta Thunberg was scolding world leaders and Tesla’s stock was skyrocketing, driving a gas guzzler felt like lighting a cigar in a yoga studio. Yet, their owners reveled in the contradictions.

Take the case of the Lamborghini Urus—a 2019 super-SUV that drank premium fuel like champagne. I met a tech entrepreneur in Silicon Valley who owned one, a man who’d made millions in renewable energy. “Irony? Sure,” he said, leaning against the Urus’s scissor door. “But this thing does 0-60 in 3.6 seconds. You can’t replicate that thrill in a Prius.”

For him, the Urus was a reward, a toy that offset the grind of boardrooms and investor meetings. “I’m saving the planet Monday through Friday,” he joked. “Saturday is for sin.”

The Gas Station Chronicles: Where Strangers Became Confidants

There’s an intimacy to pumping gas into a car that demands it weekly. I spent hours at stations in 2019, eavesdropping on snippets of life. A construction worker in Texas fueling his Ram 2500, muttering about diesel prices. A teenager in Ohio nervously filling her dad’s Mercedes G-Wagen, praying she didn’t scratch the rims. These cars weren’t just vehicles; they were conversation starters, confession booths, catalysts for connection.

One night in Nevada, I watched a man in a vintage Hummer H2 argue with his wife over their road trip budget. “We’ll spend more on gas than the hotel!” she hissed. He countered, “But when else will we feel this free?” The Hummer averaged 10 MPG. It also averaged one spontaneous adventure per tank.

The Road Ahead: Nostalgia in the Rearview

By December 2019, the world was on the cusp of change. EVs were inching into mainstream consciousness, and “range anxiety” was replacing “gas guzzler” as the automotive buzzword. Yet, the year’s thirstiest cars left an indelible mark. They symbolized a pre-pandemic era of excess, of unapologetic indulgence—a time when “more” still felt achievable.

Today, many of these cars are still on the road, their engines growling against the tide of progress. They’ve become relics, yes, but also reminders that joy isn’t always rational. As one Durango SRT owner told me, “Every time I floor it, I’m not just burning gas. I’m burning a little bit of my youth.”

Epilogue: The Last Sip

In the end, the cars with the worst fuel consumption in 2019 weren’t mistakes. They were choices—messy, human choices. They were for the dad who wanted his kids to remember the rumble of a V8, the entrepreneur who craved speed over virtue, the families who prioritized space over savings.

So here’s to the gas guzzlers: the ones that made us wince at the pump and grin at the open road. They taught us that life is too short to drive a car that doesn’t stir your soul—even if it occasionally empties your wallet. After all, as Joe from Route 66 put it, “You can’t put a price on the look in my kids’ eyes when we roll into the Grand Canyon… even if I could buy a small island with what I spend on gas.”