But on the other hand... My 1994 Nissan Sentra got 35-38mpg and my 2001 VW GTI (with a V6!) is still being driven by my bro-in-law and gets 30mpg highway with

But on the other hand... My 1994 Nissan Sentra got 35-38mpg and my 2001 VW GTI (with a V6!) is still being driven by my bro-in-law and gets 30mpg highway with 260,000 miles on the original powertrain. The fact is that cars are far more complex, far heavier, and have bigger engines today than they used to, at the expense of gas mileage.