The average weight of a vehicle today is about 4,400 pounds. If you’re old enough to remember cars in 1980, that’s over 1,000 pounds heavier than the average then. And those cars were 20 percent heavier than their counterparts just five years earlier.
What’s up with all this vehicular weight gain?
Mostly it’s modern technology. Today’s cars are somehow simultaneously bigger, heavier, more powerful, and more fuel efficient than ever before. That seems counterintuitive, given that heavier vehicles mean more power is needed to move them which means more fuel will be used. But technology has outpaced its own weight gain in today’s vehicles. So efficiency improves despite more physical obstacles to it.
On average, new cars gain about half an inch in width and 1 inch in length per generation. Some vehicle segments gain more than others, of course. Trucks, for example, gain more size and weight per generation than do compact cars. But the averages are upward trending no matter what kind of vehicle you’re looking at.
But charts and numbers are one thing. Let’s just look at cars themselves. Way more fun.
The 1963 British Mini was about 120 inches long and weighed about 1,500 pounds. Today’s MINI is 159 inches long and weighs 3,200 pounds. Meaning today’s MINI Cooper is actually about the same size as an early Ford Bronco SUV.
No joke. The 1970 Ford Bronco was 152 inches long and weighed about 4,200 pounds. A 2025 model year Ford Bronco measures about 180 inches long (averaged) and weighs 4,500 pounds (averaged). I say “averaged” as modern Broncos have several flavors and there is a size and weight range (2-door, 4-door, etc).
Similarly, I once compared a 1974 Chevrolet Corvette to a modern C8 (2023). In this case, there isn’t too much difference compared to the trend so far. The power to weight ratio is roughly the same between a 440 1974 ‘Vette and the C8. The 1974 is 182 inches long and weighed 3,300 pounds. The C8 is about 185 inches long and weighs 3,900 pounds.
But with trucks, the story is completely different. A 1970 Dodge D Series 1500 crew cab had a 146 inch wheelbase. That doesn’t change too much for 2025, with the Ram 1500 measuring about 144.5 inches in wheelbase. Weight-wize, though, there’s a huge difference. The old D 1500 weighed about 4,000 pounds whereas a 2025 model 1500 weighs over 5,000 pounds.
Continuing with pickups, the 1990 Toyota SR5 was 180.5 inches long and weighed 3,300 pounds. Today’s Tacoma is about 220 inches long and weighs over 4,400 pounds. Those paying attention will note the similarity with the most popular midsize truck of today and the full-sized truck of 1970 above.
Even compact cars aren’t immune. The 1980 Honda Civic was just 148 inches long and weighed a mere 2,000 pounds. A 2025 Honda Civic has ballooned to 185 inches and weighs over 2,900 pounds.
Those are just a few of the vehicles we could look at for comparison. And don’t even account for electric or hybrid models, which weigh even more. Heavier vehicles mean a lot of things: more road wear, for example.
“Highway design standards are based on many factors. In regard to vehicle weight, engineers design highways and pavement specifications based on anticipated weight per axle,” said Doug McGee, Wyoming Department of Transportation public affairs officer. This is usually based on commercial trucks, but that generally accommodates heavier passenger vehicles as well, McGee pointed out. “So, the changes to passenger vehicle weights are already factored into our designs and pavement specifications.”
Heavier vehicles also mean more particulate emissions from tires and brakes, less room in the garage, tighter parking spaces, and a lot of other issues.
Eventually, vehicular weight gain will have to be curbed.
