I think it's really worse than that. People buy 300+ horsepower cars because they only push the throttle down part way, and they they fear they will be "unable to merge." I have driven things like a Pinto wagon or a four-banger Jeep Cherokee, but I could always merge. Sometimes the pedal had to go all the way down.

What do you drive?

No matter how small or light your car is, anything less than 90-100 hp is literally unsafe to drive. 30 hp for highway cruising is cute but our homes dont exist on the highway and there arent dedicated lanes for cars that need 30 min to reach cruising speed. No one needs 300+ hp but also my first car used to take 17 seconds to get to 60 mph if I went flat out on the throttle. More than once did that put me in a scenario where my life was in danger.

Ah so that's why my 70HP car is so efficient

You're not factoring in variable valve timing, variable Spark timing, and all the other neat tricks that modern engines have to be efficient. My cousin has a 2023 Ford Raptor, it makes gobs and gobs of power, also averages 17 miles per gallon. Well that's not super impressive, it's better than my '99 pathfinder which makes less than half the power, weighs less, and averages 15 miles per gallon.

You haven't lived until you've entered a busy highway in a 2012 Prius

Petrol cars are bizarrely inefficiënt, when compared to EV, so its time to change.

If I'm not wrong my 2023 Bolt uses just 17 kW at highway speed with AC on to drive on a flat road

Another aspect to you have to think about is the use of accessories, especially how a/c sucks up power. When I had an 83 Toy Celica, I would turn off the air just to have enough power to aaccerate in some situations or going up a hill.

We don't fucking care grass eater, enjoy your washing machine with less power than a go-kart.