signal12's Blog

April 2008 Best & worst in fuel economy Overall mpg is based on our real-world fuel-economy tests. All vehicles have an automatic transmission unless noted otherwise.


MOST MILES PER GALLON:

Small cars Overall mpg Toyota Prius 44 Honda Civic Hybrid 37 Honda Fit Sport (manual) 34 Toyota Yaris (hatchback, manual) 34 Toyota Yaris Sedan 33 Honda Fit 32 Honda Civic EX (manual) 31 Midsized & large sedans Overall mpg Toyota Camry Hybrid 34 Nissan Altima Hybrid 32 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec 29 Nissan Altima 2.5 S 25 Lexus IS250 24 Toyota Camry LE (4-cyl.) 24 Volkswagen Passat 2.0T 24 SUVs Overall mpg Toyota Highlander Hybrid 24 Lexus RX400h (hybrid) 23 Toyota RAV4 (4-cyl.) 23 Jeep Compass Sport 22 Nissan Rogue SL 22 Subaru Forester 2.5 X 22 Toyota RAV4 Limited (V6) 22 Honda CR-V 21 Honda Element 21


FEWEST MILES PER GALLON:

Small cars Overall mpg Chrysler PT Cruiser Limited (turbo) 20 Dodge Caliber R/T (AWD) 22 Suzuki SX4 Sport 22 Chevrolet Cobalt LS 23 Scion xB 23 Midsized & large sedans Overall mpg Chrysler 300C 16 Mercury Grand Marquis LSE 16 Audi A8 L 17 Buick Lucerne CXS (V8) 17 Cadillac DTS Luxury II 17 Dodge Charger R/T 17 Lincoln Town Car Signature 17 Mercedes-Benz S550 17 SUVs Overall mpg Dodge Durango Limited 13 Cadillac Escalade 13 Jeep Commander Limited 5.7 13 Land Rover LR3 SE 13 Nissan Armada LE 13 Ford Expedition EL Eddie Bauer 13 Lincoln Navigator Ultimate 13 Money per mile

You are considering buying a new car and you want to get the one with the best gas mileage. Maybe it's because you're socially aware and want to be kind to the environment. Or maybe it's just because you want to save yourself some money in the long run by paying for a car now that will cost you less in gas on a day-to-day basis. Whatever the reason, gas mileage is the number one thing that you have on your list as you're looking for a new car.

 

Here are the top ten cars to think about when looking for the best gas mileage for your ride:

 

Cars with automatic transmission:

 

1. Toyota Prius - The Prius gets just over forty-seven miles per gallon on the highway and does even better in the city.
2. Honda Civic Hybrid - This hybrid car gets somewhere between forty five and fifty miles to the gallon depending on where you're driving it.
3. Toyota Scion XA - This four speed automatic car gets over thirty miles to the gallon in the city and nearly forty miles to the highway gallon.
4. Toyota Celica - The Toyota Celica is a popular choice because it's a cute car that still gets almost thirty miles to the gallon in the city and over thirty five miles per gallon for highway driving.

 

Cars with manual transmission:

 

1. Honda Insight - This car gets nearly seventy miles to the gallon on the highway and about sixty miles to the gallon in the city making it the all-time best gas mileage car on this list.
2. Volkswagen - This brand isn't limited to any one style. The new diesel versions of the Volkswagen Golf, the Volkswagen Jetta and the Volkswagen Beetle all get approximately forty miles to the gallon.
3. Honda Civic Standard - Although not as good on the gas mileage as its hybrid counterpart, the standard Honda Civic gets over thirty five miles per gallon in the city and almost ten miles per gallon more than that on the highway.
4. Toyota Echo - The Echo is another cute car, like the Celica, which gets thirty five miles per city gallon and 43 miles per highway gallon.
5. Toyota Corolla - At forty miles per highway gallon, the Corolla is a sturdy car which holds its own in terms of good gas mileage.
6. Toyota Scion XB - This car doesn't quite hold up to the standard set by its automatic counterpart but it's not exactly bad on the gas mileage, getting just over thirty miles per gallon in the city and about thirty five miles per highway gallon.

 

As you can see, the top ten cars that you're looking at when you're looking at getting the best gas mileage are either Hondas or Toyotas (with the exception of the Volkswagen). If you aren't a Honda or Toyota kind of driver, there are certainly other brands which get good gas mileage. Look into the ones that most interest you with an eye towards both highway and city gas mileage.

Recently I had a co-worker try and trade in their 2007 tahoe for a more fuel efficent suv. The dealer ship offered them $8k as a trade-in.!!!!!! Its a $46k vehicle with 25 k miles on it..... So it may not be in your best intrest to tade -in and to just keep it......