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Best & worst fuel economy

Last updated: January 2013

These lists show the vehicles within each category that achieved the best or worst gas mileage in our real-world tests. We have selected mpg cutoffs that are relative to each category. For example, a vehicle that gets 19 mpg would not be a standout among wagons, but it would be among the highest in the midsized SUV or minivan categories.

Best

Rank Make & Model Overall mpg City mpg Highway mpg
FUEL-EFFICIENT HATCHBACKS Overall mpg = 38 or higher 
1 Mitsubishi i SE 111* 104* 116*
2 Ford Focus Electric 107* 108* 107*
3 Nissan Leaf SL 106 * 86 * 118 *
4 Chevrolet Volt 61 ** 45 ** 76 **
5 Toyota Prius Four 44 32 55
6 Toyota Prius C Two 43 37 48
7 Lexus CT 200h Premium 40 31 47
8 Smart ForTwo Passion 39 30 44
9 Honda Insight EX 38 29 45
10 Volkswagen Golf TDI (MT) 38 27 49
* = MPGe
** = composite of electricity & gas
SUBCOMPACT CARS Overall mpg = 31 or higher
1 Scion iQ 34 27 40
2 Scion xD (MT) 34 25 40
3 Mazda2 Sport (MT) 33 25 40
4 Honda Fit Sport (MT) 33 24 37
5 Ford Fiesta SE sedan 33 22 45
6 Hyundai Accent SE hatchback (MT) 32 24 40
7 Ford Fiesta SES hatchback (MT) 32 23 42
8 Toyota Yaris LE 32 23 41
9 Nissan Versa SV sedan 32 23 40
10 Chevrolet Spark 1LT 32 22 42
11 Hyundai Accent GLS sedan 31 20 45
SMALL SEDANS Overall mpg = 29 or higher
1 Honda Civic Hybrid 40 28 50
2 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 34 25 45
3 Honda Civic HF 33 21 49
4 Toyota Corolla LE 32 23 40
5 Toyota Corolla (base, MT) 32 23 39
6 Mazda3 i Touring (SkyActiv) 32 22 43
7 Ford Focus SE SFE 31 21 43
8 Honda Civic LX 30 19 47
9 Hyundai Elantra GLS 29 20 39
10 Dodge Dart Rallye 29 19 41
11 Honda Civic EX 29 18 43
SPORTY CARS/ROADSTERS Overall mpg = 28 or higher (tested with manual transmission)
1 Honda CR-Z EX 35 26 45
2 Fiat 500c Pop 34 25 42
3 Fiat 500 Sport 33 24 42
4 Mini Cooper (base) 33 24 41
5 Hyundai Veloster 31 24 37
6 Scion FR-S 30 23 37
7 Subaru BR-Z Premium 30 23 37
8 Mini Cooper S hatchback 30 22 38
9 Mini Cooper S convertible 30 22 37
10 Honda Civic Si 29 20 39
11 Scion tC 28 21 33
12 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring 28 20 35
13 BMW Z4 sDrive28i 28 19 38
FAMILY SEDANS Overall mpg = 26 or higher
1 Ford Fusion SE Hybrid 39 35 41
2 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE 38 32 43
3 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE 37 26 51
4 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 33 24 40
5 Nissan Altima 2.5 S (4-cyl.) 31 21 44
6 Honda Accord LX (4-cyl.) 30 21 40
7 Chevrolet Malibu Eco 29 20 41
8 Toyota Camry LE (4-cyl.) 27 19 41
9 Hyundai Sonata GLS 27 18 39
10 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium 26 18 35
11 Chevrolet Malibu 1LT 26 17 38
12 Toyota Camry XLE (V6) 26 17 37
13 Honda Accord EX-L (V6) 26 16 39
UPSCALE/LUXURY SEDANS Overall mpg = 24 or higher
1 Fisker Karma Eco Sport 44** 34** 55**
2 Lexus ES 300h
 36 28 44
3 Acura ILX 2.0 L 28 19 40
4 BMW 328i  28 19 39
5 Buick LaCrosse (base 4-cyl.) 26 18 39
6 Volkswagen CC Sport 26 18 35
7 Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec 26 17 39
8 Acura TSX 25 17 35
9 Audi A4 Premium 25 17 35
10 Lexus ES 350 25 17 35
11 Infiniti M35h 25 17 33
12 Lexus IS 250 24 17 34
13 Mercedes-Benz C250 24 17 34
14 Acura TL 24 16 35
15 Buick Verano Leather 24 16 33
WAGONS & HATCHBACKS Overall mpg = 26 or higher
1 Toyota Prius V Three 41 33 47
2 Ford C-MAX Hybrid SE 37 35 38
3 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI (MT) 36 25 49
4 Mini Cooper Clubman 29 21 37
5 Toyota Matrix 1.8L 29 21 36
6 Nissan Cube 1.8 S 28 21 33
7 Ford Focus SEL 28 19 39
8 Toyota Matrix S (2.4) 27 19 36
9 Hyundai Elantra GT 27 18 37
10 Kia Soul Plus 26 20 33
11 Subaru Impreza Sport Premium 26 19 33
12 Kia Forte EX 26 18 36
SMALL SUVS Overall mpg = 22 or higher
1 Subaru XV Crosstrek Premium 26 19 34
2 Mini Countryman S 26 19 33
3 Mazda CX-5 Touring 25 19 32
4 Nissan Juke SV 24 18 31
5 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE 23 18 28
6 Honda CR-V EX 23 16 32
7 BMW X3 xDrive28i 23 16 29
8 Toyota RAV4 (base, 4-cyl.) 23 16 29
9 Nissan Rogue SL 22 17 27
10 Mitsubishi Outlander LS (4-cyl.) 22 16 30
11 Kia Sportage LX (4-cyl.) 22 16 30
12 Hyundai Tucson GLS 22 16 28
13 Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium 22 16 28
14 Ford Escape SE 22 15 31
15 Ford Escape Titanium 22 15 29
16 Jeep Compass Latitude
 22 15 29
17 Toyota RAV4 Limited (V6)
 22 15 29
18 Acura RDX 22 14 31
MIDSIZED/LARGE SUVS Overall mpg = 18 or higher
1 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited 27 23 29
2 Lexus RX 450h 26 22 31
3 Volkswagen Touareg TDI 24 17 31
4 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 23 17 30
5 Lexus RX 350 21 15 27
6 Chevrolet Equinox 1LT (4-cyl.) 21 14 30
7 Ford Edge SEL (4-cyl., FWD) 21 14 29
8 Kia Sorento LX (4-cyl) 20 14 28
9 Kia Sorento EX (V6) 20 14 26
10 Porsche Cayenne (base) 19 14 26
11 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid 19 14 25
12 Infiniti JX 19 13 26
13 Nissan Murano SL 19 13 26
14 Toyota Highlander Limited 18 13 26
15 Mercedes-Benz ML350 18 13 25
16 Infiniti FX35 18 13 24
17 Chevrolet Equinox 2LT (V6) 18 12 26
18 Ford Edge SEL (V6) 18 12 26
19 Ford Explorer XLT 18 12 26
20 Honda Pilot EX-L 18 12 25
21 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (V6) 18 12 25
22 BMW X5 xDrive35i Premium 18 12 25
23 Ford Flex SEL 18 12 25
24 Acura MDX 18 12 24
25 Lincoln MKX 18 12 24
26 Toyota 4Runner SR5 (V6) 18 12 24
MINIVANS Overall mpg = 19 or higher
1 Toyota Sienna XLE (FWD) 20 14 27
2 Toyota Sienna XLE (AWD) 19 13 25
3 Nissan Quest SL 19 13 24
4 Honda Odyssey EX-L 19 12 31
PICKUPS Overall mpg = 16 or higher
1 Toyota Tacoma (base, V6) 17 13 21
2 Ford F-250 Lariat (6.7, turbodiesel) 16 11 23

Worst

Rank Make & Model Overall mpg City mpg Highway mpg
SMALL CARS Overall mpg = 24 or less
1 Suzuki SX4 Technology 24 17 31
2 Volkswagen Golf 2.5 24 17 34
3 Scion xB 23 16 30
ROADSTERS/SPORTY CARS Overall mpg = 17 or less
1 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS convertible 17 11 25
UPSCALE/LUXURY SEDANS Overall mpg = 18 or less
1 Mercedes-Benz S550 17 11 27
2 BMW 750Li 18 12 25
3 Chrysler 300 C 18 12 29
MIDSIZED/LARGE SUVS Overall mpg = 14 or less
1 Lincoln Navigator Ultimate 13 8 18
2 Ford Expedition EL Eddie Bauer 13 8 18
3 Nissan Armada Platinum 13 9 18
4 Cadillac Escalade (base) 13 9 21
5 Chevrolet Suburban LT3 14 9 20
6 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ 14 9 20
7 Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE 14 9 20
8 Dodge Durango Crew (V8) 14 9 22
9 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (V8) 14 9 22
10 Toyota Land Cruiser 14 10 20
MINIVANS Overall mpg = 17 or less
1 Chrysler Town & Country Touring-L 17 11 27

   

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