Car Buying Advice

Step-by-step: Buying a new car

Not sure where to start? Whether you are looking for a fuel-efficient small car, a sporty convertible, or a family minivan, Consumer Reports can help guide you through the new car buying experience. We give you the essential information you need to choose, buy, finance, and maintain a new car. Also, see our used car guide.

Choosing a car:
In this section

Next section:

At the dealership

Fuel economy

The fuel-economy figures printed on a vehicle's window sticker and in automaker advertising and brochures are estimates based on a test created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

For each vehicle, there are two figures:

"City" represents urban driving, in which a vehicle is started in the morning and driven in stop-and-go rush-hour traffic.
"Highway" represents a mix of rural and interstate highway driving in a warmed-up vehicle, typical of longer trips in free-flowing traffic.

Based on dynamometer testing, these figures provide a way of comparing the gas mileage of different models. All EPA fuel-economy estimates can be accessed at www.fueleconomy.gov or www.epa.gov/greenvehicles.

In Consumer Reports' real-world fuel-economy testing, we've found that EPA estimates have typically been higher than you're likely to get in normal driving. That's why we conduct several different fuel-economy tests of our own, including separate city and highway driving loops, and a 150-mile mixed-driving loop. Vehicle speeds and atmospheric conditions are carefully monitored to ensure consistency. Fuel is measured by splicing a fuel meter into the vehicle's fuel line.

The EPA revised its testing methods starting with the 2008 model year. Additional tests to account for faster speeds and acceleration, air conditioner use, and colder outside temperatures have been added to the city and highway tests. The EPA has also said that mileage estimates have been adjusted downward to account for wind and road surface resistance, factors that can't be replicated in the testing procedure.

Regardless of where the original figures come from, a vehicle's fuel economy is not a constant or fixed number; it varies depending on driving styles and conditions, and will vary over time.

For more information on saving fuel see our guide to fuel economy.

Last reviewed: February 2011

Next: Safety ratings