Best & worst fuel economy

Last reviewed: April 2009

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
BUDGET CARS Overall mpg = 30 or higher
1 Smart ForTwo Passion 39 30 44
2 Scion xD (MT) 34 25 40
3 Toyota Yaris Sedan 33 23 44
4 Honda Fit Sport (MT) 33 24 37
5 Toyota Yaris Hatchback 30 22 38
6 Honda Fit base 30 21 39
SMALL CARS Overall mpg = 28 or higher
1 Honda Civic Hybrid 37 26 47
2 Toyota Corolla LE 32 23 40
3 Toyota Corolla (base, MT) 32 23 39
4 Honda Civic EX (MT) 31 22 40
5 Mazda3 i (MT) 30 21 42
6 Ford Focus SES (MT) 29 20 37
7 Honda Civic EX 28 18 43
8 Kia Spectra EX (MT) 28 20 35
SPORTY CARS/ROADSTERS Overall mpg = 25 or higher (tested with manual transmission)
1 Mini Cooper (base) 33 24 41
2 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V 30 23 39
3 Mini Cooper S 30 22 38
4 Lotus Elise 29 24 33
5 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring 27 21 32
6 Honda Civic Si 27 19 35
7 BMW Z4 3.0i 26 19 34
8 Scion tC 26 19 33
9 Volkswagen GTI 25 19 32
10 Honda S2000 25 19 30
11 Dodge Caliber SRT4 25 18 32
12 Volvo C30 T5 1.0 25 17 35
SEDANS Overall mpg = 24 or higher
1 Toyota Camry Hybrid 34 28 41
2 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 33 23 47
3 Nissan Altima Hybrid 32 27 36
4 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec 29 24 35
5 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid 27 18 38
6 Hyundai Sonata GLS (4-cyl.) 26 17 40
7 Honda Accord LX-P (4-cyl., MT) 26 18 35
8 Nissan Altima 2.5 S (4-cyl.) 25 18 33
9 Chevrolet Malibu LT (4-cyl.) 25 16 38
10 Saturn Aura XE (4-cyl.) 24 15 37
11 Toyota Camry LE (4-cyl.) 24 16 36
12 Lexus IS 250 24 17 34
13 Volkswagen Jetta (2.5) 24 17 33
14 Mazda6 i Sport (4-cyl.) 24 15 35
15 Volkswagen Passat 2.0T 24 16 34
WAGONS & HATCHBACKS Overall mpg = 25 or higher
1 Toyota Prius (base) 44 35 50
2 Toyota Prius Touring 42 34 47
3 Mini Cooper Clubman 29 21 37
4 Toyota Matrix S (2.4) 27 19 36
5 Audi A3 2.0T (4-cyl.) 25 18 33
6 Mazda3 s Grand Touring 25 17 35
7 Saturn Astra XE 25 17 34
SMALL SUVS Overall mpg = 21 or higher
1 Subaru Forester 2.5X (MT) 24 18 30
2 Toyota RAV4 (base, 4-cyl.) 23 17 29
3 Nissan Rogue SL 22 17 27
4 Mitsubishi Outlander LS (4-cyl.) 22 16 30
5 Jeep Compass Sport 22 16 28
6 Subaru Forester 2.5X 22 16 28
7 Honda CR-V EX 21 15 29
8 Honda Element EX 21 14 29
SPORTY COMPACT SUVS Overall mpg = 19 or higher
1 Toyota RAV4 Limited (V6) 22 15 29
2 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL 20 13 28
3 Subaru Forester 2.5XT Limited 20 14 26
4 BMW X3 3.0si 19 14 26
5 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS (V6) 19 13 26
MIDSIZED SUVS Overall mpg = 18 or higher
1 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited 24 20 28
2 Lexus RX 400h (hybrid) 23 16 29
3 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid 19 14 25
4 Lexus RX 350 19 13 26
5 Nissan Murano SL 19 13 26
6 Toyota Highlander Limited 18 13 26
7 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited (3.3) 18 12 25
8 Honda Pilot EX-L 18 12 26
MINIVANS Overall mpg = 19 or higher
1 Toyota Sienna XLE (FWD) 19 13 28
2 Honda Odyssey EX 19 12 28
PICKUPS Overall mpg = 16 or higher
1 Toyota Tacoma (base, V6) 17 13 21
2 Chevrolet Colorado LS (5-cyl.) 16 11 23

Worst

Rank Make & Model Overall mpg City mpg Highway mpg
BUDGET CARS Overall mpg = 28 or less
1 Chevrolet Aveo LT 25 17 37
2 Chevorlet Aveo5 1LT 26 18 35
3 Nissan Versa 1.8 S 27 19 35
4 Nissan Versa 1.8 SL 28 20 36
5 Hyundai Accent GLS 28 19 37
6 Kia Rio LX 28 19 37
SMALL CARS Overall mpg = 24 or less
1 Chevrolet Cobalt LT 24 16 34
2 Subaru Impreza 2.5i 24 17 31
3 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 24 17 33
ROADSTERS/SPORTY CARS Overall mpg = 17 or less
1 Dodge Viper SRT10 15 10 24
2 Mercedes-Benz SL550 17 11 26
3 Cadillac XLR (base) 17 11 27
SEDANS Overall mpg = 17 or less
1 Mercury Grand Marquis LSE 16 10 25
2 Chrysler 300 C (V8) 16 10 27
3 Dodge Charger R/T (V8) 17 11 26
4 Buick Lucerne (V8) 17 11 26
5 Audi A8 L 17 11 26
6 Lincoln Town Car Signature 17 11 27
7 Mercedes-Benz S550 17 11 27
8 Cadillac DTS Luxury II 17 11 28
9 Pontiac G8 GT (V8) 17 11 25
WAGONS & HATCHBACKS Overall mpg = 19 or less
1 Volvo XC70 18 12 25
2 Subaru Outback 3.0 R VDC Limited (6-cyl.) 19 13 28
SMALL SUVS Overall mpg = 16 or less
1 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara 15 10 21
2 Jeep Liberty Sport 16 11 22
3 Dodge Nitro SLT 16 11 23
MIDSIZED SUVS Overall mpg = 14 or less
1 Dodge Durango SLT (5.7, V8) 13 8 20
2 Jeep Commander Limited (5.7, V8) 13 9 19
3 Land Rover LR3 SE (V8) 13 9 21
4 Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE 14 9 20
5 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer (V8) 14 9 21
6 Hummer H3 14 10 20
MINIVANS Overall mpg = 17 or less
1 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT (3.8) 16 11 26
2 Kia Sedona EX 17 11 25
3 Chrysler Town & Country Limited (4.0) 17 11 27
PICKUPS Overall mpg = 13 or less
1 Ford F-250 Lariat (6.4, turbodsl) 10 7 16
2 Nissan Titan SE (5.6, V8) 13 9 18
3 Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie (6.7, turbodsl) 13 9 19
4 Chevrolet Avalanche LT 13 9 20
5 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LTZ (6.6, turbodsl) 13 9 21
Posted: February 2009 — Consumer Reports Magazine issue: April 2009