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Fuel economy vs. performance

Last reviewed: November 2011

You don't always have to give up engine performance in return for good fuel economy. To prove this, Consumer Reports compiled this list of vehicles that provided the best combination of fuel economy and acceleration in our tests. Vehicles are ranked within each category based on the overall miles per gallon and 0-to-60-mph acceleration times they achieved in our tests. Both were weighted equally. For more on saving gas, see our guide to fuel economy.

Best fuel economy & acceleration by category based on CR tests

Make & model Fuel Economy
overall mpg
Acceleration
0-60 mph (sec.)
FUEL-EFFICIENT HATCHBACKS Overall mpg = 38 or higher; 0-60mph = 12.0 or less
*MPGe (composite of electricity & gas)
Nissan Leaf SL 106 10.3
Chevrolet Volt* 61 9.4
Toyota Prius IV 44 10.6
Lexus CT 200h Premium 40 11.0
Volkswagen Golf TDI (MT) 38 9.4
Honda Insight EX 38 11.8
SUBCOMPACT CARS Overall mpg = 30 or higher; 0-60 mph = 12.0 or less
Scion xD (MT) 34 9.0
Honda Fit Sport (MT) 33 9.2
Mazda2 Sport (MT) 33 10.3
Ford Fiesta SE Sedan 33 10.9
Nissan Versa SV 32 10.6
Ford Fiesta SES hatchback (MT) 32 10.7
Hyundai Accent GLS 31 10.3
Honda Fit (base) 30 10.7
Mazda2 Touring 30 11.1
SMALL CARS Overall mpg = 28 or higher; 0-60 mph = 12.0 or less
Honda Civic Hybrid 40 10.9
Volkswagen Jetta TDI 34 9.5
Toyota Corolla (base, MT) 32 9.0
Toyota Corolla LE 32 9.9
Mazda3 i Touring (MT) 30 8.6
Honda Civic LX 30 9.9
Hyundai Elantra GLS 29 9.5
Honda Civic EX 29 10.1
Ford Focus SE 28 9.2
Mazda3 i Touring (AT) 28 9.4
Kia Forte EX 28 10.3
SPORTY CARS/ROADSTERS Overall mpg = 25 or higher; 0-60 mph = 7.5 or less (Manual unless otherwise noted)
Mini Cooper S 30 7.2
Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V 30 7.3
Mini Cooper S Convertible 30 7.5
Honda Civic Si 29 7.1
Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring 28 7.0
Volkswagen Jetta GLI Autobahn 27 7.2
Volkswagen GTI 27 7.2
Mazdaspeed3 Sport 26 6.4
Volvo C30 T5 1.0 25 7.2
FAMILY CARS Overall mpg = 24 or higher; 0-60 mph = 11.0 or less
Volkswagen Passat TDI SE 37 9.8
Ford Fusion Hybrid 34 8.9
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 33 9.1
Hyundai Sonata GLS 27 8.2
Nissan Altima 2.5 S 26 8.3
Hyundai Sonata Limted (turbo) 25 6.6
Kia Optima LX 25 8.6
Honda Accord LX-P (4-cyl.) 25 9.2
Suzuki Kizashi SE 25 9.3
Chevrolet Malibu LT (4-cyl.) 25 9.4
Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium 25 9.7
Volkswagen Passat SE 25 9.7
Nissan Altima 3.5 SR 24 6.5
Kia Optima SX (turbo) 24 6.6
Mazda6 i Sport 24 9.0
Ford Fusion SE (4-cyl.) 24 9.6
UPSCALE/LUXURY CARS Overall mpg = 23 or higher; 0-60 mph = 8.5 or less
BMW 335d 28 6.7
Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec 26 7.9
Infiniti M35h 25 5.6
Audi A4 Premium 25 7.2
Acura TSX 25 8.3
Acura TL 24 6.8
Lexus IS250 24 7.7
Volkswagen CC Luxury 24 7.7
Infiniti G25 Journey 24 8.5
BMW 535i 23 6.1
Lexus ES350 23 6.4
Volvo S60 T5 23 6.7
BMW 328i 23 6.9
Toyota Avalon Limited 23 7.1
Saab 9-3 2.0T 23 8.0
Buick Regal CXL (turbo) 23 8.3
SMALL SUVS Overall mpg = 21 or higher; 0-60 mph = 11.0 or less
Mini Countryman S 26 8.3
Ford Escape Hybrid 26 10.7
Nissan Juke SV 24 7.9
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE 23 9.6
Toyota RAV4 (base, 4-cyl.) 23 10.0
Toyota RAV4 Limited (V6) 22 6.7
BMW X3 xDrive28i 22 7.2
Nissan Rogue SL 22 8.9
Hyundai Tucson GLS 22 9.7
Mitsubishi Outlander LS (4-cyl.) 22 10.1
Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium 22 10.2
Jeep Compass Latitude 22 10.3
Kia Sportage LX 22 10.3
Ford Escape XLT (4-cyl.) 21 10.0
Jeep Patriot Latitude 21 10.3
MIDSIZED SUVS Overall mpg = 18 or higher; 0-60 mph = 9.5 or less
Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited 27 7.6
Lexus RX 450h 26 7.7
Volkswagen Touareg TDI 24 8.4
BMW X5 xDrive35d 22 8.3
Lexus RX350 21 7.3
Kia Sorento EX (V6) 20 7.6
Hyundai Santa Fe Limited (V6) 20 7.9
Nissan Murano SL 19 7.6
Porsche Cayenne (base) 19 7.8
Lincoln MKT EcoBoost 18 6.4
Infiniti FX35 18 6.8
Acura MDX 18 7.3
Lincoln MKX 18 7.6
Toyota 4Runner SR5 (V6) 18 7.7
Ford Explorer XLT 18 7.9
Toyota Highlander Limited 18 8.0
Ford Edge SEL 18 8.1
Chevrolet Equinox 2LT (V6) 18 9.1
Honda Pilot EX-L 18 9.1
Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (V6) 18 9.1
LARGE SUVS Overall mpg = 14 or higher; 0-60 mph = 10.0 or less
Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid 19 9.6
Mercedes-Benz GL320 19 9.8
Ford Flex Limited EcoBoost 17 6.5
Ford Flex SEL 17 9.0
Dodge Durango Crew (V6) 17 9.4
Chevrolet Traverse LT 16 7.9
Infiniti QX56 15 6.9
Toyota Sequoia Limited 15 7.1
Mercedes-Benz GL450 15 7.4
Buick Enclave CXL 15 7.9
Toyota Land Cruiser 14 7.3
Dodge Durango Crew (V8) 14 8.1
Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ 14 8.4
Chevrolet Suburban LT3 14 9.1
MINIVANS Overall mpg = 19 or higher; 0-60 mph = 9.0 or less
Toyota Sienna XLE (FWD) 20 8.8
Nissan Quest SL 19 8.4
Toyota Sienna XLE (AWD) 19 8.5
Honda Odyssey EX-L 19 8.7
PICKUP TRUCKS Overall mpg = 15 or higher; 0-60 mph = 10.0 or less
Toyota Tacoma (base, V6) 17 7.6
Chevrolet Colorado LS 16 9.6
Toyota Tundra SR5 (5.7, V8) 15 6.7
Ford F-150 EcoBoost XLT (V6) 15 7.7
Ford F-150 XLT (V8) 15 7.8
Nissan Frontier LE 15 7.9
Honda Ridgeline RTS 15 8.6
WAGONS/HATCHBACKS Overall mpg = 23 or higher; 0-60 mph = 11.0 or less
Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI (MT) 36 9.7
Toyota Matrix 1.8L 29 10.1
Mini Cooper Clubman 29 10.5
Ford Focus SEL hatchback 28 9.3
Nissan Cube 1.8 S 28 10.0
Toyota Matrix S 27 8.3
Kia Forte EX hatchback 26 9.8
Hyundai Elantra Touring 26 10.6
Audi A3 2.0T (FWD) 25 7.3
Mazda3 s Sport 25 8.3
Kia Soul Plus 25 9.8
Volkswagen Golf 2.5 24 8.6
Suzuki SX4 Technology hatchback 24 10.3
Dodge Caliber SXT 24 10.5
Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited 24 10.7
Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen SE 23 9.3
Scion xB 23 9.4
Mazda5 Grand Touring 23 9.6