FORUMS
CAR FORUMS
Get advice, give advice on car buying, car care, and tires.


Fuel economy vs. performance

Last reviewed: October 2009

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.

BEST FUEL ECONOMY & ACCELERATION BY CATEGORY
BASED ON CR TESTS
Make & model Fuel Economy overall mpg Acceleration 0-60 mph (sec.)
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
Toyota Yaris Sedan 33 11.4
Honda Fit (base) 30 10.7
Toyota Yaris Hatchback 30 10.9
SMALL CARS Overall mpg = 28 or higher; 0-60 mph = 12.0 or less
Honda Insight EX 38 11.8
Honda Civic Hybrid 37 11.7
Toyota Corolla (base, MT) 32 9.0
Toyota Corolla LE 32 9.9
Honda Civic EX (MT) 31 8.6
Mazda3 i Touring (MT) 30 8.6
Ford Focus SES (MT) 29 9.0
Mazda3 i Touring (AT) 28 9.4
Kia Spectra EX (MT) 28 9.5
Honda Civic EX 28 10.1
SPORTY CARS/ROADSTERS Overall mpg = 25 or higher; 0-60 mph = 7.5 or less
Mini Cooper S 30 7.2
Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V 30 7.3
Lotus Elise 29 4.6
Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring 27 6.7
Honda Civic Si 27 7.0
Honda S2000 25 5.8
Volkswagen GTI 25 6.7
Dodge Caliber SRT4 25 6.7
FAMILY CARS Overall mpg = 24 or higher; 0-60 mph = 11.0 or less
Toyota Prius IV 44 10.6
Toyota Camry Hybrid 34 8.5
Ford Fusion Hybrid 34 8.9
Volkswagen Jetta TDI 33 9.8
Nissan Altima Hybrid 32 7.6
Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid 27 10.3
Honda Accord LX-P (MT) 26 8.4
Toyota Camry LE (4-cyl.) 26 9.4
Hyundai Sonata GLS (4-cyl.) 26 9.8
Nissan Altima 2.5 S 25 8.1
Chevrolet Malibu LT (4-cyl.) 25 9.4
Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium (4-cyl.) 25 9.7
Volkswagen Passat 2.0T 24 7.7
Mazda6 i Sport 24 9.0
Saturn Aura XE (4-cyl.) 24 9.4
Ford Fusion SE (4-cyl.) 24 9.6
UPSCALE/LUXURY CARS Overall mpg = 23 or higher; 0-60 mph = 8.5 or less
Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec 29 8.0
BMW 335d 28 6.7
Toyota Avalon XLS 24 7.1
Lexus IS250 24 7.7
Volkswagen CC Luxury 24 7.7
Lexus GS450h (Hybrid) 23 5.9
Lexus ES350 23 6.4
Acura TL 23 6.8
BMW 328i 23 6.9
Saab 9-3 2.0T 23 8.0
SMALL SUVS Overall mpg = 21 or higher; 0-60 mph = 11.0 or less
Mercury Mariner Hybrid 26 10.7
Subaru Forester 2.5X (MT) 24 9.1
Toyota RAV4 (base, 4-cyl.) 23 10.0
Nissan Rogue SL 22 8.9
Jeep Patriot Sport 22 9.6
Jeep Compass Sport 22 10.1
Mitsubishi Outlander LS (4-cyl.) 22 10.1
Subaru Forester 2.5X 22 10.4
Honda Element EX 21 10.4
Honda CR-V EX 21 10.6
Chevrolet Equinox 1LT (4-cyl.) 21 10.7
COMPACT SPORTY SUVS Overall mpg = 19 or higher; 0-60 mph = 9.0 or less
Toyota RAV4 Limited (V6) 22 6.7
Subaru Forester 2.5XT Limited 20 7.2
Volkswagen Tiguan SEL 20 8.6
Audi Q5 Premium Plus 19 7.1
BMW X3 3.0si 19 7.9
Mitsubishi Outlander XLS (V6) 19 8.3
MIDSIZED SUVS Overall mpg = 18 or higher; 0-60 mph = 9.5 or less
Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited 24 8.2
BMW X5 xDrive35d 22 8.3
Lexus RX350 21 7.3
Toyota Venza V6 20 6.9
Nissan Murano SL 19 7.6
Toyota Highlander Limited 18 8.0
Honda Pilot EX-L 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
Saturn Outlook XR 16 8.8
Mercedes-Benz GL450 15 7.4
Toyota Land Cruiser 14 7.3
Chevrolet Tahoe LT 14 9.0
Chevrolet Suburban LT3 14 9.1
MINIVANS Overall mpg = 19 or higher; 0-60 mph = 9.0 or less
Toyota Sienna XLE (FWD) 19 7.8
Honda Odyssey EX 19 8.6
PICKUP TRUCKS Overall mpg = 15 or higher; 0-60 mph = 10.0 or less
Toyota Tacoma (base, V6) 17 7.6
Ford Ranger Sport 16 9.2
Chevrolet Colorado LS 16 9.6
Toyota Tundra SR5 (5.7, V8) 15 6.7
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
Toyota Prius IV 44 10.6
Mini Cooper (base, MT) 33 9.1
Mini Cooper Clubman 29 10.5
Nissan Cube 1.8 S 28 10.0
Toyota Matrix S 27 8.3
Hyundai Elantra Touring 26 10.6
Volvo C30 T5 1.0 25 7.2
Audi A3 2.0T (FWD) 25 7.3
Mazda3 s Grand Touring 25 8.3
Kia Soul Plus 25 9.8
Saturn Astra XE 25 11.0
Volkswagen Rabbit S 24 8.5
Chevrolet HHR LT 24 9.1
Dodge Caliber SXT 24 10.5
Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited 24 10.7
Chevrolet HHR LT 23 9.2
Scion xB 23 9.4
Subaru Impreza Outback Sport 23 9.8
Mazda5 Touring 23 10.3