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Fuel economy vs. performance
Last reviewed: February 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 |
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|---|---|---|
| Make & model | Fuel Economy overall mpg | Acceleration 0-60 mph (sec.) |
| BUDGET CARS Overall mpg = 30 or higher; 0-60 mph = 12.0 or less | ||
| Honda Fit Sport (MT) | 33 | 9.2 |
| Toyota Yaris Sedan | 33 | 11.4 |
| Scion xD (MT) | 34 | 9.0 |
| 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 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 |
| Mazda3i (MT) | 30 | 8.6 |
| Ford Focus SES (MT) | 29 | 9.0 |
| Honda Civic EX | 28 | 10.1 |
| Kia Spectra EX (MT) | 28 | 9.5 |
| 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 |
| BMW Z4 3.0i | 26 | 6.0 |
| 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 (base) | 44 | 10.5 |
| Toyota Prius Touring | 42 | 10.6 |
| Toyota Camry Hybrid | 34 | 8.5 |
| 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 |
| Hyundai Sonata GLS (4-cyl.) | 26 | 9.8 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 S | 25 | 8.1 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LT (4-cyl.) | 25 | 9.4 |
| Volkswagen Passat 2.0T | 24 | 7.7 |
| Mazda6 i Sport | 24 | 9.0 |
| Saturn Aura XE (4-cyl.) | 24 | 9.4 |
| Toyota Camry LE (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 |
| Lexus IS250 | 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 | ||
| Subaru Forester 2.5X (MT) | 24 | 9.1 |
| Toyota RAV4 (base, 4-cyl.) | 23 | 9.8 |
| Nissan Rogue SL | 22 | 8.9 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Lexus RX400h (Hybrid) | 23 | 7.4 |
| Lexus RX350 | 19 | 7.3 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 (base) | 44 | 10.5 |
| Toyota Prius Touring | 42 | 10.6 |
| Mini Cooper (base, MT) | 33 | 9.1 |
| Mini Cooper Clubman | 29 | 10.5 |
| Toyota Matrix S | 27 | 8.3 |
| Volvo C30 T5 1.0 | 25 | 7.2 |
| Audi A3 2.0T (FWD) | 25 | 7.3 |
| Mazda3 s Grand Touring | 25 | 9.5 |
| Saturn Astra XE | 25 | 11.0 |
| Volkswagen Rabbit S | 24 | 8.5 |
| Dodge Caliber SXT | 24 | 10.5 |
| Chevrolet HHR LT | 23 | 9.2 |
| Scion xB | 23 | 9.4 |
| Subaru Impreza Outback Sport | 23 | 9.8 |
| Mazda5 Touring | 23 | 10.3 |
