Best & worst cars review, fuel-efficient vehicles

In this report: Overview; Ownership costs; Best & worst values; Best new vehicles under $25,000; Highest scoring American vehicles; Best & worst fuel economy; Best city/highway mpg; Best & worst acceleration; Best & worst in safety performance; Best & worst visibility; Highs & lows of testing; Most overlooked cars; Most fun to drive; Best for comfort; Best off-road; Best & worst three-row vehicles

This article was featured in the April 2011 issue of Consumer Reports Magazine.

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Best & worst fuel economy

Last reviewed: February 2012

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
FUEL-EFFICIENT HATCHBACKS Overall mpg = 38 or higher
1	Nissan Leaf SL	106¹	86¹	118¹
2	Chevrolet Volt	61²	45²	76¹
3	Toyota Prius Four	44	32	55
4	Lexus CT 200h Premium	40	31	47
5	Smart ForTwo Passion	39	30	44
6	Honda Insight EX	38	29	45
7	Volkswagen Golf TDI (MT)	38	27	49
	1 = MPGe 2 = composite of electricity & gas
SUBCOMPACT CARS Overall mpg = 30 or higher
1	Scion xD (MT)	34	25	40
2	Mazda2 Sport (MT)	33	25	40
3	Honda Fit Sport (MT)	33	24	37
4	Ford Fiesta SE sedan	33	22	45
5	Ford Fiesta SES hatchback (MT)	32	23	42
6	Nissan Versa SV sedan	32	23	40
7	Hyundai Accent GLS	31	20	45
8	Mazda2 Touring	30	22	38
9	Honda Fit base	30	21	39
SMALL SEDANS Overall mpg = 28 or higher
1	Honda Civic Hybrid	40	28	50
2	Volkswagen Jetta TDI	34	25	45
3	Toyota Corolla LE	32	23	40
4	Toyota Corolla (base, MT)	32	23	39
5	Mazda3 i Touring	32	22	43
6	Honda Civic LX	30	19	47
7	Hyundai Elantra GLS	29	20	39
8	Honda Civic EX	29	18	43
9	Chevrolet Sonic LT	28	19	38
10	Kia Forte EX	28	19	38
11	Ford Focus SE	28	18	43
SPORTY CARS/ROADSTERS Overall mpg = 25 or higher (tested with manual transmission)
1	Honda CR-Z EX	35	26	45
2	Fiat 500c Pop	34	25	42
3	Fiat 500 Sport	33	24	42
4	Mini Cooper (base)	33	24	41
5	Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V	30	23	39
6	Mini Cooper S hatchback	30	22	38
7	Mini Cooper S convertible	30	22	37
8	Honda Civic Si	29	20	39
9	Scion tC	28	21	33
10	Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring	28	20	35
11	Kia Forte Koup SX	27	19	37
12	Volkswagen GTI	27	19	36
13	Volkswagen Jetta GLI Autobahn	27	18	39
14	Mazdaspeed3 Sport	26	18	34
15	Volkswagen Eos Lux	25	18	34
16	Volvo C30 T5 1.0	25	17	35
FAMILY SEDANS Overall mpg = 25 or higher
1	Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE	38	32	43
2	Volkswagen Passat TDI SE	37	26	51
3	Ford Fusion Hybrid	34	25	40
4	Hyundai Sonata Hybrid	33	24	40
5	Toyota Camry LE (4-cyl.)	27	19	41
6	Hyundai Sonata GLS	27	18	39
7	Nissan Altima 2.5 S (4-cyl.)	26	18	35
8	Toyota Camry XLE (V6)	26	17	37
9	Hyundai Sonata Limited (turbo)	25	18	34
10	Kia Optima LX	25	18	34
11	Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium (4-cyl.)	25	18	34
12	Honda Accord LX-P (4-cyl.)	25	17	37
13	Volkswagen Passat SE	25	17	36
14	Suzuki Kizashi SE	25	17	33
15	Chevrolet Malibu LT (4-cyl.)	25	16	38
UPSCALE/LUXURY SEDANS Overall mpg = 23 or higher
1	Lexus HS 250h Hybrid Premium	31	24	37
2	BMW 335d	28	19	40
3	Buick LaCrosse (base)	26	18	39
4	Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec	26	17	39
5	Acura TSX	25	17	35
6	Audi A4 Premium	25	17	35
7	Infiniti M35h	25	17	33
8	Lexus IS250	24	17	34
9	Acura TL	24	16	35
10	Volkswagen CC Luxury	24	16	34
11	Infiniti G25 Journey	24	16	33
12	Lexus GS 450h	23	17	30
13	Saab 9-3 2.0T	23	15	38
14	Buick Regal CXL	23	15	37
15	Volvo S60 T5	23	15	35
16	BMW 535i	23	15	34
17	Buick Regal CXL (turbo)	23	15	34
18	Lexus ES350	23	15	34
19	Toyota Avalon Limited	23	15	34
20	BMW 328i	23	15	33
WAGONS & HATCHBACKS Overall mpg = 25 or higher
1	Toyota Prius v Three	41	33	47
2	Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI (MT)	36	25	49
3	Mini Cooper Clubman	29	21	37
4	Toyota Matrix 1.8L	29	21	36
5	Nissan Cube 1.8 S	28	21	33
6	Ford Focus SEL	28	19	39
7	Toyota Matrix S (2.4)	27	19	36
8	Kia Forte EX	26	18	36
9	Kia Soul Plus	25	19	31
10	Audi A3 2.0T (4-cyl.)	25	18	33
11	Mazda3 s Sport	25	17	34
SMALL SUVS Overall mpg = 21 or higher
1	Ford Escape Hybrid	26	22	27
2	Mini Countryman S	26	19	33
3	Nissan Juke SV	24	18	31
4	Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE	23	18	28
5	Toyota RAV4 (base, 4-cyl.)	23	16	29
6	Nissan Rogue SL	22	17	27
7	Mitsubishi Outlander LS (4-cyl.)	22	16	30
8	Kia Sportage LX (4-cyl.)	22	16	30
9	Hyundai Tucson GLS	22	16	28
10	Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium	22	16	28
11	BMW X3 xDrive28i	22	15	30
12	Jeep Compass Latitude	22	15	29
13	Toyota RAV4 Limited (V6)	22	15	29
14	Jeep Patriot Latitude	21	15	28
15	Ford Escape XLT (4-cyl.)	21	15	27
16	Volkswagen Tiguan SEL	21	16	27
17	Honda Element EX	21	15	29
18	Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Pure	21	14	29
MIDSIZED/LARGE SUVS Overall mpg = 18 or higher
1	Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited	27	23	29
2	Lexus RX 450h	26	22	31
3	Volkswagen Touareg TDI	24	17	31
4	BMW X5 xDrive35d	22	15	29
5	Lexus RX 350	21	15	27
6	Chevrolet Equinox 1LT (4-cyl.)	21	14	30
7	Ford Edge SEL (4-cyl.)	21	14	29
8	Hyundai Santa Fe GLS (4-cyl.)	20	15	24
9	Kia Sorento LX (4-cyl)	20	14	28
10	Hyundai Santa Fe Limited (V6)	20	14	26
11	Kia Sorento EX (V6)	20	14	26
12	Porsche Cayenne (base)	19	14	26
13	Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid	19	14	25
14	Mercedes-Benz GL320 BLUETEC	19	13	27
15	Nissan Murano SL	19	13	26
16	Toyota Highlander Limited	18	13	26
17	Infiniti FX35	18	13	24
18	Chevrolet Equinox 2LT (V6)	18	12	26
19	Ford Edge SEL	18	12	26
20	Ford Explorer XLT	18	12	26
21	Lincoln MKT EcoBoost	18	12	26
22	Honda Pilot EX-L	18	12	25
23	Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (V6)	18	12	25
24	Acura MDX	18	12	24
25	Lincoln MKX	18	12	24
26	Toyota 4Runner SR5 (V6)	18	12	24
MINIVANS Overall mpg = 19 or higher
1	Toyota Sienna LE (4-cyl.)	20	14	29
2	Toyota Sienna XLE (FWD)	20	14	27
3	Toyota Sienna XLE (AWD)	19	13	25
4	Nissan Quest SL	19	13	24
5	Honda Odyssey EX-L	19	12	31
PICKUPS Overall mpg = 16 or higher
1	Toyota Tacoma (base, V6)	17	13	21
2	Chevrolet Colorado LS (5-cyl.)	16	11	23
3	Ford Ranger Sport	16	11	22

Worst

Rank	Make & Model	Overall mpg	City mpg	Highway mpg
SMALL CARS Overall mpg = 24 or less
1	Suzuki SX4 Technology	24	17	31
2	Dodge Caliber SXT	24	17	32
3	Volkswagen Golf 2.5	24	17	34
4	Scion xB	23	16	30
ROADSTERS/SPORTY CARS Overall mpg = 17 or less
1	Chevrolet Camaro 2SS convertible	17	11	25
2	Mercedes-Benz SL550	17	11	26
FAMILY SEDANS Overall mpg = 20 or less
1	Ford Fusion SEL (AWD)	20	13	29
2	Chevrolet Malibu LTZ	20	13	30
3	Mazda6 s Grand Touring	20	13	31
4	Chevrolet Impala LT	20	13	32
UPSCALE/LUXURY SEDANS Overall mpg = 18 or less
1	Mercedes-Benz S550	17	11	27
2	BMW 7 Series 750Li	18	12	25
3	Lincoln MKS (AWD) EcoBoost	18	12	28
4	Chrysler 300 C	18	12	29
SMALL SUVS Overall mpg = 16 or less
1	Jeep Liberty Sport	16	11	22
2	Dodge Nitro SLT	16	11	23
MIDSIZED/LARGE SUVS Overall mpg = 14 or less
1	Lincoln Navigator Ultimate	13	8	18
2	Ford Expedition EL Eddie Bauer	13	8	18
3	Cadillac Escalade (base)	13	9	21
4	Chevrolet Suburban LT3	14	9	20
5	Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ	14	9	20
6	Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE	14	9	20
7	Dodge Durango Crew (V8)	14	9	22
8	Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (V8)	14	9	22
9	Toyota Land Cruiser	14	10	20
MINIVANS Overall mpg = 17 or less
1	Chrysler Town and Country Touring-L	17	11	27

Best & worst fuel economy

Best

Worst

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