Below are the fuel economy numbers for September 2011. We've listed the overall best, worst and average tanks.
|
Car |
Best |
Worst |
Average |
|
2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon |
32.5 |
18.9 |
24.2 |
|
2011 Chevrolet Cruze |
32.1 |
16.9 |
25.3 |
|
2012 Fiat 500 Sport |
42.4 |
25.3 |
31.2 |
|
2012 Ford Explorer XLT |
21.2 |
18.3 |
19.7 |
|
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid |
37.7 |
24.4 |
31.6 |
|
2011 Ford Mustang GT |
22.1 |
10.7 |
16.6 |
|
2011 Honda Odyssey |
31.5 |
13.2 |
20.6 |
|
2011 Hyundai Equus |
24.6 |
11.6 |
17.5 |
|
2011 Infiniti M56 |
26.4 |
13.0 |
19.0 |
|
2012 Jeep Wrangler |
18.8 |
14.7 |
16.9 |
|
2011 Kia Optima SX Turbo |
28.5 |
12.6 |
22.0 |
|
1997 Mazda MX-5 Miata |
26.0 |
9.6 |
21.9 |
|
2011 Mazda 2 Touring |
38.7 |
25.7 |
32.0 |
|
2011 Mini Cooper Countryman |
33.6 |
20.7 |
25.1 |
|
2010 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport |
27.5 |
18.4 |
23.0 |
|
2011 Nissan Juke |
28.2 |
17.9 |
22.3 |
|
1985 Porsche 911 |
27.8 |
14.1 |
20.7 |
|
2011 Toyota Sienna |
26.3 |
13.2 |
19.4 |
|
2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
46.1 |
25.5 |
35.3 |
|
2012 Volvo S60 T5 |
28.1 |
15.9 |
21.8 |
For comparison, here's the fuel update for August.
Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing, will put up the Volt's fuel economy numbers on a separate post later.
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG. We also listed the EPA combined average.
|
Car |
Best |
Worst |
Average |
EPA |
|
VW Jetta TDI |
46.1 |
25.5 |
35.3 |
34 |
|
Mazda 2 |
38.7 |
25.7 |
32.0 |
32 |
|
Fusion Hybrid |
37.7 |
24.4 |
31.6 |
39 |
|
Fiat 500 |
42.4 |
25.3 |
31.2 |
33 |
|
Chevrolet Cruze |
32.1 |
16.9 |
25.3 |
28 |
|
Mini Countryman |
33.6 |
20.7 |
25.1 |
28 |
|
Acura TSX |
32.5 |
18.9 |
24.2 |
25 |
|
Outlander Sport |
27.5 |
18.4 |
23.0 |
26 |
|
Nissan Juke AWD |
28.2 |
17.9 |
22.3 |
27 |
|
Optima SX Turbo |
28.5 |
12.6 |
22.0 |
26 |
|
Mazda MX-5 |
26.0 |
9.6 |
21.9 |
22 |
|
Porsche 911 |
27.8 |
14.1 |
20.7 |
NA |
|
Volvo S60 T5 |
28.1 |
15.9 |
21.8 |
23 |
|
Honda Odyssey |
31.5 |
13.2 |
20.6 |
21 |
|
Ford Explorer |
21.2 |
18.3 |
19.7 |
23 |
|
Toyota Sienna |
26.3 |
13.2 |
19.4 |
20 |
|
Infiniti M56 |
26.4 |
13.0 |
19.0 |
19 |
|
Hyundai Equus |
24.6 |
11.6 |
17.5 |
19 |
|
Jeep Wrangler |
18.8 |
14.7 |
16.9 |
18 |
|
Ford Mustang GT |
22.1 |
10.7 |
16.6 |
20 |
Note: Cars are sometimes refueled before their fuel tanks are nearly empty. As such, "best" and "worst" fuel economy entries above are not necessarily the result of an entire tank's worth of driving.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor
louiswei says:
12:57 PM, 10/ 3/11
Key comparisons:
Jetta TDI vs. Fusion Hybrid
Mazda 2 vs. 500 Sport
Notes:
- Fusion Hybrid dissapointment continues, I say IL should get the new Camry Hybrid and see how it would fare.
- The Cruze FE is just well... not pleasant.
- All turbo'd cars fell short against the EPA numbers: Cruze, Juke, Optima. I am sorry but I am just not biting the 4-banger economy for 6-banger performance. Given on how the Optima is perfoming I'll take a good V6 like the Toyota 2GR-FE, Nissan VQ and Honda J-series over any I4-T engines out there, no question asked. Based on the Cruze number, seems to me a good NA 4-banger is the way to go for economy cars.
bodyblue says:
01:37 PM, 10/ 3/11
The Fusion is a strange case......it has been MIA for quite a while and we have no idea where and when it is being driven.
church123 says:
01:52 PM, 10/ 3/11
I think your post sums it up pretty well Louis. If you look at the cars that are hitting their EPA (or within a mpg or so), they're all NA with the exception of the Jetta (diesel though) and the Miata, which is aftermarket boosted. And those NA engine span the gamut from I4 to V8.
That isn't to say that you can't acheive good economy with a turbo, just that you have to work awfully hard to do it, something the average driver probably won't do IMO.
teampenske3 says:
01:54 PM, 10/ 3/11
It appears that the Traverse has been quietly eliminated. No blog posts and it's stopped showing up in the FE tables...
bricknord says:
02:14 PM, 10/ 3/11
I don't think we ever had a tank with an average below 40mpg the entire 3 years we owned our New Beetle TDI. We didn't exactly hypermile, either. For some reason, 35 doesn't impress me for the Jetta.
yellowperil says:
03:06 PM, 10/ 3/11
teampenske3 says:
01:54 PM, 10/ 3/11
"It appears that the Traverse has been quietly eliminated. No blog posts and it's stopped showing up in the FE tables..."
--It's so bland that they forgot all about it!
texases says:
03:06 PM, 10/ 3/11
While I have no idea what I'd get with the Jetta, I am averaging (38.1 mpg over 8,000 miles) better than IL's BEST TANK with my Fusion (MKZ) hybrid. It amazes me how bad their mpgs are.
brn says:
03:32 PM, 10/ 3/11
Again...
IL is playing hypermiling games with the TDI. Any results are skewed.
motorstreet says:
04:24 PM, 10/ 3/11
I find it interesting that the Cruze and TSX had such close fuel economy. It's amazing that the highest for the Odyssey was 31.5mpg. I'm disappointed in your Jetta TDI fuel economy, but I guess the DSG and LA are probably responsible for the 10mpg difference between your Jetta and my Golf.
bodyblue says:
05:48 PM, 10/ 3/11
"IL is playing hypermiling games with the TDI. Any results are skewed."
How so?
explorerx4 says:
06:11 PM, 10/ 3/11
Don't freak out about some the high/low numbers.
Some of these are for very short fills.
I saw one for 31 miles not too long ago.
eddie_vedder says:
06:41 PM, 10/ 3/11
"It's so bland that they forgot all about it!"
x2 for that "naughty" orange "sport" sedan by Volvo.
farvy says:
09:00 AM, 10/ 4/11
I always find it interesting to note there is usually a large gap in the table when it is sorted by mpg. In this case, the gap is between the Fiat 500 (31.2) & Chevy Cruze (25.3). That's almost a 6 mpg drop.
cr_driver says:
09:42 AM, 10/ 4/11
bodyblue says:
05:48 PM, 10/ 3/11
"IL is playing hypermiling games with the TDI. Any results are skewed."
How so?
BB
I guess he is talking about when editors outplayed themselves to achieve the best fuel economy/best range possible.
brn says:
03:26 PM, 10/ 4/11
I've tried three times to post a response. Maybe it was all the links to where the IL staffers were having a contest to see who could get the most range (or sometimes highest mpg) in the TDI. If you see this, it's probably the links that got me rejected.
DLu says:
08:07 PM, 10/ 4/11
The M56 gets to 60 in under 5 seconds and still averaged 19 mpg in IL's hands???? That's a sign of good engineering (obviously only a small aspect of what makes a car well-engineered, but still)
zoolander1 says:
01:16 AM, 10/ 5/11
LOUISWEY and CHURCH123:
You mention the VQ (nissan) as a better choice over a 4 turbo. The VQ is very thristy. Yes, sound engine, but lord is it thirsty.
I only comment on vehicles I've owned or driven around. I've had two cars with turbo engines, a 2009 A4 Quattro which IMO has been the best performance/comfort balanced vehicle I've owned. I currently own a Nissan Juke 6MT and believe it or not, it is thirstier than the A4. I have to lay off the pedal in order to attain a disappointing 25.8 mpg for the first 15000.
louiswei says:
07:57 AM, 10/ 5/11
@ Zuulander1,
A4 Quattro: 22/30/25, 211HP/258 lb-ft
Nissan Altima (VQ35DE): 20/27/23, 270HP/258 lb-ft
Considering how the I4-Ts are faring against the EPA numbers, that doesn't seem too big of a gap to me...
zoolander1 says:
04:27 PM, 10/ 5/11
Louiswei:
I've owned both the 2009 A4 and a 2002 Maxima with the VQ35. I couldn't get close to the EPA numbers on the maxima. I don't work for neither car company. Just talking about my personal experience. I drove the maxima past 100k miles and never gave me mechanical problems, but the fuel economy was disappointing. The Audi I never saw myself keeping it past manufacturer's warranty, but it did surpass EPA estimated mpg unlike the maxima.
dharbin says:
07:31 PM, 10/ 5/11
I'd love to know the story behind the 9.6 mpg with the Miata. Where is the Miata anyway? Haven't heard from it in a long time.