It’s no surprise that the most efficient cars are hybrids, but is there still space for the regular petrol-powered car?
The USA might have a reputation for producing some of the world’s biggest gas-guzzlers, but the times they are a changin, just as Bob Dylan predicted, and the Environmental Protection Agency now pays very close attention to fuel consumption figures. These are all tested under standardised conditions by the makers, but just in case any of them think they can do a Volkswagen, the EPA takes 10-15% of vehicles and tests them itself at its Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Michigan.
We’re leaving out fully electric cars because miles-per-gallon figures make no sense for these, even if chemists can and do work out an electrical/chemical energy equivalent. We’re also sticking to the EPA’s car classification categories and showing the winner in each.
So let’s see if you guess right…
01 Best two-seater car: Honda CR-Z, 37mpg
The Honda CR-Z is a hybrid with a 1.5L 4-cylinder motor. It’s shaded for fuel economy by Toyota’s ubiquitous Prius, but it’s a very different kind of vehicle – a sports car with hot hatch performance though not, it seems quite the same lithe responsiveness as a petrol-powered equivalent. The EPA classified it as a two-seater, but actually it’s a 2+2.
02 Best minicompact car: Fiat 500, 34mpg
The EPA tested a 1.4L 4-cylinder petrol car rather than the 1.2L or TwinAir variants. It doesn’t deliver the fuel efficiency of a hybrid car, but you don’t get hybrids in this size – or at this price. The dinky retro styling hides an unexpectedly spacious (sort of) interior with room for four adults, though the two-door body makes access to the rear seats trickier.
03 Best subcompact car: Scion iA, 37mpg
What, is this is some new car marque that’s appeared from nowhere? Actually, no, it’s a Toyota sub-brand, and any fears that the Scion is simply a rebadged Prius should be allayed by a glance at the performance figures. Except that the frugal Scion iA is a smaller car based, apparently on the Mazda 2. You can’t be any more confused than we are.
04 Best compact car: Toyota Prius c, 50mpg
No list of fuel-efficient cars would be complete without the Toyota Prius, and this is the smaller, cheaper ‘city’ version, which is why it slots into the EPA’s ‘compacts’ category. It’s practical enough, but reviewers comment on its lifeless steering, harsh ride and noisy petrol engine. Nobody said saving the planet was going to be easy.
05 Best midsize car: Toyota Prius Eco, 56mpg
Yes, it’s the Prius again, this time the smarter, bigger version. That’s a pretty impressive result – the best in our list – given that the Prius Eco fits into the EPA’s ‘midsize’ category. This is no pint-sized lightweight, but a proper five seater with a good deal of space and comfort. It’s no performance car, of course, but if you’re really into fuel efficiency, you’re not really looking for that, right?
06 Best large car: Ford C-MAX Hybrid 4WD, 40mpg
With a big interior and 188hp combined power output from its 2L engine, the C-MAX Hybrid can hit 115mph, so it should appeal to regular petrolheads as well as more economy-minded drivers, and there’s plenty of room inside for 5 adults. The Hybrid SE has a dash display which grows LCD leaves when you’re doing particularly well. Extraordinary, and not in a good way.
07 Best small station wagon: Honda Fit, 36mpg
In Europe this would be called an ‘estate’, so we’re not talking about some vast, half-timbered Studebaker from the fifties here, but a regular saloon or hatchback with the rear roofline extended. The Fit comes with eco-assist coaching aids, an Econ button with leaves on it (leaves are clearly a theme for fuel-sippers) and an unexpectedly powerful 1.5L 130hp petrol engine.
08 Best midsize station wagon: Toyota Prius v, 42mpg
Toyota closes out our list with a third appearance, this time with the Prius estate. Is this cheating? We’re not sure. But we do know that if you fold down the rear seats you get 67 cubic feet of storage space. According to testers, the Prius v shares the uninvolving driving characteristics of the other Prius models, but for pure fuel efficiency, the Prius has the others beaten