Forget What Your Brand Or The EPA Says About Mileage. Here Are The REAL MPG Champs For 2008!

Agent001 submitted on 03/15/2008 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 12:31 PM
from: consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com

[64] user comments | category: Report Cards

Tags: 2008 EPA, Gas Mileage

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2008 EPA

Gas Mileage

Forget What Your Brand Or The EPA Says About Mileage. Here Are The REAL MPG Champs For 2008!

Our good friend Tom Appel over at Consumer Guide was kind enough to share this real world mileage rating list from their tests so AutoSpies.com readers can see what mileage these vehicles REALLY get.

See the highlights and the vehicles that impressed us most in the list below.

As you can see the Toyota Prius absolutely blows EVERYTHING out of the water.

The EPA admits its fuel economy numbers are estimates. Our numbers are real. A typical Consumer Guide test car is evaluated by at least four editors, all of whom account for their individual fuel usage. Here are the vehicles in each class that used the least amount of fuel while in our care.

Compact Car CG Class Average: 26 mpg

Vehicle	Body	Transmission	CG Fuel Economy	EPA City/Highway
Civic Hybrid	sedan	CVT	38.0 mpg	40/45 mpg

Midsize Car CG Class Average: 21 mpg

Vehicle	Body	Transmission	CG Fuel Economy	EPA City/Highway
Toyota Prius	sedan	CVT	45.2 mpg	48/45 mpg

Toyota Camry Hybrid

sedan

CVT

29.0 mpg

33/34 mpg

Premium Large Car CG Class Average: 17 mpg

Vehicle	Body	Transmission	CG Fuel Economy	EPA City/Highway

BMW 750Li	sedan	automatic	19.0 mpg	17/25* mpg

Sporty/Performance Car CG Class Average: 19 mpg

Vehicle	Body	Transmission	CG Fuel Economy	EPA City/Highway
Mini Cooper S	hatchback	manual	31.2 mpg	29/36* mpg

Compact SUV CG Class Average: 19 mpg

Vehicle	Body	Transmission	CG Fuel Economy	EPA City/Highway
Ford Escape Hybrid 2WD	4-door wagon	CVT	31.2 mpg	34/30 mpg
Honda CR-V 2WD	4-door wagon	automatic	24.0 mpg	20/26 mpg

Large SUV CG Class Average: 13 mpg

Vehicle	Body	Transmission	CG Fuel Economy	EPA City/Highway
GMC Yukon 2WD	4-door wagon	automatic	16.7 mpg	14/20 mpg

Premium Large SUV CG Class Average: 14 mpg

Vehicle	Body	Transmission	CG Fuel Economy	EPA City/Highway

Mercedes-Benz GL450 AWD	4-door wagon	automatic	16.4 mpg	13/17* mpg
Cadillac Escalade AWD	4-door wagon	automatic	15.6 mpg	12/18* mpg

See the full list by clicking the 'Read Article' link.

Read Article

Comments:

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theoptimisticpessimist - 3/15/2008 1:03:31 PM

+1 Boost

Errr, the flaw here is what type of driving, city or highway or if both what the percentage?

The issue is the Honda is built of better highway mileage and the Toyota of city. My commute is all highway so this information could be meaningless to me without more data.

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Jagexpert2 - 3/16/2008 2:45:22 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

Did anyone notice the selective editing of this article to reflect that the BMW 750li was class leader when it was not? Agent 001 if you are going to post the information please post it without editing. Let the info stand on its own. Please!

1970toyotamarc - 3/17/2008 2:02:36 PM

+2 Boost

I wonder if that is 001 making the judgment that the Volvo S80 (the winner when you click the link) does not really belong in that category. It seems like the Volvo should be in midsized premium category. (Maybe the EPA classifies it large.) So the 750 would win, but I'm guessing they didnt test many premium large cars, if that is the best they could come up with. For instance, they did not test the LS600hL.

BFABS - 3/15/2008 1:23:42 PM

+4 Boost

Ok can they explain what real worlds is? 50% city and 50% highway? By the way if you live where I live the highway moves at 15mph but the city moves at 35mph. The government should just focus on giving us the 10mph/40mph/65mph gas mileage for each car.

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85bmw745i - 3/16/2008 1:10:40 AM

+2 Boost

I totaly agree with you on the MPH aspect. city/highway varies greatly with location traffic and driver.

jasaero - 3/15/2008 1:24:35 PM

0 Boost

Exactly. And on top of that we have no clue how long each driver had each car. Some drivers drive harder in general, accelerate harder and brake harder rather than coasting and such. Vehicles like the prius and other hybrids with large fuel consumption readout can change driving habits in a forcing you into a game sorta thing also and when that happens it's not the efficiency of the car as much as your habitual changes due to non efficiency related feature.

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mscottc1 - 3/15/2008 2:01:21 PM

-1 Boost

Seriously though, who is that in the picture? "premium" unleaded? ;)

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Agent001 - 3/15/2008 2:20:05 PMView My AgentSpace

+4 Boost

I thought Bill Clinton legalized that years ago? ;)

Just like Austin Powers, we like to be a little naughty sometimes...OH, BEHAVE 001!!!

001

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toolatetorace - 3/15/2008 3:08:48 PM

-2 Boost

Gee, I thought Tundra was tops in class for fuel economy , their not even on the list !!!

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toolatetorace - 3/15/2008 3:54:37 PM

-2 Boost

Just like the article say's GM pickups , best fuel economy

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800over - 3/15/2008 5:04:27 PM

+5 Boost

When an article says that the Tundra has the better power than the GM the complaint is ...but that's the 5.7 liter Tundra vs 5.3 GM. Now you have the 5.7l tundra with barely worse fuel economy than the GM with the 5.3 engine and it makes significantly less HP. You can't have it both ways. Go to edmunds and see how the 6.1l GM does for fuel economy....it's actually quite a bit worse.

91z4me - 3/15/2008 7:37:41 PM

-2 Boost

Well since GM doesn't make a 6.1 I would say it gets 0 mpg. The GM 6.2 V8 does get slightly less mpg than the Tundra 5.7 but then again it makes more power. As you so eloquently put it "you can't have it both ways".

So what do you want? Better gas mileage=GM 5.3. Most power=GM 6.2. What part of your logic am I missing?

800over - 3/17/2008 4:10:49 PM

+2 Boost

The GM makes LESS power with it's larger and less fuel efficient engine......not to mention that it's top power is harder to achieve due to it's laggy engine mapping.
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=119281/pageNumber=2#2

91z4me - 3/18/2008 7:48:59 PM

+1 Boost

800over, Since you quoted an article w/ neither engine I mentioned and from a few years ago I think you can do better than that. Wanna have another go at it?

XYZZ, Both the GM 5.3 and the GM 6.2 are available in the GMT900 SUVs (6.2 in the GMC Denali series, Caddy Escalade series, and recently in the Chevy Suburban). The Tundra's 5.7 is available on the Toyota Sequoia.

Agent63 - 3/15/2008 4:30:45 PM

-4 Boost

And you'd think this list would be dominated by ToyoLexus.

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1970toyotamarc - 3/17/2008 12:31:33 PM

+2 Boost

It is. Toy/lex has 10 vehicles total on the lists, if you click the link.

zairnaim - 3/15/2008 4:57:27 PM

+3 Boost

i have a feeling you are rosko...

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1970toyotamarc - 3/17/2008 12:36:16 PM

+1 Boost

I guess the reviewers drove the Prius without a ton of bricks in the hatch. And didnt drive uphill going 80mph the whole way. Cuz when you drive normally, you get 50mpg, even on highways.

My Prius got 59mpg yesterday over an hour and a half drive on a windy coastal highway, averaging about 60mph.

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EL34 - 3/15/2008 5:18:57 PM

+1 Boost

All them Lexus Hybrids and not a one of them made it on the list.

What a farce :-(

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1970toyotamarc - 3/17/2008 2:10:04 PM

+2 Boost

Click the link, if that is not too hard for you.

The RX is tops in its category, and the GS450h is 2nd (to the slower, smaller TL) in its category. (For some reason, the article is listing the GS as the 350, but when you click through, the numbers quoted actually belong to the 450h "In Consumer Guide testing, a GS 450h averaged 22.7 mpg in city/highway driving.")

SixxFive - 3/15/2008 5:57:52 PM

0 Boost

Interesting that the BMW 750i beat the Lexus LS Hybrid.

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1970toyotamarc - 3/17/2008 12:19:09 PM

+2 Boost

They have not tested the LS600hL, which is why it is not on the list.

artome - 3/15/2008 8:24:15 PM

0 Boost

From the Lexus website:
"Prior to the 2008 model year, EPA tests assumed:

- Very slow acceleration
- Straight, level roads
- Air-conditioning is turned off
- Average speed of 20 mph for city test (top speed of 56 mph)
- Average speed of 48 mph for highway test (top speed of 60 mph)".

Still wondering why those figures are way off??

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Htay7500 - 3/16/2008 8:43:11 AM

+1 Boost

would you care to give us some proof?

NiraliSherni - 3/16/2008 12:27:44 AM

+2 Boost

One way that you dont have to worry about the miles is to shift to electric vehicles. They are so much cheaper to run and because of zero emission, so much more environment friendly! Check out these alternatives at http://www.zapworld.com

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I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 3/16/2008 6:20:12 AM

+1 Boost

Until they start using a test track to do all of their testing the results will always be bull****.

Things like Air Resistance make a lot of difference to mileage so testing indoors on rolling roads or some computer simulation is nonsense in my opinion.

There are enough oval shaped racetracks in the USA that can be utilized for highway speed testing {Inside Lanes not Banked} and the city tests can be done by simply driving into any NEARBY BLOODY CITY.

There are not that many new cars out there that needs to be tested, these guys are either LAZY or JUST CORRUPT. {Easy to skew figures in Indoor Testing or CGT}

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MichaelTaylor - 3/16/2008 7:23:40 AM

+1 Boost

I've said it many times before but the Prius is the benchmark in environmental cleanliness when it comes to cars. This proves it.

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toolatetorace - 3/16/2008 8:06:40 AM

+4 Boost

except for that toxic battery

MichaelTaylor - 3/16/2008 10:38:39 AM

-1 Boost

The battery is safe inside its container. Even in accidents nothing will leak. Toyota has made sure of that. They care about the environment and don't cost cut here.

Htay7500 - 3/16/2008 11:33:33 AM

+1 Boost

you do realize its complex and takes a bit of mpg out.

KoruKinshi - 3/16/2008 12:47:23 PM

+2 Boost

Boobies! Oh, wait...we're talking about MPG? Sorry, I guess I got distracted. ^^;

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evilm - 3/17/2008 8:12:20 AM

+1 Boost

Gas mileage will never dictate what I'll buy. Is she fondling her booby??

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r15mohd - 3/17/2008 9:49:20 AM

-3 Boost

why is the prius listed as a mid-sezed car...it's practically the same size as a civic/corolla!

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r15mohd - 3/17/2008 10:30:08 AM

-1 Boost

*sized

1970toyotamarc - 3/17/2008 2:03:39 PM

+2 Boost

The Prius is mid-sized, larger than Civics and Corollas.

DriverTom - 3/17/2008 7:10:46 PM

+1 Boost

I can respond to some of your healthy skepticism of this piece, as I wrote it.

A couple of things:

We put at least four test-car editors through each vehicle that we report fuel economy for.

We are careful to report only on cars for which we achieve a fair balance of city/high driving. (generally within no more than 40-60% in either direction)

By "real-world" we mean actual daily driving. No performance testing, no track time. We put any averaged of 400 miles on most test cars.

Note:

There are a number of variables that cannot be adjust for: driver aggressiveness (or lack thereof), weather, and temperature.

Though we cannot provide identical conditions for the testing of each vehicle, we still believe our findings have comparative value for consumers.

Please feel free to email me with any thoughts or concerns regarding our fuel-economy findings.

Tom Appel
Managing Editor
Consumer Guide Automotive

tappel@pubint.com

(Is it wrong for me to boost this article?)

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DriverTom - 3/17/2008 7:14:47 PM

+1 Boost

And thanks to 1970 Toyotamarc for catching the GS snafu. Am fixing it now.

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