2009 Fuel Economy Leaders and Laggards
By B. Butts, Web Exclusive Posted Oct. 21, 2008
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published its annual list of best and worse fuel-economy vehicles. The reported city miles per gallon (MPG) ranged from 8 for the Lamborghini Murcielago to 48 for the Toyota Prius Hybrid. A quick glance at the published list indicates, as expected, that fuel-economy is not a priority for consumers of high-end luxury vehicles. This puts the Jeep Grand Cherokee in a akward, if not embarassing, position. The Grand Cherokee was the only vehicle with a less than six-figure price tag to make the bottom 10 list.
Toyota and Volkswagen models dominated the leaders list with four entries each while Bentley and Mercedes-Benz populated the laggards list with seven and six entries respectively.
Click here to view a slide show of the EPA’s top and bottom 10 MPG vehicles. For more information, visit the EPA’s website, http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/overall-high.htm. Click here to view the EPA’s fuel economy program and here for the Green Vehicle Guide website to find the "greenest" vehicles.
Top 10
| Rank |
Manufacturer/Model |
MPG
city/highway |
|
1
|
Toyota Prius (hybrid)
|
48/45
|
|
2
|
Honda Civic Hybrid
|
40/45
|
|
3
|
Nissan Altima Hybrid
|
35/33
|
|
4
|
Ford Escape Hybrid FWD
Mazda Tribute Hybrid 2WD
Mercury Mariner Hybrid FWD
|
34/31
|
|
5
|
Smart Fortwo Convertible
Smart Fortwo Coupe
|
33/41
|
|
6
|
Toyota Camry Hybrid
|
33/34
|
|
7
|
Volkswagon Jetta (manual, diesel)
Volkswagon Jetta Sportwagon (manual, diesel)
|
30/41
|
|
8
|
Volkswagon Jetta (automatic, diesel)
Volkswagon Jetta Sportwagon (automatic, diesel)
|
29/40
|
|
9
|
Toyota Yaris (manual)
|
29/36
|
|
10
|
Toyota Yaris (automatic)
|
29/35
|
Bottom 10
| Rank |
Manufacturer/Model |
MPG
city/highway |
|
1
|
Lamborghini Murcielago (manual)
Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster (manual)
|
8/13
|
|
2
|
Lamborghini Murcielago (automatic)
Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster (automatic)
|
9/14
|
|
3
|
Bentley Azure
Bentley Arnage RL
|
9/15
|
|
4
|
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (automatic)
|
9/16
|
|
5
|
Bentley Arnage
Bentley Brooklands
|
10/14
|
|
6
|
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (manual)
|
10/15
|
|
7
|
Mercedes-Benz Maybach 57
Mercedes-Benz Maybach 57S
Mercedes-Benz Maybach 62
Mercedes-Benz Maybach 62S
|
10/16
|
|
8
|
Bentley Continental GT
Bentley Continental GTC
Bentley Continental Flying Spur
|
10/17
|
|
9
|
Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD
|
11/14
|
|
10
|
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG
Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG
|
11/15
|