EPA Fuel Economy Leaders 2009

[SyCo]

Environmental Protection Agency 2009 fuel economy information is now available. Hybrids still dominate. Of course the Prius is still king of the hill .

The VW Jetta is the first diesel making the list rated 30 mpg in the city, 41 on the highway.

Many diesel fans regularly chide the hybrid cars segment as a fad, but when it comes to city driving it's clear, hybrids are easily superior.


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 34/31
5 Smart Fortwo Convertible 33/41
6 Toyota Camry Hybrid 33/34
7 Volkswagon Jetta (manual, diesel) 30/41
8 Volkswagon Jetta (automatic, diesel) 29/40
9 Toyota Yaris (manual) 29/36
10 Toyota Yaris (automatic) 29/35

Fuel Economy Leaders: 2009 Model Year

• Fuel Economy Leaders
• Lowest Models Overall
• Highest Models within Class
• Lowest Models within Class

also available

[miscrms]

What?!? The Escalade Hybrid didn't make the list?

[Picasso Moon]

Originally Posted by miscrms

What?!? The Escalade Hybrid didn't make the list?

Not quite, but it smokes every other full sized SUV including including the Lexus land yachts it competes against. I'm not normally one to stick up for GM but they have put on the road a full size SUV that gets excellent mileage for that class. At 20 mpg combined nothing comes close. And going from the abysmal 14 mpg that the Lexus LX-570 gets to 20 mpg of the Escalade saves more fuel than going from a 24 mpg sedan to a 46 mpg Prius.

[usbseawolf2000]

What is going on? What is that mid-size car doing on top of the list?

[miscrms]

Originally Posted by Picasso Moon

Not quite, but it smokes every other full sized SUV including including the Lexus land yachts it competes against. I'm not normally one to stick up for GM but they have put on the road a full size SUV that gets excellent mileage for that class. At 20 mpg combined nothing comes close. And going from the abysmal 14 mpg that the Lexus LX-570 gets to 20 mpg of the Escalade saves more fuel than going from a 24 mpg sedan to a 46 mpg Prius.

FWIW, thats not even really true.

The average passenger car in the US get 22.4mpg. And that doesn't even count all the people that drive trucks, vans, and SUVs as passenger cars, thats just cars. American drivers average 15,000 miles per year. 15,000 miles / 22.4 miles per gallon = 670 gallons. At 46mpg the Prius uses 15,000 / 46 miles per gallon = 326 gallons for a savings of 343 gallons per year.

The LX-570 uses 15,000 miles / 14 mpg = 1071 gallons. The Escalade Hybrid uses 15,000 miles / 20 mpg = 750 gallons, for a savings of 321 gallons per year. In a more relevant comparison the average truck, van and SUV gets 18 mpg using 15,000 / 18 mpg = 833 gallons, while the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid gets 21 mpg using 714 gallons saving 119 gallons per year.

Of course if the average truck, van and SUV driver realized he/she doesn't need a 6,000 lb tank to commute to work in and switched to a Prius, they'd save 507 gallons per year. Personally I switched from a 14mpg Land Rover to a Prius (and I average 51.5mpg and climbing) saving 780 gallons per year.

Add to the above that far more people can afford a $22k mid-sized car than a $48k-$72k hybrid SUV and the savings above will be greatly compounded in the Prius' favor. For example the 1101 Tahoe/Yukon Hybrids sold in September will save a combined 131,019 gallons per year over the average truck/van/SUV. The 10,873 Priuses sold in the same month in the US alone will save 3,729,439 gallons per year over the average car. If you use the 12,494 units Toyota sold in Sept. '07 before the supply problems arose, that becomes 4,282,442 gallons/year.

Maybe if GM had invested in a decent mid-sized 40-50mpg hybrid instead of two mode behemoths they wouldn't be teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Probably not though.

US Average fuel economy:
BTS | Table 4-23: Average Fuel Efficiency of U.S. Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

Rob

[miscrms]

Originally Posted by usbseawolf2000

What is going on? What is that mid-size car doing on top of the list?

I agree, its kind of ridiculous that no one has a small compact hybrid to beat the pants off the Prius. Its way more car than a lot of people need, and it sucks that they have to chose between a car thats the right size for them, and a bigger car that gets better mileage.

Rob

[justlurkin]

I remember a couple of months ago I saw "Saving General Motors" on CNBC. They are going to rebroadcast it this Sunday.

That documentary is very telling IMHO. It interviewed the GM execs and previewed what GM has in the pipeline, and all they are focused on is "build quality." The GM execs went on and on about building cars with interiors that will appeal to drivers like chrome, leather and walnut trim, and they wanted to deliver "excitement". So they dedicated an entire segment to their upcoming new Camaro.

All they had to show about the Volt was the Malibu test mule with the Volt's mechanicals.

When are those boneheads on GM's board going to realize that this is a different kind of market? What they need to do is to build reliable cars that are affordable for families with ever-shrinking budgets, and they need to build it with significantly better fuel economy than Japanese cars to make them stand out.

But noooo, all they care about is interior chrome and leather.

They are burning through $1 Billion of cash per month, and with the recession setting in, I fret to hear what the next move would be from that group of boardroom boneheads.

[PriusSport]

The Prius numbers look like they are for the dead of winter in Minnesota. I've gotten 55 mpg on the highway and 50-52 mpg around town since May. I expect a few mpg less this winter. Tire pressures 39/37.

[SyCo]

Originally Posted by PriusSport

The Prius numbers look like they are for the dead of winter in Minnesota. I've gotten 55 mpg on the highway and 50-52 mpg around town since May. I expect a few mpg less this winter. Tire pressures 39/37.

I agree with you.

But they are on top a the list anyway. Nothing come close

Plus they are very reliable.
ConsumerReports December 2008 Reliability findings. Gas-saving models lead in reliability

According to the survey, nine hybrid models for which we have sufficient data earned above-average predicted-reliability Ratings. Most of those hybrids are from Japanese automakers.

[Winston]

Originally Posted by miscrms

FWIW, thats not even really true.

The average passenger car in the US get 22.4mpg. And that doesn't even count all the people that drive trucks, vans, and SUVs as passenger cars, thats just cars. American drivers average 15,000 miles per year. 15,000 miles / 22.4 miles per gallon = 670 gallons. At 46mpg the Prius uses 15,000 / 46 miles per gallon = 326 gallons for a savings of 343 gallons per year.

The LX-570 uses 15,000 miles / 14 mpg = 1071 gallons. The Escalade Hybrid uses 15,000 miles / 20 mpg = 750 gallons, for a savings of 321 gallons per year. In a more relevant comparison the average truck, van and SUV gets 18 mpg using 15,000 / 18 mpg = 833 gallons, while the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid gets 21 mpg using 714 gallons saving 119 gallons per year.

Of course if the average truck, van and SUV driver realized he/she doesn't need a 6,000 lb tank to commute to work in and switched to a Prius, they'd save 507 gallons per year. Personally I switched from a 14mpg Land Rover to a Prius (and I average 51.5mpg and climbing) saving 780 gallons per year.

Add to the above that far more people can afford a $22k mid-sized car than a $48k-$72k hybrid SUV and the savings above will be greatly compounded in the Prius' favor. For example the 1101 Tahoe/Yukon Hybrids sold in September will save a combined 131,019 gallons per year over the average truck/van/SUV. The 10,873 Priuses sold in the same month in the US alone will save 3,729,439 gallons per year over the average car. If you use the 12,494 units Toyota sold in Sept. '07 before the supply problems arose, that becomes 4,282,442 gallons/year.

Maybe if GM had invested in a decent mid-sized 40-50mpg hybrid instead of two mode behemoths they wouldn't be teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Probably not though.

US Average fuel economy:
BTS | Table 4-23: Average Fuel Efficiency of U.S. Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

Rob

MS,

That was a long winded answer where you failed to disprove Picasso's statement, because Picasso's statement is true.

Beyond that, GM's overall assertion that more fuel can be saved by putting hybrid technology onto large vehicles will save more fuel that putting it onto smaller vehicles, might be true.

Your point which basically says that you can save more fuel by downsizing has very little to do with justifying hybrid technology, just with buying an appropriate sized vehicle.