Myth: SUVs are the biggest gas guzzlers around.
Fact: Minivans, pick-up trucks and regular ol' four door sedans get the same, if not worse, miles per gallon (MPG.)
Check out these ratings from the Consumer Reports Guide to Fuel Efficient Vehicles. Of the highest ranked vehicles of their class, these are the top performers in the MPG category:
- Midsized & large SUV: Honda Pilot EX (overall mpg 19, city 13, highway 27)
- Minivan: Chevrolet Venture LS (overall mpg 19, city 12, hwy 27)
- Compact pickup: Toyota Tacoma TRD (overall mpg 16, city 12, hwy 22)
- Small SUV: Toyota Matrix SR AWD (overall mpg 24, city 17, hwy 33)
- Wagons/hatchbacks: Pontiac Vibe FWD (overall mpg 26, 18 city, 36 hwy
- Nearly all of the sedan categories: family, luxury, upscale, and large (with the exception of the small sedan) were similar, averaging an overall mpg of 22.
Small sedan drivers are really the only people who can do the finger pointing as that category ranks best overall for mpg:
- Honday Insight (overall mpg 51, city 36, hwy 66),
- Volkswagon Golf GLS TDI (overall mpg 41, city 29, hwy 54)
- Toyota Prius (overall mpg 41, city 30, hwy 49)
What about hybrid SUVs? Not as good as the small sedans, but a little better than their all-gas counterparts:
- Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD (city mpg 33, hwy 29)
- Mercury Mariner Hybrid 4WD (city mpg 33, hwy 29)
- Lexus RX 400h 2WD (city mpg 33, hwy 28)
- Toyota Highlander Hybrid 2WD (city mpg 33, hwy 28)
Fact: MPG estimates vary. The way you drive and what conditions you are driving in will affect the MPG you'll get from your vehicle. Quick accelleration and heavy breaking, driving at higher speeds, AC use, and idling all can decrease how far your gas goes.
Fact: Federal fuel economy standards in the United States are 27.5 miles per gallon for passenger cars and 24 miles per gallon for light trucks.
Fact: Large vehicles weighing over 8,500 are exempt from fuel economy standards. This includes big SUVs such as the Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Excursion, as well as the Dodge Ram pick-up and most passenger and cargo vans.
Very few automakers are going above and beyond federal regulations and policy to change fuel economy standards and even fewer politicians are able to get any additional regulations in place. A few U.S. senators have proposed increasing CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards to 35 mpg by 2020, which will likely hit the senate floor next month. And democratic presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, announced last week in Detroit the need to increase vehicle fuel efficiency (his plan calls for an average of 40 mpg by 2022.)
However, proposals such as these are often fought strongly by the big auto manufacturers, which makes it difficult for all drivers to get better mileage from the gas pump – whether or not you're driving an SUV.