- The 2012 Mitsubishi i is the biggest winner in the fuel-economy race, while the 2012 Bugatti Veyron is the biggest loser, according to the EPA's new fuel-economy guide.
- The 2012 Nissan Leaf takes the number two spot among the fuel-economy leaders, followed by the Azure Dynamics Ford Transit Connect van and wagon.
- General Motors and Ford dominate the list of losers, which includes the 2012 Lexus LFA.
WASHINGTON — The 2012 Mitsubishi i is the biggest winner in the annual fuel-economy race, while the 2012 Bugatti Veyron is the biggest loser, according to the EPA's new fuel-economy guide. The top 10 are all electric or hybrid electric vehicles.
The EPA says the electric Mitsubishi i returns the gasoline equivalent of 126 mpg in city driving and 99 mpg on the highway. The Veyron returns 8 mpg in city driving and 15 mpg on the highway.
The 2012 Nissan Leaf takes the number-two spot among the fuel-economy leaders, followed by the Azure Dynamics Ford Transit Connect van and wagon. The electric Leaf returns the gasoline equivalent of 106 mpg in city driving and 92 mpg on the highway. The electric Transit Connect returns the gasoline equivalent of 62 mpg in city driving and 62 mpg on the highway.
Rounding out the top 10 list of winners are the Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Prius V, Lexus CT 200h, Honda Insight and Toyota Camry Hybrid LE.
Coming in at number two on the list of fuel-economy losers is the 2012 Ford E350 passenger van at 10 mpg in city driving and 13 mpg on the highway. The 2012 Chevrolet G3500 Express 2WD cargo van and GMC 3500 Savana 2WD cargo van take the number three spot with 10 mpg in city driving and 14 mpg on the highway.
Rounding out the top 10 list of losers are the 2012 Ford E350 commercial van, Chevrolet G2500 Express 2WD cargo/conversion van and G3500 Express 2WD and its GMC siblings. Others include the Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL, the Lexus LFA, Ford E350 flexible-fuel van using gasoline, the Ford F-150 Raptor 4WD, the Aston Martin DB9/DBS and V12 Vantage and the Lamborghini Aventador coupe.
The AAA Daily Fuel Gauge says the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the U.S. stood at $3.39 on Thursday versus $3.40 a year ago.
Inside Line says: The Japanese dominate the list of fuel-economy winners, while the domestics lead the list of losers.
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openeyes1 says:
08:04 PM, 11/18/2011
@arthurbishop; I think your missing something here, 80% of American auto buyers who buy trucks, buy them to use them as commuters, not work trucks. So when you see those Walmart and Target parking lots loaded with vehicles that weigh three ton and get 14MPG, there's a good bet that they'll never be used to tow a 20k trailer.
Having a lot of my friends who operate small businesses out of their trucks, fuel mileage is a huge concern for them, as the cost of fuel hits them hard in the pocket, unlike those SUV, and Pickup drivers who waste gas for the fun of it.
The next Auto company that comes out with a full size truck, with a powerful fuel efficient engine that gets 22MPG in the city and 30MPG in the highway, will surely hit the lottery with buyers.
fleon says:
11:56 AM, 11/18/2011
Hey,kedojo let me borrow your Nissan Titan to pull a 20,000LB trailer. And for those hate American truck use their good gas mileage to pull a 20k trailer.
arthurbishop says:
11:27 AM, 11/18/2011
@kedojo;
Obviously you know more than the other 18 million truck purchasers out there that didn't buy a Nissan.
Let me know when Nissan makes an HD.
@morey000;
You are right. This was GM's thinking when they introduced the two mode hybrid system for their trucks... The fact that increasing the city MPG on trucks is worth a lot more than making an efficient small car more efficient.
kedojo says:
11:01 AM, 11/18/2011
To: ne1butu2, Your comment "That the Japanese have attempted and failed to offer decent full sized pickups and work trucks" stems from ignorance. Have you ever driven a Nissan Titan truck? I have owned 2 and loved them both. I drive a 2007 that I bought new. I used to trade vehicles every year, but stopped when I bought the Titan becuase there is not a better truck out there. GM, Ford or Chrysler cannot come close. And what about the new Nissan NV Full size van that can also be purchased as a limo? My gues is you drive a 1992 Ram with diesel stacks sticking out of the box next to the cab, right?
morey000 says:
09:16 AM, 11/18/2011
There's a diminishing return to those really high mpg numbers. It would be better expressed in gallons per 100mi (or liters/100km).
Let's say you drive a car that gets 16.7mpg and you need drive 100mi. that takes 6 gallons. if you want to save 1 gal of gas, you need a vehicle that gets 20mpg (3.3mpg more)
you want to save 1 more gallon? 25mpg (5mpg more). you want to save 1 more gal of gas and only use 3 gallons? then you need 33mpg (8mpg more). If you want to go from 3 to 2 gallons per 100mi, you need to jump from 33mpg to 50mpg (17mpg more). If you want to save another gallon, you now need a vehicle that gets 100mpg.
point being, you save twice as much gas (and money) getting your SUV to go from 16.7mpg to 25mpg, than getting your prius to go from 50mpg to 100mpg.
ne1butu2 says:
06:54 AM, 11/18/2011
Every manufacturer offers a showroom of fuel efficient vehicles. That the Japanese have attempted and failed to offer decent full sized pickups and work trucks does not make them a "winner" in any way. Frankly, it's laughable that anyone claims that Mitsubishi wins at anything given the fact that their sales are so miserable that they may pull out of the USA completely. They certainly haven't won with their "I" given the fact that there's absolutely no sales volume yet of this car.
openeyes1 says:
12:59 AM, 11/18/2011
Can't wait t'ill it comes out in "Bloated Tick" brown!
fisaw says:
10:18 PM, 11/17/2011
what? huh? domestics lead in the list of losers? that statement makes me want to stop reading insideline, and it's not because I'm on the side of the "domestics" in the nonsense perpetual war of "we love japanese" vs "be a patriot, buy american!" If anything, up to about 10 years ago, I wouldn't have touched an american car with a 10 foot pole, but to say that they lead the list of losers because there are a bunch of cargo vans on the list is ridiculous.
says:
10:17 PM, 11/17/2011
Good job Mitsu!
litewerk says:
09:42 PM, 11/17/2011
Now we know that if you want truly outstanding fuel economy, you don't want a Prius or Leaf or Volt, you want the Mitsubishi i. Wonder how many greenies are gonna make the switch. Cause if gas gets really expensive, sounds like that's the car to get.