Feds release 2010 Fuel Economy Guide, Prius still most miserly
2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery
Quick – what's the most fuel efficient car currently for sale in America? Did you guess the Toyota Prius? If so, give yourself a cookie, you're right. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the 2010 version of Toyota's seminal hybrid once again scores the mileage victory with its estimated 51 mpg city and 48 highway numbers.
Second place is grabbed by a set of newcomers to the hybrid arena for the 2010 model year: Ford's Fusion sedan and its sibling from Mercury, the Milan. The Blue Oval's hybrid duo earn EPA ratings of 41 city and 36 highway, making them most fuel efficient midsize sedans in America.
Rounding out the top 10 vehicle platforms are the Civic Hybrid and Insight from Honda; the Lexus HS 250h; the Nissan Altima Hybrid; the Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner hybrid 'utes; Smart's Fortwo coupe and cabriolet (the only non-hybrids in the top 10); Toyota's Camry Hybrid and finally the Lexus RX 450h.
Want to know where your next car comes in on the federal government's list for 2010? Click here to find out.
Gallery: Review: 2010 Toyota Prius
[Source: fueleconomy.gov via Green Car Congress]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark Kiernan 8:12AM (10/16/2009)
Shouldn't it be the 2009 guide as in 2010 we expect EVs and PHEVs?
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Invisible 9:50AM (10/16/2009)
Too bad the Fusion falls way short of the EPA estimate in real world test.
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nrb 11:27AM (10/16/2009)
I give very little credibility to "real world tests" as they are typically far from scientific. Too many variables are not accounted for.
For the sake of argument, let's look at a "real world test". If you go to fueleconomy.gov and look at real user reports, the 2010 Fusion averages 41.2mpg. That's better than the EPA estimates.
I don't know where your getting this "falls way short". That's what happens if you get to pick and choose which "real world test' you want to believe.
Invisible 11:52AM (10/16/2009)
Let take the recent Edmunds comparison. Very careful testing. Insight beats it's EPA estimates, but look at the Fusion and Prius.
The City Test
The champ: 2010 Toyota Prius with 48.7 mpg
2nd Place: 2010 Honda Insight with 43.4 mpg
3rd Place: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid with 35.1 mpg
4th Place: 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI with 31.6 mpg
5th Place: 2009 Mini Cooper with 30.1 mpg
DasBoese 1:37PM (10/16/2009)
People don't understand that the point of standardized testing (EPA, NEDC etc.) isn't to perfectly predict the fuel economy you'll get from your new car in all situations, the point is to have a common frame of reference to allow fair comparison.
That is also why they give you different values for city and highway driving, because duh, everyone's "real world" driving profile is different.
nrb 1:55PM (10/16/2009)
Again, if you pick and choose what "real world test" you want to believe, you can come up with whatever answer you want.
You call the Edmunds testing procedure "Very careful testing". Let's take a look at their very careful testing procedure for the City portion:
Edmunds: "eight hours of tediously meandering around suburban Las Vegas in search of the area's many In-N-Out Burgers"
Do you really think the Edmunds "meandering" test is more meaningful than the EPA's testing?
How did they measure fuel consumption:
"each car would return to the same pump in San Bernardino and Las Vegas. To prevent short fills or other irregularities, we waited several seconds after the pump "clicked off" for the fuel to settle before topping off to the next click"
More meaningful than the careful regulation and calibration of the EPA? Really?
The Edmunds test is a crapshoot. Please don't give it credibility over the heavily scrutinized EPA testing.
flabby 10:07AM (10/16/2009)
Apparently Tesla Roadster didn't make the list because it is a "limited production vehicle"
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/mostEfficient.shtml
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Serge 12:16PM (10/16/2009)
Flabby, do you have a reference for that by any chance?
"Limited Production" is a b/s excuse. Lamborghini sells less cars in the U.S. (http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1025556_lamborghini-setting-up-u-s-sales-branch) than does Tesla, however they are listed http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/compx2008f.jsp?hiddenField=Manufacturer&year=2010&make=Lamborghini. Tesla Roadster is rated by EPA and is the most efficient car on the market right now!
flabby 2:52PM (10/16/2009)
It was more an assumption from where the roadster is listed on their website that an actual quote. I was a little ticked that the roadster wasn't listed so I did some perusing on the site to see if I could even find the roadster anywhere. I finally found it by going to the "extreme MPG" link on the upper right of the website listed in the autoblog article (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/feg2000.htm), scrolling to the 3rd page of "Concepts, Limited Production, and Upcoming Vehicles", and there was the Tesla Roadster classified as "Now available - limited prod".
hermperez 10:28AM (10/16/2009)
The amazing thing is that the Prius is also a midsized car..
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nrb 11:22AM (10/16/2009)
Not according to the Feds. It's officially classified as a Compact.
KK 12:13PM (10/16/2009)
fueleconomy.gov (run by the DoE and EPA) classifies the Prius as a midsize car.
nrb 2:07PM (10/16/2009)
I may have to eat a little crow on this one. According to Federal Regulations Title 40, Section 600.315-82, a compact car has an Interior volume index of 100-109.9 cubic feet. The newest Prius has a passenger volume of 110 cubic feet. That larger than the privous Prius and makes mid-sized by 0.1 cu ft. Of course the only reason it even gets 110 is because it's a hatchback. If it were a sedan, it'd easily be a Compact.
I feel like I'm picking nits on this one. :)
hermperez 12:01AM (10/17/2009)
The Malibu has 95 cubic feet of passenger space, also a midsize.. but mileage is 22/33.. luggage volume is much larger on the Prius.. advantage of a hatchback. Check the actual dimensions of the passenger spaces for yourself:
http://www.chevrolet.com/malibu/features-specs/
http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/specs.html
The Prius is a true midsize, no buts about it.
usbseawolf2000 1:30PM (10/16/2009)
Edmunds comparison test did not include cold weather environment. Exhaust heat recovery system in the Prius would further raise the MPG further vs the competition.
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Dino 2:53PM (10/16/2009)
So for anyone that downloaded the pdf:
Under sport utility vehicles with best fuel economy, that document lists several vehicles with poorer fuel economy than the 2010 4 cyl chevrolet equinox. If you scroll down to the full list you can see this. What gives, EPA?
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nrb 6:31PM (10/16/2009)
It's a little confusing. For each category, they list an automatic and a manual. The Equinox is an automatic, hence gets beat by the Escape.
It does seem a little unfair, when a lower mpg manual gets listed, while a higher mpg automatic doesn't.
Btw: A lot of the confusion comes when you see multiple listings for manual or automatic. In those cases, you'll notice they all tie.
Majortom1981 4:07PM (10/21/2009)
Is ford doing that bad that they have to put the prius in another category to get the fusion the win ?
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