Automotive Research

The top 10 most fuel-efficient vehicles in the AAA Car Guide

Electric car battery charger

The Automobile Club of Southern California’s Automotive Research Center (ARC) compiles an annual AAA Car Guide, including evaluations of most of the “green” models (hybrids, electric vehicles, alternative-fueled vehicles, PZEVs, and conventional vehicles with class-leading fuel efficiency) available at the time of publication.

With concerns for the environment and alternative fuel growing, considerable interest has been placed on the fuel efficiency of modern automobiles. Based on ARC testing, the top 10 vehicles with the highest EPA combined miles per gallon (mpg) or mile per gallon equivalent (MPGe) are:

The most efficient vehicles

Year

Make

Model

Fuel economy

2017

Toyota

Prius Prime Advanced

133 MPGe

2017

Chevrolet

Bolt EV Premier

119 MPGe

2016

Volkswagen

e-Golf SEL Premium

116 MPGe

2017

Nissan

Leaf SL

112 MPGe

2016

Mitsubishi

i-MiEV ES

112 MPGe

2016

Chevrolet

Volt Premier

106 MPGe

2016

Kia

Soul EV +

105 MPGe

2016

Hyundai

Sonata Plug-in Hybrid Limited

99 MPGe

2016

Tesla

Model S 60

99 MPGe

2017

Ford

Fusion Energi Titanium

97 MPGe

The vehicles listed above have ratings provided in miles-per-gallon equivalent, as they are either pure electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids. Miles-per-gallon equivalent, or MPGe, is defined as the estimated number of miles a vehicle can travel on an alternative fuel with the same energy content as a gallon of gasoline (for example, 33.7 kilowatt-hours of battery power contains roughly the same amount of energy as a gallon of gas). Excluding pure EVs and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the following are the top 10 most fuel efficient vehicles that were tested for the 2017 guide.

The most efficient vehicles (pure EVs excluded)

Year

Make

Model

Fuel economy

2017

Toyota

Prius Prime Advanced

133 MPGe

2016

Chevrolet

Volt Premier

106 MPGe

2016

Hyundai

Sonata Plug-in Hybrid Limited

99 MPGe

2017

Ford

Fusion Energi Titanium

97 MPGe

2016

Ford

C-Max Energi SEL

88 MPGe

2016

Audi

A3 Sportback e-tron Premium

83 MPGe

2016

Toyota

Prius Two Eco

56 mpg

2017

Volvo

XC90 T8 E-AWD Inscription

54 MPGe

2016

Toyota

Prius c Four

50 mpg

2017

Honda

Accord Hybrid Touring

48 mpg

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