Comparison Tests
Come the year 2020, new cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. must average 35 mpg. It’s the law. But why wait? We’ve rounded up eight new models that deliver a 35-mpg average right now, more or less, according to federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) calculations.
Reality check: Although the Congress has mandated 35 mpg, our tests show that 35-mpg cars get 25 to 27 mpg in the real world. Close enough for government work? Well, yes, but there is a solid logic at work here. CAFE is a regulatory process first and foremost, and CAFE mpg comes from laboratory tests designed to reliably measure mileage for regulatory purposes. Any resemblance of your mileage to CAFE is purely coincidental.
But there is a payoff. The government tests are extremely reliable in producing the CAFE mileage number, and jacking that number to 35 mpg will produce more efficient cars than the ones we’ve been driving up to now that were built to the old 27.5-mpg mandate. Just don’t expect to get 35 mpg. If you’re shopping for mpg today on a budget appropriate to strained economic times, you’d look at small cars. Something around $18,000? Six new models have arrived since our last small-car comparison [“Sensible Shoes,” December 2006], and the Ford Focus has enjoyed a major upgrade.
Our rule for comparisons is this: The winner gets an automatic invitation next time, losers are out. Too bad, third-place Honda Civic; tough break, second-finishing Mazda 3. Welcome back, defending champ Volkswagen Rabbit (CAFE: 30 mpg).
The Rabbit is facing a tough bunch of new guys, starting with a freshly baked Toyota Corolla, bestseller in the class. We find that Toyotas typically outfrugal the competition in our tests. And sure enough, the top CAFE ranking of 40 mpg is shared here by a pair of Toyotas. The 1798cc Corolla is a traditional four-door. Untraditional is the company’s curveball to left-brainers, the Scion xD.
Mitsubishi has a new take on its compact Lancer, a large-for-the-class four-door boasting “shark nose” styling. With the newly available 2.4-liter four, it carries a 31-mpg CAFE score. Saturn replaces its unloved four-door Ion with the five-door hatchback Astra from Germany—CAFE, 36 mpg.
Small-car specialist Suzuki just introduced a four-door take on its SX4 (CAFE: 34 mpg), formerly offered only as a hatchback. Subaru, famous for all-wheel drive all the time, has an all-new Impreza. The downside: It’s the heaviest car of the bunch, and mileage suffers accordingly, achieving a 29-mpg CAFE.
We promised 35 mpg, “more or less.” Our assembled group ranges from 29 to 40 mpg CAFE. Let’s see what they do on the road.
