If You Want a Gas Saver for Your Next New Car, Feds Suggest Starting with Honda
Gas prices may be on the rise given recent events in the Middle East, so if fuel economy is a big factor in your next new car purchase, the federal government suggests you start by checking out your nearest Honda dealer.
According to the most recent Automotive Trends report from the Environmental Protection Agency, Honda’s 2024 lineup — the most recent year available — offered the most fuel-efficient portfolio of gas-powered vehicles, averaging 31 mpg.
Hyundai (29.8) and Kia (29.2) came in second and third. The most fuel-efficient non-internal-combustion-powered vehicle was the Tesla at 117.1 mpg. It was the only electric vehicle in the study, which covered the 14 top-selling brands.
The good news is that 13 of 14 in the study saw gains in fuel efficiency over the five-year period (2019-2024). During that time, Toyota showed the biggest improvement, raising its average by 3.3 mpg. BMW was next at 2.8 mpg, and Mercedes-Benz came third at 2.4 mpg.
Ironically, Tesla was the only automaker with a decline during the period. The company’s likely fine with the reason: they now offer more vehicles than they did at the beginning of the study, some of which are less efficient. No other EV makers made it because none of them produce enough vehicles to rank among the 14 largest automakers.
And what company came last? Well, if you’re looking to live up to a stereotype, the bottom three on the list do just that. Stellantis had the lowest new-vehicle fuel economy among the group at 22.8 mpg, followed by General Motors at 22.9 mpg, and Ford at 23.4 mpg.
Toyota’s improvement probably shouldn’t be much of a surprise. The company’s extensive lineup of hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) helped deliver plenty of fuel-economy gains during the five-year period. Electrified vehicles can make a big difference when it comes mpgs, and they also impacted the current round of findings.
If you remove the battery-electric and plug-in electric models from their lineups, Hyundai and Kia would fall below Toyota, Nissan, and Subaru. Interestingly, Subaru’s and Mazda’s averages hardly change at all in this scenario. Subaru remains unchanged at 28.4 mpg while Mazda slides ever-so-slightly from 27.8 to 27.7 average mpg.
Overall, automakers improved by early 2.5 mpg during the period, moving from a 24.9-mpg average to 27.2-mpg average. Remove the BEVs and PHEVs and the numbers, and the gains shrink, going from 24.6 mpg to 25.6 mpg.
[Images: Honda, Hyundai, Kia, and Stellantis]
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Michael Strong has spent more than 25 years writing about the automotive industry. A Detroit-area native, he’s written about everything from local car shows to product reviews to financial news. Currently he writes and edits for a variety of national and local publications. He’s also a longtime member of the Automotive Press Association and the International Motor Press Association, and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Hail Southern! Despite a love for ’70s land yachts and BMWs from the late ’80s and early ’90s, his personal vehicle is neither of those.
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Paid $3.05/gallon for premium yesterday at Costco. Just sayin'...
"Electrified vehicles can make a big difference when it comes mpgs, and they also impacted the current round of findings. "
The economics of one's electric bill will now be in play from here on out. There will be a threshold where in addition to selfishly guzzling power we all need that it will be more economically viable to not drive BEV.