Consumer Reports April 09 green roundup
Here’s the latest news and advice on greener cars from the April 2009 Annual Auto Issue of Consumer Reports.
TOP PICK: GREEN CAR
Despite the arrival of more gas/electric hybrids, the Prius leads this category for the sixth straight year. The base model’s 44 overall mpg is the best we’ve measured in any five-passenger car. The Touring model gets 42 mpg overall. The interior is roomy and versatile, and reliability remains excellent. A redesigned Prius will arrive in early summer, and Toyota promises even better fuel economy and power. Price: $22,000 to $24,000. Watch the video and see all 10 Top Picks.
BEST OVERALL MPG
Overall mpg is based on our real-world fuel-economy tests. All vehicles have an automatic transmission unless noted otherwise.
| Make & model |
MPG |
| Toyota Prius |
44 |
| Toyota Prius Touring |
42 |
| Smart ForTwo Passion |
39 |
| Honda Civic Hybrid |
37 |
| Scion xD (manual) |
34 |
| Toyota Camry Hybrid |
34 |
| Honda Fit Sport (manual) |
34 |
| Mini Cooper (manual) |
33 |
| Toyota Yaris Sedan |
33 |
| Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
33 |
WORST OVERALL MPG
Overall mpg is based on our real-world fuel-economy tests. All vehicles have an automatic transmission unless noted otherwise.
| Make & model |
MPG |
| Ford F-250 Lariat |
10 |
| Hummer H2 |
11 |
| Cadillac Escalade |
13 |
| Chevrolet Avalanche (5.3) |
13 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 2500 (6.6) |
13 |
| Dodge Durango SLT (5.7) |
13 |
| Dodge Ram 2500 (6.7) |
13 |
| Ford Expedition EL |
13 |
| Jeep Commander Limited (5.7) |
13 |
| Land Rover LR3 SE |
13 |
| Lincoln Navigator |
13 |
| Nissan Armada LE |
13 |
| Nissan Titan SE |
13 |
TOP FUEL-SAVERS TO WATCH FOR
Coming down the pike in 2009 are several new cars with the potential to save a lot of fuel. Watch for full tests in future reports from Consumer Reports.
Honda Insight. The insight, arriving in April, looks a lot like a smaller Toyota Prius. Honda claims the dedicated hybrid is capable of 41 mpg overall, better than a Civic Hybrid but less than the Prius. Expect the Insight to be the least-expensive hybrid you can buy.
Toyota Prius. The redesigned Prius bows in late spring, and Toyota says it is quicker, better with fuel, and roomier. The optional sunroof acts as a solar panel that provides power to help cool the cabin, reduce air-conditioning load, and save fuel.
Chevrolet Equinox. The redesigned Equinox small SUV goes on sale in June. GM says a new four cylinder engine with direct fuel-injection will provide 25 percent better fuel economy than the previous model. GM estimates 30 mpg highway and 21 city. Our early impression is that it is much improved over the previous model.
Lexus HS 250h. This is the first Lexus hybrid to emphasize fuel economy over performance. It’s smaller than the Lexus ES and uses the Camry Hybrid’s powertrain, which returned 34 mpg overall in our tests. It’s due late this summer. Pricing will start in the low-$30,000s.
Get more coverage from the 2009 Annual Auto Issue.
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