EPA Lists Cars with Best Fuel Economy, Past and Present

The federal fueleconomy.gov site that carries information from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency about fuel economy, fuel prices and related topics released its annual list of cars with the best fuel economy.

One notable development is that all of the vehicles on the top-10 list for the 2012 model year have pure electric or hybrid powertrains. The results reflect the growing range of these vehicles available as well as their overall efficiency, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The site also named the top-10 cars in fuel-economy rankings dating to 1984. While half of the all-time greats on this year’s list are 2012 models, it is still worth noting that cars like a mid-1980s Chevy Sprint, a mid-1990s Honda Civic and the 2000 Honda Insight hybrid make the cut despite their advanced age. Older, relatively low-tech vehicles apparently still have a few lessons for modern automotive engineers.

The following charts show which cars lead the pack in fuel economy today, and which older models are still among the all-time leaders.

Top Ten Fuel Economy: Vehicles with Internal Combustion Engines, 1984 to Present*

* MPGe is miles per gasoline gallon equivalent, assuming 33.7 kwh equals the amount of energy in 1 gallon of gasoline.

The list of top ten fuel economy vehicles for the 2012 model year is comprised solely of hybrids, all-electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrids.

Top Ten Fuel Economy: 2012 Model Year Vehicles, All Types