Every few weeks, I do a road trip to my corporate office, a ~1000-mile round trip down the Interstate-81 in Virginia and Tennessee. I’ve rented cars and driven my own, and as such, get plenty of time to sit & think about what I’m driving, and also see what sort of gas mileage I’m able to get in each.
2013 Nissan Altima S
2.5L 182hp DOHC 4-cyl / CVT / FWD
27mpg city / 38mpg highway
42.5 mpg
On the first tank, I left the cruise control at 75mph and got only 33.5mpg – well under the EPA estimate. Chalk this up to the CVT which aggressively engine-braked every time I crested a hill (to keep exactly at the set speed) thus scrubbing off needed momentum. Managing speed myself, I was able to get an indicated 41 / actual 42.5mpg on the next full tank.
2014 Volkswagen Jetta SE
1.8L 170hp DOHC 4-cyl Turbo/ 6-speed auto / FWD
25mpg city / 36mpg highway
37.5 mpg
Impressed with the new EA888 1.8L Turbo in the Jetta SE. Got better-than-expected gas mileage, and yet the car drove with more than adequate power (the 184 lb-ft of torque helped), and at no time felt short on grunt.
2014 Cadillac ATS 2.5
2.5L 202hp DOHC 4-cyl / 6-speed auto / RWD
22mpg city / 33mpg highway
33.3 mpg
The base 2.5l 4-cylinder has absolutely no place in this car whatsoever. Lame econobox-sounding exhaust note, tepid acceleration, and a low-buck feeling, it just isn’t up to the rest of the car, which is superb.
2014 Buick LaCrosse
3.6L 304hp DOHC V6 / 6-speed auto / FWD
18mpg city / 28mpg highway
33.1 mpg
Effortlessly beat the EPA highway estimate by a full 5 mpg. No tricks employed to do it either –
just left it in cruise for the most part. 2nd-best tank which was done with considerable driving aggressiveness was still over the EPA estimate at 31mpg. Add that to the fact that it was an awesomely comfortable tourer, and this is my current favorite vehicle I’ve taken on this trip.
2012 Kia Optima EX
2.4L 192hp DOHC 4-cyl / 6-speed auto / FWD
24mpg city / 35mpg highway
32.5 mpg
2014 Cadillac ATS 2.0T
2.0L 272hp DOHC 4-cyl Turbo / 6-speed auto / RWD
21mpg city / 31mpg highway
32.2 mpg
Easily the best-handling car I’ve driven, and with a proper exhaust note, this car could be truly perfect. Only issue I had long-distance was a problem that cropped up with the ATS’s variable-effort power steering which made the power-assist turn off entirely after about 30m of Interstate driving. Other than that, the car was golden, and had no problem surpassing the EPA highway estimated MPGs.
2012 Mercedes-Benz C250
1.8L 201hp DOHC 4-cyl Turbo / 7-speed auto / RWD
21mpg city / 31mpg highway
31.5 mpg
As much as I disliked the rubber-band power delivery of the little turbo 4-cylinder, I got an indicated 33mpg / 31.5 actual on my trips, and was able to do the full 505-mile trip from DC – Knoxville on one tank. My
review of the Mercedes C250 is here.
2012 Honda Odyssey EX
3.5L 248hp SOHC V6 / 5-speed auto / FWD
17mpg city / 27mpg highway
28.5 mpg
The Odyssey routinely got well above the 27mpg mfr’s estimate, and would get its best gas mileage with the cruise control on – as the computer could then hold the engine in its “Eco” V-4 and V-3 cylinder-deactivation modes for as long as possible.
2011 Hyundai Genesis 2.0T
2.0L 210hp DOHC 4-cyl Turbo / 5-speed auto / RWD
20mpg city / 30mpg highway
27.6 mpg
I never saw higher than an indicated 28.1mpg on the entire trip, despite really trying to work it for gas mileage. Hampered by the 5-speed auto which was geared way too short – was turning 3250rpm @ 70mph. The
buzzy, unsporty soundtrack didn’t help things.
2014 Chevrolet Equinox LT AWD
2.4L 184hp DOHC 4-cyl Turbo / 6-speed auto / AWD
20mpg city / 29mpg highway
27.4 mpg
On level ground, I likely would have been able to match the EPA highway figure, but the 184hp 4-cylinder just didn’t have enough grunt to get over the undulating hills on the I-81 without continual gear hunting & downshifts.
2012 Chevrolet Malibu LT
2.4L 169hp DOHC 4-cyl / 5-speed auto / FWD
22mpg city / 33mpg highway
27.5 mpg
My trips in this car were in a driving rainstorm, so it’s not entirely strange that I got below the EPA estimate.
2013 Dodge Challenger SE
3.6L 305HP DOHC V6 / 5-speed auto / RWD
18mpg city / 27mpg highway
27.1 mpg
Was able to get a full tank averaging just over the EPA highway estimate, despite the fact that the car has the weight and aerodynamic profile of a cow barn. Tall gearing made it a quiet cruiser, though I found it impossible to get a comfortable driving position.
Full review written here.
2013 Subaru Impreza WRX
2.5L 265hp DOHC Turbo H4 / 5-speed manual / AWD
17mpg city / 25mpg highway
26.4 mpg
With the cruise on, my best tank was 24.5mpg – but that’s expected owing to the hilly terrain. Driving oneself, it was easy to get well above the manufacturer’s 25mpg highway estimate.
2013 Ford Fusion SE 2.0T
2.0L 240hp DOHC Turbo 4-cyl / 6-speed auto / FWD
23mpg city / 33mpg highway
26.2 mpg
Even driving gingerly on a tank that was 99% interstate cruising, I could not get my fuel economy over 27mpg indicated / 26.2mpg actual. Way below the 33mpg EPA estimate Ford says I should get.
2012 Chrysler 300C
5.7L 363hp OHV V8 / 5-speed auto / RWD
16mpg city / 25mpg highway
24.2 mpg
Averaged a little below the EPA estimate, but still not terrible for a big car with a 5.7L Hemi V8.
2014 Chrysler Town & Country
3.6L 283hp DOHC V6 / 6-speed auto / FWD
17mpg city / 25mpg highway
23.87 mpg
Though I got an indicated 26.1mpg over a full tank of 100% highway driving, the actual mileage was below the EPA highway estimate at only 23.87 mpg. As noted in the
review I wrote of the 2012 Chrysler Town & Country that I rented two years ago, the mileage it gets trails the Honda Odyssey by a fair bit.
2012 Mazda CX-9
3.7L 273hp DOHC V6 / 6-speed auto / FWD
17mpg city / 24mpg highway
23.5 mpg
Driving with the cruise on, it was fairly easy to average over 24mpg indicated, though the best actual tank was 23.5 mpg.
2014 Ford Explorer Limited
3.7L 290hp DOHC V6 / 6-speed auto / FWD
17mpg city / 24mpg highway
21.4 mpg
Cruise control on or off, I could only get close to the indicated 24mpg highway figure that Ford said I should get if driving 55-60mph on flat ground. At 70mph, the gas mileage drops off precipitously, with every tank on the 1000-mile trip averaging ~21mpg.