Homepage > Pittsburgh News
We're live tonight online during the AMA Awards, and we want you to join us for your thoughts and opinions on the winners and the fashions! Click here to join the LIVE conversation!

Call 4 Action: Best, Worst Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rated

POSTED: 4:54 pm EDT April 28, 2008
UPDATED: 5:49 pm EDT April 28, 2008

Gas prices are quickly approaching the point where many experts believe drivers will begin to drastically change either their driving or car buying habits.

Drivers in the Pittsburgh region and nationally are currently paying a new record average of $3.60 per gallon. The price of gas has spiked 30 cents in the last month.

Due to the increase in gas prices, more new car buyers are checking the miles per gallon number on the vehicle before anything else.

The latest edition of Consumer Reports rates both the best and worst through its own testing and not just what you see on the sticker.

"The customers are downsizing their cars," said Bob Baierl of Baierl Toyota. "They're going from larger trucks, larger SUVs, maybe to a small SUV or something that's more gas conscious."

In what it describes as its own "real world" testing, Consumer Reports rated the most and least fuel-efficient vehicles, according to size.

The big winner was Toyota. Consumer Reports' best sedan was the hybrid Toyota Prius, which rated first overall with 44 mpg.

The best small SUV was the Toyota RAV-4 with 23 mpg.

The best minivan was the Toyota Sienna with 19 mpg.

And the best pickup truck was the Toyota Tacoma with 17 mpg.

At Baierl Toyota in Cranberry, there's a wait list for most hybrids. "We get them," said Baierl. "As soon as they're off the truck, basically what we're doing is washing them, inspecting them, and they're back out the door."

No single car company stood out on Consumer Reports' worst list for the least fuel-efficiency, though many were American cars.

The worst sedan was the Mercury Grand Marquis, which, overall, gets only 16 mpg.

The worst small SUV was the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara with 15 mpg.

The worst minivan was the Dodge Grand Caravan with 16 mpg, and the worst pickup was the Ford F-250 with only 10 mpg.


Related Links:
More County News

Get RSS | E-Mail Alerts


Links We Like
Don’t ruin your chances of landing that new job by making easy to correct mistakes on your cover letter. More

Don’t believe everything people tell you about home improvement. Check out the top 4 myths and stop throwing away your money. More

The signs of Cancer can sometimes be very subtle. Here's a guide to help you recognize them early. More

Living well with type-1 or type-2 diabetes can be easier than you might think. Use our diabetes resource guide. More

Real Estate Information

Sponsored Links