Call 4 Action: Best, Worst Fuel-Efficient Vehicles RatedPOSTED: 4:54 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 NewsGet RSS | E-Mail Alerts Copyright 2008 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |












