Fuel Efficiency

Your mileage may vary from the published estimates, as all drivers know. But it turns out it may vary more in Canada, whose fuel-efficiency ratings are higher than those from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for an identical car. That's because the Canadian authorities use a two-cycle...

The last few years have seen dozens of new crossovers join the market, and latest into the fray is the Audi Q1, set to appear in 2016. The appeal of crossover vehicles is clear--they offer the looks and some of the ability of SUVs, but their car-based origins means better on-road handling, better...

Pretty much every carmaker wants to brand itself green--or at least fuel-efficient. And toward that end, most of them seem to have created sub-brands for their green technologies, programs, and aspirations. Based on conversations with car buyers all over North America, we're convinced that most...

Nissan has put a lot of investment into the battery and all-electric powertrain technology in its all-electric Leaf. Yet outside of that, the Leaf is a pretty ordinary small car in materials and layout. Meanwhile, the somewhat more expensive BMW i3 takes a radically different approach to materials...

Sometimes we get letters from readers asking for advice, or criticizing our reports on gas mileage. We're always happy to hear their experiences--but a bit of perspective is sometimes needed. Reader Marcus Witte recently sent us the following note (we've edited it slightly for clarity): Your review...

A new CVT gives the 2014 Honda Civic HF impressive fuel economy.

The nation's only diesel half-ton truck may also be its most fuel-efficient.

It's hard to picture how much fuel we use as a nation when given the raw data--the numbers are usually so unimaginably vast they lose all meaning. Just how vast is spelled out succinctly when we're shown how much we save by driving electric or hybrid vehicles. In the case of the Chevrolet Volt...

It's the world's best-known small car, and it's all new for 2014. It is of course the MINI Cooper, though you might have stumbled over the phrase "all new", since a quick glance won't really reveal what parent company BMW has changed--the quirky retro styling is as familiar as ever. BMW has changed...

The new 2015 Honda Fit will have a combined EPA gas mileage rating of 36 mpg, according to Honda officials. That's the second-highest rating for any five-door subcompact hatchback, and notably improves on the current 2013 Fit's highest rating of 31 mpg. MORE: 2015 Honda Fit - preview In a company...

It's official: The U.S. now produces more oil than it imports from foreign countries. It isn't the first time that's ever happened, but it's the first time in two decades--and according to the White House, it's going hand-in-hand with lower CO2 emissions and growing GDP. For those advocating...

New-vehicle ownership, vehicle miles driven, and fuel consumption peaked in the mid-2000s, according to a study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

Last year, we drove a prototype Infiniti JX Hybrid, as it was then called (it's now in production as the 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid). At that point, we wondered whether its mild-hybrid system would be "hybrid enough" to compete against the Lexus RX 450h that spawned the hybrid crossover segment two...

See where you shouldn't go if you want a fuel-efficient used car.

U.S. car buyers are fond of compact crossovers, and they buy a lot of them. They range from high-volume entries by Toyota, Honda, Ford, and Chevrolet to more luxurious utility vehicles from the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Range Rover. (Lincoln and Lexus will join that crowd next year.)...

Even conventional gasoline cars--no plugs, no hybrids, no turbos--can be green. And we've long been looking forward to the debut of the 2014 Mazda 3, an all-new generation of the compact hatchback and sedan that have always been among the more rewarding cars to drive in the segment. With Mazda's...

Johnson Controls hopes its new compact lithium-ion battery pack will jump start the mass-adoption of start-stop systems.

If you've been considering diesel power for your next car, you can count yourself among a small proportion of Americans who have. Unlike Europe, where half of all vehicles sold are diesels and at least one diesel is on most consumers' shopping lists, the U.S. market still reels from repuations of...

The 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel is a somewhat daring car, and one that diesel fans have been urging a U.S. maker to sell for years, if not decades. It's the first diesel-engined passenger vehicle sold by General Motors since 1986, and it's a fully modern car with the latest in emissions control...

Yesterday we listed the nominees for Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2014 award: two battery-electric vehicles, one hybrid, one diesel, and one very fuel-efficient gasoline car. But what do our nominees say about the state of green-car design this year? Overall, they highlight four trends to...