Yaris and Mini Cooper beat Chevy Volt for greeness.

[bluejoey]

Yup. It's extremely hard to find a new vehicle in the US with a sub 2-liter engine and a sub 2500 lb weight. Manufacturers here would rather focus on larger vehicles and more complex powerplants, as it allows them to charge more for the same mileage that vehicles were meeting or exceeding in the 90s. My '95 Tercel is EPA rated for 35 highway, which would still place it among the most efficient subcompacts manufactured today. The only subs with higher highway MPG ratings are the Fiesta and the Yaris, which is ridiculous since there's been 15 years of technology in between.

[SoobieOut]

I don't understand how the Smart car made the list with such poor MPG and only carries two people. If they adjusted the testing of pollution per person, the two seaters would never make the list.

But honestly I think the smart car mileage is an embarassment, given the 1 liter powerplant.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by MorphDaCivic

If they adjusted the testing of pollution per person, the two seaters would never make the list.

Not really, because you'd have to run the numbers based on the number of people a car can potentially carry, but on the average number it actually does carry - which, at a guess, is somewhere around 1.15, regardless of whether it has two seats or ten.

The number goes even lower if you consider people like me. I can't even remember the last time I had another human in my car, so why should I pay extra to haul around unused seats, doors, & body structure?

[texanidiot25]

Originally Posted by bluejoey

Yup. It's extremely hard to find a new vehicle in the US with a sub 2-liter engine and a sub 2500 lb weight. Manufacturers here would rather focus on larger vehicles and more complex powerplants, as it allows them to charge more for the same mileage that vehicles were meeting or exceeding in the 90s. My '95 Tercel is EPA rated for 35 highway, which would still place it among the most efficient subcompacts manufactured today. The only subs with higher highway MPG ratings are the Fiesta and the Yaris, which is ridiculous since there's been 15 years of technology in between.

Safety and emissions regulations work against fuel economy. Your Tarcel likely wouldn't stand up to modern requirements for a crash test, and very likely wouldn't meet emissions standards like current and/(or, I've never looked at when the standards have changed) future cars meet.