Fuel Economy by Model
Every figure here comes from the EPA's own test database — the same numbers printed on the window sticker of a new car. They are laboratory results produced on a standardised cycle so that any two cars can be compared on identical terms, not a prediction of what you will see.
Where these numbers come from
The EPA publishes its complete fuel economy test database, covering every vehicle sold in the United States since 1984. That is the source for every figure on these pages: city, highway and combined mpg, engine size, cylinder count, transmission, drive layout, vehicle class, annual fuel cost and tailpipe CO₂.
Two things worth knowing before you compare
The test method changed for the 2008 model year. EPA revised the procedure to account for higher speeds, air conditioning use and cold-weather operation, and published city figures fell by roughly 10 to 20 percent as a result. A figure quoted from a 1990s brochure will look better than the same car does here, and the car has not changed.
There is no oil capacity or fuel tank size in this data. EPA does not collect either, and we would rather leave a field blank than guess at it — a wrong oil capacity damages an engine. Those figures come from the owner's manual.
2012 Saab 9-3 Convertible MPG
| EPA combined | 21–24mpg |
|---|---|
| Citybest tested version | 20mpg |
| Highwaybest tested version | 32mpg |
| Engines tested | 2.0L 4-cyl |
| Transmissions | Manual 6-spd and Automatic (S6) |
| Drive | Front-Wheel Drive |
| Fuel | Gasoline or E85 |
| Class | Compact Cars |
| EPA annual fuel costat 15,000 miles a year, at the fuel price used in the year of publication | $2,550 |
| CO₂ tailpipe | 370g/mile |
Notes
- The 2012 Saab 9-3 Convertible was tested in 2 versions, and they do not all return the same figure. 2.0L 4-cyl Manual 6-spd — 20/32/24 mpg; 2.0L 4-cyl Automatic (S6) — 18/28/21 mpg. The spread between the best and worst here is 3 mpg, which is why "what does this model get" has no single answer without naming the engine and gearbox.
- These are laboratory figures, not a prediction of your fuel economy. EPA runs a standardised dynamometer cycle so that any two cars can be compared on identical terms. Real driving diverges from it in every direction — short trips before the engine warms, cold weather, roof boxes, tyre pressure, a heavy right foot and sustained speeds above about 60 mph all cost several mpg each. EPA's own guidance is that the label figure is a comparison tool, and that individual results vary widely.
- The test method changed in 2008, and older figures are not comparable. EPA revised its procedure for the 2008 model year to reflect higher speeds, air conditioning use and cold-weather operation, and the revision cut published city figures by roughly 10–20%. Figures shown here for pre-2008 vehicles have been restated on the current method where EPA restated them, but a number quoted from an original 1990s brochure will look better than the same car does here — the car did not change.
- The annual fuel cost figure moves with the fuel price of the year it was published, not today's. It is useful for ranking one car against another and close to useless as a budget.
Fuel economy by year, make and model
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