Top 10 Most Fuel-Efficient Luxury Cars

Forbes:

The most fuel-efficient luxury cars sold in the United States aren't homegrown -- they're imported.

Europe and Japan lead the fuel-economy crusade for the luxury sector, in part because economic conditions in those regions have given local automakers major incentives to develop cars that conserve fuel while still providing amenities that luxury shoppers crave.

"European automakers have had to be conscious of fuel economy for decades," says Mike Omotoso, senior manager of global powertrain forecasting for J.D. Power and Associates in Westlake Village, Calif. "In Europe, high-tech includes good performance coupled with good fuel economy."

Seven of the top 10 most fuel-efficient luxury cars sold in the U.S. come from European manufacturers. Most are versions of models developed for Europe, where high gas prices (due to high taxes on fuel) make efficiency a higher priority than it is in the U.S., Omotoso says. Japanese luxury-car companies Acura and Lexus make the remaining three models on our list.

Read the whole story: Forbes

Comments

[shotput8]

"Mercedes didn't even have the courage to put the real 2008 EPA mileage on their web site."

"2008 figures for E320 BLUETEC, E550 and E63 AMG not yet available at time of publicatio­n."

How can they lack courage if the information isn't available at time of publication?

[DavidJames]

S.

Toyota publishes the Prius 2008 EPA city,highway and combined mileage numbers(48­mpg/45mpg/­46). If they had used the old EPA mileage they could have said that the Prius got 60 mpg city, 55 highway, and 57 mpg combined. The new EPA mileage standard is much tougher.

Anyone who makes a car measures it's mileage.

Using the old mileage standard and saying that the figures are not available (on the Mercedes web site, www.mbausa.com)is a way of avoiding showing how pathetic the mileage actually is, for the $53,000 E320 BLUETEC.

Regards,

[Dendroica]

That's bullshit.

If the EPA hasn't tested the vehicle, they results will not be available!

I have the European data right here in front of me- that vehicle gets a combined 38.7 urban/exurban (that's how they describe it...)

The Prius gets 65.7. But the Mini gets 68.9!

[realitytrumpsbull]

This is a bunch of economic horsecrap. We're fuel-dependent, and 'the environment' is the new fascism. Any idea that can be used to play economic war games is suspect. We need to make our OWN darn fuel, and 'win'. Ill bet there's plenty buried in Texas, yet. Anyone done an independent survey? Oil profits buy a lot of propaganda airtime...­DON'T they?

Prescott Bush made Hitler. That's my view.

[MajorKong]

There is some oil left in Texas and Louisiana, but it's in wells that are difficult and expensive to extract. We picked most of the low-hanging fruit here years ago.

[abbiehoffmansghost]

This is 2008. The 1986 BMW 535i that I had averaged 28MPG. Why is it 22 years later and the fuel efficiency of these cars for sale in the U.S. do not beat that?

[Dendroica]

Weight.
Today's 535i weighs several hundred pounds more, and is several inches longer. It also makes nearly 120HP more than the old one (300 vs 181.)

[Dendroica]

With the exception of the Bluetec Benz, the other vehicles are all gas. In the US they only sell the 3.2, but in Europe they also sell a 2.0 liter diesel C-Class Mercedes Benz that makes 46MPG (better than a Prius!) a 3.2 CLS that does 43 and an S class that does 34. BMW has diesels that do even better, getting as much as 62MPG on the 1-series, and 55 on the 5. And if they can call the Volvo C30 a "luxury" car, then they can call the Mini Cooper D Clubman (which costs just as much, but has a better interior, and a much better reputation for reliability) makes an insane 68.9 miles per gallon, and emits 20% less carbon dioxide than a Prius.

[DavidJames]

D.

The the 2008 Prius gets 48 mpg in the city, 45 on the freeway and 46 mpg combined using the more stressing 2008 EPA mileage tests. None of these supposed luxury cars are even close!

"According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the 2008 Prius is the most fuel efficient car sold in the U.S.[4] According to the UK Department for Transport, the Prius is tied with the diesel MINI Cooper D as the second least CO2-emitting vehicle behind the Volkswagen Polo 1.4 TDI.[5]"

From the Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius

Regards,

[Dendroica]

I've got Top Gear Magazine in front of me.

They've changed the testing in the last two years- the Prius used to get 119, but now gets 104. So that erases the info I gave earlier (need to have the January issue in my hands when I do this, not the June...) But the Mini still gets fractionally lower, and the Polo does indeed get 74.3 MPG and 99 grams.

But neither the Prius or the Polo are "luxury" cars. They are relatively basic in comparison to the Mini or the Volvo C30, and this article is about luxury cars, not economy cars.

[willo]

If domestics had more fuel efficient cars that would go against the elites plan of destroying domestic manufacturing. Why they are doing it is hard to tell but after a life time of watching this slow motion train wreck in progress it's the only thing I can assume.

[Kurt]

Totally useless article... no useful facts at all, such as which cars, which modles, and how efficient. I've noticed this about articles in some high priced magazines -- they are useless and the magazines only exist to sell advertising (ok duh) for expensive clothing word by 15 year-olds which no fifteen year old could afford and watches which cost more than most cars.

Usually Forbes is better than this -- but on this article they fell down and you Huffington Post people did us readers a disservice by running it.

[MajorKong]

Did you click on the link and read the whole article? It lists all the cars and their fuel mileage.

[Dendroica]

I'd guess the answer to that is "no".