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22 Car Brands With the Most and Least Reliable Gas Mileage in 2024

June 12, 2024

3 min Read

Written by Vance Cariaga

Edited by Daria Uhlig

EXTREME-PHOTOGRAPHER / iStock.com

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If you want to know a startling financial statistic, try this on for size: Most Americans will likely spend $100,000 to $200,000 on gasoline during their lifetimes. That’s one of the findings from a recent GOBankingRates analysis, which determined that Americans in all but two states will spend at least $100,000 on gas during their lifetimes — and those in Wyoming will spend more than $200,000.

Given how much money people spend on gas, it makes sense that many prefer cars with good gas mileage, which is measured in miles per gallon. According to a blog on the AutoList website, in 2024, any vehicle that gets above 35 mpg is considered “reasonably efficient” and will be a decent choice if you want to maximize your car’s fuel.

That’s not to say you can’t get a lot better mileage than that. As AutoList noted, many new vehicles get 50 or even 60 mpg with hybrid engines. And, of course, you don’t have to worry about gas mileage with electric vehicles because they run on batteries instead of fuel.

The gas mileage you get from your car depends on a number of factors, including where and how you drive. A vehicle’s fuel economy is evaluated in three ways: city, highway and combined. The combined fuel economy rating is a weighted city and highway driving average. The ratio for this measurement is usually 55% city and 45% highway, according to AutoList

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You’ll typically get better gas mileage on the highway than in the city because there are fewer stops and cars can maintain lower RPMs. This is one reason both automakers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency test vehicles to see what kind of fuel consumption they get in both city and highway driving.

The way you drive can play a part in your car’s gas mileage as well. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, you can get better mileage when you minimize the amount of time you idle your engine, avoid speeding and sudden acceleration and don’t slam your brakes too hard.

But the type of car you drive plays the biggest part in gas mileage. Smaller vehicles with smaller engines tend to get the best mileage, while large cars with powerful engines get the worst mileage.

Following are 22 cars that get the best and worst mileage.

Here are 11 of the cars that get the most reliable gas mileage, as compiled by Car and Driver :

Toyota Prius: 49 to 57 combined MPG
Hyundai Elantra: 31 to 54 combined MPG
Toyota Prius Prime Hybrid: 114 to 127 combined MPG
Toyota Corolla: 33 to 50 combined MPG
Honda Accord: 32 to 48 combined MPG
Hyundai Sonata: 27 to 47 combined MPG
Mitsubishi Mirage: 39 combined MPG
Nissan Versa: 30 to 35 combined MPG
Kia Forte: 26 to 34 combined MPG
Volkswagen Jetta: 33 to 34 combined MPG
Nissan Sentra: 33 to 34 combined MPG

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Here are 11 of the cars that get the worst gas mileage, as compiled by Jalopnik. SUVs and trucks are not included, and only one model per brand is included.