Anyone who's ever filled up a car from empty to full will tell you that gas is expensive.
Therefore, it might seem worth it to pay a little extra for a car capable of racking up the miles without racking up the gas bill. It will pay for itself, right?
But be careful, because plenty of fuel efficient rides are equal parts eco-box and junk-box.
Here are 15 fuel efficient cars and concepts not worth the effort.
1
Volkswagen XL1
Named the “1 Liter,” the XL1 gets 250-300 miles to the gallon.
2
Geo Metro XFI
Seen here badged as a Pontiac Firefly, the XFI made well over 50 mph. But man was it a junk box.
3
Ford Escape HEV
Yes it makes 42 mpg as an SUV, but with a CVT transmission and Ford reliability, please don’t buy it.
4
Duke Electric Vehicles
This Guinness World Record holder completed a 0.01614 litres per 100 km run for the Shell Eco-marathon. That’s 14573.4 mpg according to my math, although it’s worth noting the vehicle did not run on standard gas for the test.
5
Chevrolet Sprint ER
The 1986 Sprint ER might have made 48 mpg, but good luck getting it to do anything else well.
6
Team Polyjoule
Achieving a 2010 record of 10,382 mpg.
7
Suzuki SA310
The 1985 SA310 made around 42 mpg as another version of the era’s GM fuel efficient junk boxes.
8
SZEmission Team Photo
Taken in 2024.
9
SZEmission
On ZalaZone test track.
10
Honda Insight
Later versions of the Insight are more practical, but this 2000 version with 53 mpg was tiny.
11
SZ Energy
2016 Shell Eco-marathon car.
12
Kia Niro Plug-In
The Niro Plug-In hybrid makes an impressive 108 mpg combined. But now you’re stuck with a small Kia.
13
Green Team Twente
“H2 Infinity” car.
14
Mitsubishi Mirage
The Mirage gets 39 mpg, (the best you can get from a new non-hybrid), and is the cheapest new car you can buy. So should you get one? Absolutely not.
15
Laval University Car
Achieving 2,487.5 mpg.
