Meet the 40 MPG Club

I find it interesting that fuel economy has become an issue again and cars getting 40+ MPG are suddenly newsworthy, despite the fact that cars that get 40+ MPG have been available for decades. My 1999 Saturn SL2 was rated at 38 MPG highway, but regularly got 40+ MPG in solid highway driving. It had most of the safety features we expect today, ABS, traction control, airbags (though front driver and passenger only, no side airbags). It had a reasonable amount of power with its DOHC 16v 1.9 liter engine and 5-speed manual. IIRC the '99 SL1 with its SOHC engine was rated at 40 MPG with a manual. In high school I had a 1986 Nissan Sentra XE that regularly got 40+ MPG on the highway, with an 8 valve 1.6 liter engine and 5-Speed. I know the EPA revamped the way it did testing and that resulted in MPG rating drops pretty much across the board. However, the ability to make vehicles that get 40+ MPG is not new technology. While I hate the rising gas prices, perhaps they will shift the focus of the US car buying market from big engines and big vehicles to smaller vehicles and better fuel economy. These new vehicles are a step back in the right direction, its a shame that we stepped away from that direction in the first place though, or who knows how much better fuel economy would be now.

What I find amusing (read: annoying) is that the technology has been there a LONG time. Why is it that in the early 90s Honda was making cars getting 35/44 but no one can seem to achieve this anymore? I had a 93 Honda Civic that even at 16 years old was still getting 33 MPG. Where did this technology go?

I think it went into added weight, more options, and more power. Gas was so inexpensive until 2003 or 2004 that no one was concerned about mileage; bigger engines and more creature comforts were more important. Now companies are struggling to make cars as efficient as they once were, but with all the added features of today's vehicles. IMO, If gas mileage had remained important throughout the 90's we would be a lot further along on highly efficient engines that we are. Its a shame that it would now be cheaper if cars ran on milk rather than gasoline, but where I live a gallon of gas is $3.759 and a gallon of milk is $3.38.

For the last 10 years the Toyota Prius has had an EPA sticker over 40 MPG and it is entirely gasoline powered. I am not sure how you missed it. Various other hybrid cars also exceed 40 MPG. I can see ruling out the cars that plug in, like the Leaf and the Volt, but the Prius and most hybrids are entirely gas powered.

With gas at 4 bucks a gallon there is no doubt these fuel sippers will make their mark (and make or break an auto company for that matter). Looks there is a good amount of manufacturers hitting the 40 plus mark: http://www.fueleconomysearch.com/search-by-manufacturer

This was a very informative article on new 40+ mpg cars. Thank you for writing it.

The disingenuousness of the auto industry in meeting the needs of a supposedly fuel-starved planet is astounding. Here at Edmunds (and, well, everywhere else, for that matter), they've got the practice of short-term-memory and long-term-forgetfulness down to a real science. When I was in high school and college, mid-late 70's, the economy cars were getting 30, 35, 40 mpg. This was for cars like the Chevette, Pinto, Le Car, Civic. Conventional engines; not hybrids. Today, even hybrids that get over 40 mpg are so few you can count them on one hand. There's something very fishy here. The things that they're working on in car design are not the things that increase economy of operation, that's for sure. Today's cars are faster than they need to be, more luxurious than they need to be. But they don't get the gas mileage that they should be getting in the 21st Century.