EPA Issues Annual Fuel Mileage Booklet

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The EPA has issued its annual fuel mileage guide with complete ratings for the 2005 car model year.

The EPA has issued its annual fuel mileage guide with complete ratings for the 2005 car model year. The guide tells you each model's mileage, what you can expect your annual fuel cost to be, and special information such as whether the model is subject to a gas guzzler tax, or conversely an alternative fuel tax break.


The guide also gives information about diesel-powered vehicles, compressed natural gas vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles.


The overall gas mileage champion for cars sold in the US was once again the Honda Insight (with a manual transmission), achieving 61 mpg in the city and 66 mpg on the highway. A close second -- and particularly impressive because it's classified as a midsize car and comes only with an automatic transmission -- is the Toyota Prius, which gets 60 mpg in the city, and 51 on the highway. Most cars perform more efficiently on the highway, but since the Prius's electric capabilities kick in at slow speeds, the reverse is true for it.


Other notables are the Honda Civic Hybrid (48/47) and the diesel version of the Volkswagen New Beetle (36/48).


Among the worst offenders are the Bentley Arnage, getting a scant 10 mpg city and 14 mpg highway, though it's a midsized car; the Maserati Quattroporte (12/17); the Mercedes-Benz S600 (12/19); the Chevrolet Silverado C1500 pickup (9/12); and the Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup (9/12).


Pickups, trucks, and SUVs weighing over 8500 pounds are considered heavy-duty vehicles and therefore are not rated or ranked. For this reason, Hummers are not listed; they exceed that weight.


You can download the complete, 26-page guide here:www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/FEG2005.pdf