More Cars Joining the 40 MPG Club
No Need for Diesel or Hybrid to Reach the Magic Number
From the May, 2011 issue of Motor Trend
http://www.motortrend.com/features/a...lub/index.html
- By Todd Lassa
With unrest in the Middle East prompting predictions of $4-5/gallon gas in the U.S., buyers will be looking for that 40-mpg number, and automotive marketers will try to deliver it. Of course, electric cars, plug-in extended range electrics, and many diesels and hybrids easily crest the magic number.
Today, 40 mpg isn't entirely dependent on size. Two C-segment cars are on this list, versus one each in the A- and B-segments. For the 2010 model year, only one car reached 40 mpg highway without hybrid or diesel power, the A-segment Smart ForTwo.
Soon there'll be six such models in the 40-mpg Club. Ford says its 2.0-liter 2012 Focus SE with SFE package achieves at least 40 mpg highway, whether equipped with the six-speed manual or Powershift auto-manual transmission, though EPA figures for '12 models were not published in time for this report. Similarly, Honda says its all-new 2012 Civic HF will, like the '12 Civic Hybrid, breach 40-mpg highway. The '11 Fit manages only 28/35 mpg with the five-speed automatic (27/33 with the manual). The '12 Fiat 500, an A-segment car, gets 30/38 mpg for the manual, and 27/34 mpg for the automatic.
The first automaker that can attain 40-mpg-plus from a midsize sedan could rule the U.S. market. Volkswagen will do it with the 2012 Passat, though only with the diesel, which it says will achieve 43-mpg highway. The diesel engine will be imported to the U.S. for the Tennessee-assembled Passat, creating a high "transfer cost," so expect the Passat diesel to cost quite a bit more than the $20,000 base price. If you want to reach 40 mpg highway with a conventional gas engine, here are 2011 model year choices:
-Smart ForTwo, 1.0-liter I-3, automated five-speed manual: 33/41 mpg
-Ford Fiesta SFE, 1.6-liter I-4, automated six-speed manual: 29/40 mpg
-Hyundai Elantra, 1.8-liter I-4, six-speed manual or automatic: 29/40 mpg
-Chevrolet Cruze Eco, 1.4-liter turbo I-4, six-speed manual: 28/42 mpg
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