In several tests of the CX5, 6 and 3 I seem to remember that the vehicles got pretty close to their EPA estimates.

 

That's what I've seen too, which is why I scoff when I hear "Mazda is fluffing numbers" when obviously others do

 

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoram...190137784.html

 

Subaru's 4th-place position there is interesting, given that, with the exception of the RWD BR-Z, all of their American-market products are AWD. And the BR-Z is not particularly economy-oriented, either, being essentially a sports coupe. One thing that DID help Subaru in the mileage department, though, was last year's redesign of the Impreza and the addition of the Impreza-based XV Crosstrek, both of which use low-powered 2.0L flat-fours and CVT transmissions.

 

Honda has a pickup truck called the Ridgeline



Unfortunately, it looks like a horrid piece of ******

 

Ford, GM and Chrysler have full size cars, pick ups, massive V8s and cars like friggin CTS-V. MB and BMW have dozens of high performance models (AMG and M). There is no way in hell you can compare Subaru or Mazda to the likes of GM or even Toyota. This like saying the number of hurricane related deaths in florida is 10x higher than in Arizona. Well duh....

Marketing fluff at it's best. By that measure Tesla has the best fuel economy of all makers.

 

subaru has high performance models. and mmarshall's point is well made -- those other brands do not have awd on 95% of their vehicles, which typically is associated with a mpg penalty.

besides, no one is holding a gun to those other manufacturers' heads screaming they HAVE to offer massive V8s (and V10s and V12s) in their consumer vehicles. in fact, the government is mandating they NOT do that. and consumers who vote with their wallets are plainly stating they NOT do that. so, they can continue to invest in old technology if they want, but they will get left behind.

of course i am assuming the chart excludes commercial fleet.

 

Yup, this rating means nothing. Notice most of the non-full line makers are the most fuel efficient.

Mazda just makes a handful of cars and small CUV's. No full size vehicles. Not even a full-size sedan.

While GM, Ford, Chrysler, and Toyota build in every segment.

All that matters is side by side comparisons of segment competitors.

 

With pure electric cars, though, one has to take into account electric power-stations that burn fossil fuels like coal or oil. Electric power usually doesn't come for free, though some power plants, of course, use waterfalls/dams or nuclear rods as a energy source. That's why the EPA, when they rate pure electric or extended-range plug-in hybrid cars for mileage, estimate the "mileage" each car gets for the estimated amount of fossil fuels burned at the hydro-electric plant.