Good Gas Mileage SUV – Hybrids Win
Posted by Car Dude in Ford, Gas Mileage, cadillac, chevy, gmc, hybrid, jeep, toyota, tags: Gas Mileage, hybrids, suvs
A good gas mileage SUV is an imporatant and popular decision in the car world these days. Why get 20 MPG when you can get 50% better with ease. Hybrid SUV’s return both excellent city and highway MPG numbers. But there are many good gas mileage SUV’s out there that are excellent performers. And for the 2010 model year you have many good choices. Lets just start with the top performers. Of course Hybrid SUV’s win.
1) Ford Escape Hybrid
The Ford Escape hybrid is a good gas mileage SUV with fuel economy numbers that check in at a mind-boggling 34 city and 31 highway MPG! And the Escape Hybrid has been the top dog since its release in 2004. Now don’t freak out because yes, the Mercury Mariner and the Mazda Tribure are both pretty much the same car. The reaseon why the Ford Escape is such a good gas mileage SUV is because the Hybrid can use electricty alone to acelerate to 30 MPH per wikipedia. An electric motor helps boost the 133 HP inline 4-cylinder. Also an Atkinson Cycle engine is much better for hybrids as the power produced is less but the efficiency is better which is more important in a good gas mileage SUV. The loss in power is made up with the electric motor. Which is recharged by regenerative braking. Price for the Escape hybrid is about $30k.
2) Lexus RX 450h
Yes luxury companies car produce a good gas mileage SUV. And Lexus has been doing so for more than 5 years! Ok 
here’s the goods: MSRP is around $43k and MPG is 32 city and 28 highway. The 297 HP V-6 engine is helped via a power inverter and 2 electric motors. The engine also runs on the atkinson Cycle. And believe it or not the RX 450h is 20% more efficient than the previous generation 400h.
3) Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain
Hey here is a good gas mileage suv that is not powered by a hybrid motor. The Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain only get 22 MPG in the city, which is nothing special. But if you do alot of highway driving and need a good gas mileage SUV, than the Equinox should be on your list. Getting 32 MPG on the highway without the aid of any electric motors, the Equinox is a real surprise. You can get a very base model for $23k which is the perfect range for many consumers. The motor is a 182 HP 4 cylinder.
4) Jeep Patriot
What a Jeep is also on the list of good gas mileage SUVs? Yes its true, 
Both the Jeep Patriot and the Compass are excellent fuel sippers. The Jeeps both get 23 MPG in the city and 29 MPG on the highway. So if you are a Jeep lover like my buddy Wendy, you should upgrade to one of these bad boys. These figures are of course for the base model 2.0L 172 HP Patriot. And with an MSRP of $15,300 there is no denying that the Patriot should be on this list!
5) Toyota Highlander Hybrid
The Toyota Highlander Hybrid is an odd fellow. You would think that the Highlander would kill in the MPG department since is has the Prius as its little brother. What kills the fuel economy of the Highlander is its heavy and energy wasting 4-wheel drive. The Highlander does make the good gas mileage SUV list due to it still good numbers at 27 in the city and 25 on the highway. On more ding against the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is the $35k price tag.
Honorable Mention
Cadillac Escalade Hybrid
The Escalade Hybrid gets 22 MPG ok. You may say: “WTF”! But when you find out this is a 40% improvement over the non-hybrid version it hits you that the Escalades are a big waste. And you have to fork over $62k for the base model and $73k for the hybrid ouch.
BMW Active Hybrid
The Active Hybrid BMW X6 costs $89k but it has a 400-HP twin-turbo V-8 powering it! Totally worth the 18 MPG figure it returns. For comparison the non-hybrid SUV gets 14 MPG.
Source: Fuel Economy.gov check the stats for yourself
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