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These Are the Greenest Vehicles On Sale In the U.S. In 2020

It’s April 22nd, and you know what that means! Today we’re celebrating Earth Day, and as part of our eco-friendly coverage to mark the occasion, here is a list of the greenest production vehicles you can buy in 2020.
Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid Blue engine bay 52 photos
Photo: Hyundai
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For the sake of simplicity, we will be talking about ICE vehicles with the best fuel efficiency on the combined driving cycle and EVs with the most electric driving range as per the ratings from the Environmental Protection Agency. Before going any further, we must take a minute to focus on the C.A.F.E.

No, not that café where you sip on a creamy latte with pumpkin spice but the Corporate Average Fuel Economy enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1975 in the aftermath of the Arab Oil Embargo. Nixon paved the way for these standards by extending the Clean Air Act in 1970 but his successor – Gerald Ford – signed the C.A.F.E. into law with an eye on reducing our oil dependency.

Fast-forward to the present day, and the Trump administration has rolled back these standards to a fleet-wide average of approximately 40 miles per gallon (5.9 l/100 km) by 2026 as opposed to 54 miles per gallon 4.4 l/100km) when Obama was running the show. S.A.F.E. is the acronym for Safer Affordable Fuel Efficiency, and according to the rule, passenger cars and light trucks need to improve their corporate average fuel economy by 1.5 percent each year for the model years 2021 through 2026. By comparison, the Obama-era standards mandated an annual increase of 5 percent.

Although it is far from perfect, the U.S. Secretary of Transport - Elaine L. Chao – has highlighted that S.A.F.E. will “make newer vehicles more affordable to consumers, safer for passengers, and cleaner for the environment.” Having said this, let us go through the five most efficient vehicles on sale today.

Most Efficient ICE Vehicle In 2020 In the U.S. - Mitsubishi Mirage CVT

At 39 miles to the gallon (6l/100km) combined thanks to 36 (6.5l/100 km) city and 43 (5.5 l/100km)highway, it’s hard to ignore the frugality of the Mirage. On the other hand, don’t expect to get a good car with a nice interior and a reliability record that would make Lexus blush.

The Mirage is often described as the worst new vehicle available in the United States, and we’re not surprised given that Mitsubishi has failed to come up with an exciting product in the past half a decade or so. The European equivalent is called the Space Star, and boy, I can’t remember driving a worse econobox than that.

Mitsubishi Mirage
Photo: Mitsubishi
Available as a hatchback or sedan – known as the Mirage G4 because it has four doors instead of five – the subcompact model starts at $13,995 for the five-speed manual, but the CVT that improves efficiency is a little costlier at $15,295.

Other mile-per-gallon champions with gasoline-only powertrains include the Hyundai Accent (36 on the combined driving cycle), the Elantra (also 36), Kia Rio (36), Honda Fit (36), Honda Civic (36), and Toyota Corolla Hatchback (35).

Most Efficient Diesel In 2020 In the U.S. - Mazda CX-5 SkyActiv-D

General Motors has stopped offering the 1.6-liter turbo diesel in the Cruze at the end of the 2019 model year, an engine that could average 37 miles per gallon (6.4l/100km) on the combined driving cycle when paired to a nine-speed automatic transmission. Jaguar has unlisted the 2.0-liter Ingenium turbo diesel as well, a four-cylinder motor that promises 36 miles per gallon (6.5l/100km) in the XE compact sedan and 35 (6.7l/100km) in the XF mid-size sedan.

This gets us to Mazda, namely the CX-5 Signature SkyActiv-D with front-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic transmission. Rated at 29 mpg (28 city and 31 highway), the compact crossover is also available with all-wheel-drive at the expense of one mile per gallon across the board (28 combined, 27 city, 30 on the highway).

Mazda CX\-5 diesel
Photo: Mazda
However, there’s a huge problem with the diesel-engined crossover. The powerplant is perfectly fine, having tested it myself in a European model, but the starting price of the U.S. model is prohibitive by all accounts. Launched with an MSRP of $41,000 or thereabouts, Mazda has discounted the CX-5 Signature SkyActiv-D as much as $10,000 earlier in 2020 because nobody was rushing to buy the damn thing.

Land Rover and Range Rover also offer diesel options in the Discovery, full-size Range Rover, and the Range Rover Sport. But as funny as it sounds, full-size pickup trucks like the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with the Duramax option fare better. In this case, the ‘Rado gets 27 miles to the gallon combined (23 city, 33 on the highway).

Most Efficient Hybrid In 2020 In the U.S. - Hyundai Ioniq Blue

Ah, the Ioniq! Hyundai made the headlines when they launched the Prius-like compact car thanks to a three-way electrification strategy, and even the lowest tier available is impressive in terms of fuel economy. With 58 miles to the gallon (4l/100km) on the combined cycle (57 mpg city and 59 mpg highway), the Ioniq Blue bests the Toyota Prius Eco by two miles per gallon and other Ioniqs without the Blue Suffix by three miles per gallon.

Another strong point of the South Korean interloper is the starting price. The Blue costs $23,200 excluding destination charge, $1,125 less than the Prius L Eco at the time of writing this article. Even the entry-level trim comes with creature comforts such as a proximity key and push-button standard, and Hyundai is much obliged to throw in forward collision-avoidance assist, an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay at no additional cost to the customer.

Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid
Photo: Hyundai
Something that Hyundai also does better than Toyota in terms of hybrids is the dual-clutch transmission over the e-CVT found in the Prius. Not only does it feel more natural to drive, but you can actually feel the transmission shifting through the gears instead of droning away. On that note, what other hybrids are worth considering?

If you’re into sedans, the Honda Insight is a pretty good and value-oriented choice at 52 miles per gallon on the combined driving cycle, matching the rating of the Prius without the Eco treatment. The Corolla Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, and the latest addition to the hybrid roster – namely the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Blue – return 52 mpg.

Most Efficient Plug-In Hybrid In 2020 In the U.S. - Toyota Prius Prime

Even though the EPA lists the BMW i3 REx as the most efficient plug-in hybrid on sale today, the agency erroneously refers to the 117 MPGe (2.0l/100km) rating instead of the combined fuel economy on gasoline. Also worthy of note, the i3 REx features a two-cylinder range extender that charges the battery instead of driving one of the car’s axles.

Moving on to proper plug-in hybrids, the Prius Prime is the undisputed leader with 54 miles per gallon (4.4l/100km) combined or 1.9 gallons of gasoline per 100 miles. The MPGe rating is also better than that of the BMW at 133, the electric-only range is listed at 25 miles, and total range tops 640 miles if you drive like grandma to church on Sunday.

Toyota Prius Prime
Photo: Toyota
The Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid also makes the list with an even higher all-electric range of 48 miles, but the downside to this fellow is that it only gets 42 miles for every gallon combined. Total range is unimpressive at 340 miles, and the price is prohibitive too. At $33,400, the Honda is $5,500 more expensive than the Toyota.

Other alternatives include the Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid at 52 MPG and the Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid at 46 MPG on the combined cycle. Further down the spectrum, we have the Ford Fusion Energi Plug-In Hybrid and Kia Optima Plug-In Hybrid with 42 and 41 miles to the gallon, respectively, from 2.0-liter Atkinson powerplants.

Most Efficient EV In 2020 In the U.S. - Tesla Model S Long Range Plus

You knew it was Tesla, didn’t you? But even though it’s larger and heavier than the Model 3 Long Range, it’s the Model S Long Range Plus that takes the cake with 391 miles of all-electric range. Given that we’re talking about a full-size luxury sedan that hits 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, it’s all the more impressive.

Without options and not accounting for potential savings, the king of EVs starts at $79,990 or $31,000 more than the Model 3 Long Range. However, MPGe favors the lesser sedan with 141 as opposed to 111 for the full-size sedan. That’s a difference of 24 kWh per 100 miles versus 30 kWh for the Model S Long Range Plus.

Tesla Model S
Photo: Tesla
The electric leviathan known as the Model X Long Range Plus comes in on second place with 351 miles, and the Model Y Long Range is fourth behind the Model 3 Long Range with 316 miles as opposed to 322. And now, prepare for a surprise!

Although deliveries have yet to start, the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Extended Range RWD is theoretically the fifth-best choice on the market thanks to a targeted range of 300 miles. If you’re on a tighter budget, two electric crossovers that are worth considering are the Hyundai Kona Electric (258 miles) and Kia Soul EV (243 miles). As for more conservative body styles, the Chevrolet Bolt is pretty OK at 259 miles.

If you had the money, which of these green machines would you fancy?
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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