Consumer Reports: Midsize Sedans Most Fuel-Efficient?

April 17th, 2013 by Armaan Almeida

With today’s automakers taking great pains to reduce weight and advance in fuel efficiency, it makes logical sense to think that small, light and cheap compact cars would outperform their larger family-midsize counterparts when it comes to the all-important mpg. Not so fast, says a new comprehensive study from Consumer Reports.

Comparing real-world efficiency testing data from some of the most popular midsize, compact and subcompact cars from top automakers, the non-profit found that the best midsizes actually matched or even outperformed many smaller, cheaper cars. For the purposes of this study, editors focused on gas and diesel models only, leaving hybrid efficiency for another day.

While the 2013 Toyota Yaris (32 combined mpg) was the all-out gasoline efficiency champ (putting aside for a moment VW TDI diesel models), the 2014 Mazda6 (32 mpg), 2013 Nissan Altima (31 mpg) and 2013 Honda Accord (30 mpg) were just behind. In fact, the four-cylinder, CVT-transmission Accord slightly outperformed Honda’s own Civic and Fit.

Since midsize sedans cost around $3,500 to $7,000 more than compact and subcompact cars, automakers have a little more breathing room when it comes to fitment of advanced (read: expensive) powertrain technology. This helps overcome the greater curb weights that come with larger, more-comfortable family sedans.

As you can see in the chart above, Volkswagen’s TDI turbodiesel Passat, Jetta and Golf absolutely smashed their gasoline-powered competitors in mpg testing. The Passat TDI attained 37 combined and 51 highway mpg on real-world roads, significantly better than even its official EPA test numbers. But look at the last column showing the estimated cost of ownership per mile of each vehicle. At present, diesel fuel is even more expensive than premium gasoline, cutting into those savings.

The bottom line: small cars are still cheaper than the typical mass-market family midsize, but if saving on gas is your primary reason for downsizing, you might want to take another look.