Sport utility vehicles, commonly known as SUVs are not particularly good in handling fuel costs. These types of cars are one of the most fuel hungry cars in the market. But recently, cars from the United States and Japan have been trying to find way to change the SUV’s reputation by forming hybrids of the car. And so far it has been effective considering that it is able to reach 30 miles per gallon, which says so much about its improvement. It is hard evidence that the sport utility vehicle is going to the right direction concerning fuel efficiency.
Cars are being ranked in order to help car consumers and enthusiast which cars are the wisest choice when fuel economy is concerned. The rank of each car is being determined by the United States Energy Department’s Environmental Protection Agency.
The Ford Escape
The Ford Escape of 2009 was ranked by the agency as the top among the fuel efficient cars available in the market. Its speed are being generated by electrically powered motor propellers which help attain a minimum speed of 30 miles per hour when it tries to climb a hill and up to 40 miles per hour when on a flat surface. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency says that it also is getting help from its 2.5 liter cylinders with a transmission that is fairly automatic in order to reach approximately 34 miles per gallon in the city and 31 on the highway. That is even far more efficient than the Fortuner who runs at 28 miles per gallon on both terrains.
The Mazda Tribute
This model of a car has the same components as the For Escape: a 2.5 liter cylinder hybrid engine which helps in the conversion of gasoline power to electric and transmitters who is able to do its operation automatically. With these components in its system, it reaches the same number like the Escape. Of course, this is still in accordance to what the EPA says.
The Saturn Vue
This is General Motors representative in the sport utility vehicle department, and it may be doing well based on the ranking that the Environmental Protection Agency gave it. Unfortunately, its system only powers the car’s accessories and not the car per se. Its engine is the 3.6 liter with six cylinders which help it reach a mile per gallon value of 27 in the city and 30 on the high road. Again, this is all in accordance to the EPA.
The Chevrolet HHR
Unlike its many counterparts in the higher ranking, it is not a hybrid type of sport utility vehicle. It is powered by an engine that has 2.2 liters and four cylinders with automatic transmitters; it is able to reach MPG values of up to 16 in the city and 32 in the highway. The one which can be run on ethanol gets a lower rating with 16 and 22 MPG, respectively.
The Jeep Compass
This car is an all wheel drive which is run by 2.0 liter engine with four cylinders. And it is the best in the industry when it comes to MPG rating considering that its transmitters are run manually. It can reach the 23 MPG mark in the city and 29 on the highroad.
The Jeep Patriot
It uses the same engine as the Compass which is why their numbers are more or less the same. These two models were created in order to counter their Cheroke model which is refuted to be a ful hungry machine.
Making a Fuel Efficient SUV
Coming up with a car that is well suited for you can be a very tedious process. The features that will provide you with efficient fuel economy are cars with smaller sizes, its car chassis and a diminished capacity for towing. These are some features that need to be considered in one way or another in order to make sure that you are getting the best value considering a car’s fuel economy.
Four wheel drives and all wheel drives designed to cruise through the city are poor choices when making a decision to buy a fuel economic sport utility vehicle; off road vehicles are also poor in fuel economy.
But if you are adamant in purchasing an SUV, then you should consider buying a hybrid car. It is very efficient with the fuel and can value better in the market.
It also does not hurt to take into consideration SUVs with smaller engine and those that has transmitters which are powered manually.
