CARS.COM — Fuel prices remain quite low, which has cooled demand for efficient vehicles on economic grounds, but some shoppers remain interested in decreasing their carbon footprint by buying vehicles that are more fuel-efficient. So in anticipation of Earth Day, we calculated not merely the most efficient 2017 cars, but rather the ones that give you the most miles and efficiency for your dollar.
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To do so, we employ an efficiency-cost rating. It’s simply the EPA’s combined mpg rating divided by the base price (meaning MSRP plus destination charge). We then multiply that result by 1,000. This formula can be applied to any type of vehicle, hybrid or not. A high mpg rating and low price provide a high efficiency-cost rating. A higher score is the better score.
We don’t account for equipment levels, quality judgments, cost of ownership or any variances from EPA fuel economy estimates. The goal here is to pay the least for the most mileage, barring all other considerations. Each model is named only once, ranked by the version with the highest efficiency-cost rating even if other trim levels are close.
