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Which 3-Row SUV Has the Best Real-World MPG?

3 row suv challenge 2024 15 gas station scaled jpg 2024 3-Row SUV Challenge | Cars.com photo by Christian Lantry

Large kiddo-carting three-row SUVs have come a long, long way in the past two decades. Gone are the days when you were forced to pick a truckish body-on-frame behemoth if you carried a full house of family and friends. In 2024, you’re spoiled for choice in the three-row SUV class with vehicles that offer most of the capacity of a full-size SUV but with far better fuel efficiency than those big’uns. We know that avoiding pain at the pump is one of the top priorities for buyers, so we dedicated a significant portion of our recent three-row SUV comparison test to putting a real-world mpg number to each of our contenders.

2024 3-Row SUV Challenge
Results | Winner | Real-World MPG | Cargo Space

First, let’s talk about what we were workin’ with. With the industry’s focus on powertrain downsizing, you’d think the perennial V-6 would go the way of the dodo in this class, surely supplanted by the ubiquitous turbocharged four-cylinder and hybrid drivetrains. Our contenders indicate otherwise; the Honda Pilot, Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride and Nissan Pathfinder all pack naturally aspirated V-6s, while just the Volkswagen Atlas and Subaru Ascent are powered by turbo-fours. The Toyota Grand Highlander is the odd one out with its gas-electric hybrid system.

3 row suv challenge 2024 13 gas station scaled jpg 2024 3-Row SUV Challenge | Cars.com photo by Christian Lantry

So, it stands to reason the big sixers would drink the deepest, with the turbo-fours nipping only thimblefuls of Big Oil’s finest. That’s exactly what we set out to discover, reserving an entire day of our test for an ambling drive that was closer to a road trip than a simple loop at around 250 miles in length. Using the fabulously varied landscape of Southern California, our fuel run ran the full gamut through sustained elevation, mountain passes, downhill rushes, agricultural flatlands and highways both open and traffic-clogged.

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To minimize the effects of different driving styles on fuel economy, we cycled seven drivers through each SUV at set intervals. For the most part, we treated this drive as we would a simple commute, with air conditioning on Auto, any drive mode in Normal, the windows up and cruise control off. It’s worth noting that we did encounter some navigation-app challenges on the third and fourth legs that led to some of the SUVs taking different roads to the next driver-change spot. Even so, the difference between the Telluride that traveled the most miles (264.2) and the Pathfinder that traveled the least (249.9) came out to only 14.3 miles, or about 6% of our roughly 250-mile route.

Prior to setting off, each three-row was filled at the same gas pump with the same 91-octane fuel. At the conclusion of our route, we did the same, noting distance traveled, gallons of gas added and the vehicle’s indicated average mpg. We calculated a pump average for each SUV by taking miles traveled divided by gallons burned  then averaged this number with each SUV’s trip-computer mpg average to get a final fuel-economy number. Here’s how they stacked up:

1. 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Limited: 35.1 mpg
2. 2024 Honda Pilot Elite: 24.8 mpg (tie)
3. 2024 Volkswagen Atlas SEL Premium R-Line: 24.8 mpg (tie)
4. 2024 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy Night Edition: 23.9 mpg
5. 2024 Kia Telluride SX-Prestige X-Line: 23.8 mpg (tie)
6. 2024 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum: 23.8 mpg (tie)
7. 2024 Subaru Ascent Touring: 22.9 mpg

The Grand Highlander Hybrid’s win was rather unsurprising, but the second-through-seventh results were fascinating. While the Toyota’s 35.1 mpg average was more than 10-mpg better than the Pilot and Atlas, which were tied for second at 24.8 mpg, that’s where the massive differences end; the difference from second to seventh place was just 1.9 mpg.

3 row suv challenge 2024 12 gas station scaled jpg 2024 3-Row SUV Challenge | Cars.com photo by Christian Lantry

Speaking of seventh place, that inauspicious title goes to the Ascent and its 22.9 mpg average. Surprising that, as you might think, the turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four would sip gas rather than swill it. Meanwhile, the other turbo-four of the group in the Atlas was one of the more efficient powertrains in our test.

Of the V-6-powered SUVs, the Pilot proved thriftiest with a roughly 1-mpg advantage over the others. The Palisade and Telluride are mechanical twins that use the same 3.8-liter V-6 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission, and, not surprisingly, just 0.1 mpg separated their fuel economy averages.

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So what does this all mean? Here’s how we take it: If fuel efficiency is your absolute priority in your next three-row SUV, stick with the Grand Highlander Hybrid. If you’re interested in one of the six others here, know that your monthly gas bill will likely be quite similar regardless of which one you choose.

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.

Conner Golden
Conner Golden joined Cars.com in 2023 as an experienced writer and editor with almost a decade of content creation and management in the automotive and tech industries. He lives in the Los Angeles area.
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