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Fuel economy, cost, emissions and specs, side by side

Choose up to three vehicles and the table below lines up their official figures in one view. Every value comes from the U.S. EPA's fuel economy files and NHTSA's crash-test ratings, so the comparison is apples to apples rather than marketing copy.

What the comparison covers

For each vehicle you add, the table shows the EPA vehicle class, the fuel type or types, the driven wheels, the combined fuel economy in MPG or MPGe, and the estimated annual fuel cost at 15,000 miles a year. Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles also carry a battery range, which is the figure that matters if most of your driving can be done on electricity.

How to read it

Treat small differences as noise and large ones as real. A couple of miles per gallon rarely changes a monthly budget much, but a jump from the mid-twenties to the high-thirties is hundreds of dollars a year, and an annual fuel cost spread of several hundred dollars compounds over five years of ownership. Line up cars in the same class and body style for the fairest read.

Why running costs matter more than the sticker

Two cars with a similar price can cost very different amounts to run. Fuel is only one line of that, alongside insurance, maintenance and depreciation, but it is the one that is easiest to predict from official data. Comparing the fuel and emissions figures first narrows the field quickly, and the calculators under Tools then turn the shortlist into a full monthly or five-year cost.