2012 Best Green Large Vehicles
Need to haul a lot of people or stuff, preferably without burning a ton of fuel? Here are the best green large vehicles to consider.
GUIDE TO GREEN CARS, Summer 2012
Compiled by Megan Phelps, Emily Glover and Hannah Kincaid
Many of us get a lot of work done with our vehicles, whether it’s hauling wood chips and compost to our gardens or transporting a carload of kids to and from events. It’s amazing how much you can do with a small sedan or hatchback, and many of those cars get great gas mileage. But sometimes a smaller vehicle just isn’t going to cut it.
If you need a big, workhorse vehicle for your daily routine, you might despair of getting decent fuel economy. But wait! No matter what type of vehicle you’re looking at, there’s significant variation among models in terms of their miles per gallon — and even small differences in mpg can add up to big savings over the course of a year, especially in large vehicles (read “Small Differences Can Equal Serious MPG Savings” in Buying a Green Car).
The 2012 Best Green Large Vehicles chart further in this article shows the 2012 vehicles that weren’t fuel efficient enough to make it into our profiles section but that get great mpg compared with other similar vehicles. For more about what the chart’s metrics mean, read “What the Numbers Mean” in The Ultimate Green Car Buyer’s Guide.
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 |
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The 24-mpg Mazda 5 minivan
Photo by Mazda
|
The 18-mpg Toyota Tundra
Photo by Toyota
|
The 21-mpg Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid seats up to eight and has tons of cargo space.
Photo by Chevrolet
|
Most Efficient Cars, Most Efficient Pickups, Most Efficient SUVs
|
|
MPG
|
Annual
Fuel Cost (Gasoline)
|
Price Range
|
Seating
|
Passenger Volume
|
EPA Scores
|
ACEEE
Green
Score
|
NHSTA
Safety
Rating
|
Bonus
Info.
|
|
City
|
Hwy
|
Combo
|
Low
|
High
|
Air Pollution
|
Greenhouse
Gas
|
| Large Cars |
Honda Accord
(4 cyl.) |
23
|
34
|
27
|
$2,100
|
$22,200
|
$32,600
|
5
|
106
cu. ft.
|
8
|
6
|
43
|
5 stars
|
IIHS Top Safety Pick
|
Hyundai Sonata
(4 cyl., 2.4 L) |
24
|
35
|
28
|
$2,000
|
$20,600
|
$29,000
|
5
|
103.8 cu. ft.
|
5
|
7
|
44
|
5 stars
|
IIHS Top Safety Pick
|
| Small SUVs |
Ford Escape Hybrid (FWD,
4 cyl.) |
34
|
31
|
32
|
$1,750
|
$31,400
|
$35,700
|
5
|
99.4
cu. ft.
|
7
|
7
|
43
|
3 stars
|
|
| Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (2WD) |
25
|
31
|
27
|
$2,100
|
$19,600
|
$24,100
|
5
|
97.5
cu. ft.
|
5
|
6
|
42
|
not rated
|
|
Honda CR-V (2WD,
4 cyl.) |
23
|
31
|
26
|
$2,150
|
$23,100
|
$30,600
|
5
|
104.1 cu. ft.
|
5
|
6
|
42
|
not rated
|
IIHS Top Safety Pick
|
| Hyundai Tucson |
23
|
31
|
26
|
$2,150
|
$20,000
|
$27,300
|
5
|
101.9 cu. ft.
|
5
|
6
|
42
|
4 stars
|
IIHS Top Safety Pick
|
| Mid-Sized SUVs |
| Toyota Highlander Hybrid |
28
|
28
|
28
|
$2,000
|
$39,400
|
$45,700
|
7
|
145.4 cu. ft.
|
7
|
7
|
38
|
4 stars
|
IIHS Top Safety Pick
|
| Lexus RX 450h |
32
|
28
|
30
|
$2,000
|
$46,100
|
$47,700
|
5
|
139.7 cu. ft.
|
7
|
7
|
42
|
4 stars
|
|
GMC Terrain
(4 cyl.) |
22
|
32
|
26
|
$2,150
|
$26,400
|
$33,800
|
5
|
99.6
cu. ft.
|
6
|
6
|
42
|
4 stars
|
IIHS Top Safety Pick
|
| Chevrolet Equinox (FWD) |
22
|
32
|
26
|
$2,150
|
$24,300
|
$31,800
|
5
|
99.7
cu. ft.
|
6
|
6
|
42
|
4 stars
|
IIHS Top Safety Pick
|
| Large SUVs |
Cadillac Escalade Hybrid (2WD
and
4WD) |
20
|
23
|
21
|
$2,700
|
$74,800
|
$86,800
|
8
|
108.9 cu. ft.
|
5
|
4
|
30
|
4 stars
|
|
Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid (2WD
and
4WD) |
20
|
23
|
21
|
$2,700
|
$52,700
|
$55,500
|
8
|
N/A
|
5
|
4
|
30
|
4 stars
|
Similar to GMC Yukon 1500 Hybrid
|
| Small Pickups |
Chevrolet Colorado (2WD,
4 cyl.) |
18
|
25
|
21
|
$2,700
|
$18,300
|
$29,200
|
6
|
N/A
|
6
|
4
|
37
|
not rated
|
Similar to GMC Canyon
|
Toyota Tacoma (2WD,
4 cyl., manual) |
21
|
25
|
22
|
$2,550
|
$17,700
|
$27,700
|
3
|
56.1 cu. ft.
|
5
|
3
|
37
|
4 stars
|
|
Nissan Frontier (2WD,
4 cyl., manual) |
19
|
23
|
21
|
$2,700
|
$19,600
|
$33,300
|
4
|
87.7
cu. ft.
|
5
|
4
|
35
|
not rated
|
|
Suzuki Equator (2WD,
4 cyl., manual) |
19
|
23
|
21
|
$2,700
|
$20,100
|
$30,300
|
4
|
87.7
cu. ft.
|
5
|
4
|
35
|
not rated
|
|
| Standard Pickups |
Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid (2WD
and
4WD) |
20
|
23
|
21
|
$2,700
|
$40,600
|
$50,600
|
5
|
N/A
|
5
|
4
|
30
|
4 stars
|
Similar to GMC Sierra Hybrid
|
| Chevrolet Silverado C15 XFE (2WD) |
15
|
22
|
18
|
$3,150
|
$35,500
|
$35,500
|
3
|
N/A
|
5
|
3
|
31
|
not rated
|
|
Toyota Tundra (2WD,
6 cyl.) |
16
|
20
|
18
|
$3,150
|
$26,100
|
$26,100
|
3
|
N/A
|
5
|
3
|
30
|
4 stars
|
IIHS Top Safety Pick
|
| Ford F-150 (2WD) |
16
|
22
|
18
|
$3,150
|
$24,300
|
$50,000
|
3
|
64.8
cu. ft.
|
6
|
3
|
32
|
4 stars
|
IIHS Top Safety Pick
|
| Minivans |
| Honda Odyssey |
19
|
28
|
22
|
$2,550
|
$29,000
|
$44,300
|
7
|
172.5 cu. ft.
|
5
|
5
|
37
|
5 stars
|
IIHS Top Safety Pick
|
| Mazda 5 |
21
|
28
|
24
|
$2,350
|
$20,400
|
$24,800
|
6
|
97.7
cu. ft.
|
5
|
5
|
40
|
not rated
|
|
| Passenger Vans |
| Chevrolet Express 1500 |
13
|
17
|
14
|
$4,000
|
$30,000
|
$48,300
|
8
|
N/A
|
6
|
1
|
24
|
not rated
|
|
| GMC Savana 1500 |
13
|
17
|
14
|
$4,000
|
$29,900
|
$31,800
|
8
|
171.8 cu. ft.
|
6
|
1
|
24
|
not rated
|
|
| Ford E-150 Wagon |
13
|
17
|
15
|
$3,750
|
$29,800
|
$32,200
|
8
|
N/A
|
2
|
1
|
23
|
not rated
|
|
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