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).

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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.


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	Annual Fuel Cost (Gasoline)	Low	High	Seating	Passenger Volume	Air Pollution	Greenhouse Gas	ACEEE Green Score	NHSTA Safety Rating	Bonus Info.
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