You want a fuel-efficient vehicle, but due to family obligations, job needs or simply outward appearances, you've disregarded a hybrid, compact or mid-sized sedan. So what's left?
Business Week has scoured a variety of large vehicles, looking for the best in terms of fuel-efficiency and cargo/passenger space, and finally selected its top ten to fit virtually any owner's want or need. After you've reviewed their picks, comments are open for your opinions.
The top ten vehicles include:
- Luxury Sedan-Overall Fuel Economy - Lexus GS300
- Luxury Sedan-Most Space - Lincoln Town Car
- SUV-Overall Fuel Economy - Chevrolet Trailblazer
- SUV-Most Space - Toyota Land Cruiser (pictured)
- Minivan-Overall Fuel Economy - Honda Odyssey
- Minivan-Most Space - Toyota Sienna
- Large Sedan-Overall Fuel Economy - Ford Five Hundred
- Large Sedan-Most Space - Ford Crown Victoria
- Pickup Truck-Overall Fuel Economy - Toyota Tundra
- Pickup Truck-Payload - Chevrolet Silverado
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kowell @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:07PM
Chevy Trailblazer most fuel efficient????
Erik @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:12PM
Do they seriously still sell the Land Cruiser? That thing looks more outdated than my '88 Grand Wagoneer.
PiCASSO @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:13PM
>> Chevy Trailblazer most fuel efficient????
Yup.. with the 4.2L Inline 6 in 2WD configuration, it as EPA ratings of 16/22. Even the 5.3L V8 has it at the same 16/22 (City/Highway).
http://www.chevrolet.com/trailblazer/specifications/
jjaxon @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:19PM
#2 Erik i agree .. it is very ugly and old looking
K-man @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:29PM
Pontiac Vibe. Yes, it's got plenty of room.
DJ @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:47PM
Hmmm, BusinessWeek's story indicates that they were looking at "large" cars, but their choice for luxury car, the Lexus GS300, is classified by the EPA as a midsize......
If you eliminate the "midsize" luxury models and go stirctly with "large" kuxury models, the winner is the Jaguar XJ8.
Upirons @ Aug 23rd 2006 1:04PM
It's kind of an oxymoron to call any of these "fuel efficient" isn't it? Sure, they may be the most fuel efficient out of the large vehicles available but with 16 mpg being the average for some of these I would hardly use the term "fuel efficient" with any of them. Of course I couldn't come up with a better term though.
DriftPunch @ Aug 23rd 2006 1:05PM
Huh? How did the calulate that the landcruiser has more space than say, a Suburban? Perhaps they've heard of them...
DarkKnight67 @ Aug 23rd 2006 1:09PM
I'll have to assume the Toyota is a 2006 model, and not an '07. It gets worse mileage than a Tahoe (13/17 vs. 15/20), puts out more greenhouse gases and costs about $400 more per year to keep filled.
Don't believe it, look on the EPA's site:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm
cheezedog420 @ Aug 23rd 2006 1:27PM
I thought the Dodge Magnum would be on this over the Ford Crown Victoria. The NYCP police just picked the dodge over the aging Ford because it was a bit more fuel-efficient, and had all around better performance. Of course, the Ford might have a few more inches of room, (But if you really need all the space you can get, just get a truck. Dua!)
In any case, It just goes to show. Don't trust a buisness rag for anything but buisness!
Rick Reimundez @ Aug 23rd 2006 1:50PM
"1. Chevy Trailblazer most fuel efficient????"
I'm with him.. My wife drives our 4wd 4.2L I-6 Trailblazer and she's lucky if she gets 14 mpg in mixed driving. If she heads into the city, we're talking maybe 12mpg with a tailwind. It's our only complaint about the Trailblazer.. Well, that and the ride height/handling - which I took care of already thanks to Ground Force and Bilstein.
Greg @ Aug 23rd 2006 1:52PM
Owned a Trailblazer until last year. Sold it because of gas prices (switched to a smaller car). (...which was a mistake but that's another story)
Looking back now, it was pretty good on gas, asked other SUV drivers and theirs were worse (including Jeeps, X5's, Kias, Durangos, ML's, etc...)
That 4.2 inline-6 was silky smooth, quiet, and cheap(er) to run.
Tim UF @ Aug 23rd 2006 1:53PM
K-Man, the vibe isn't on this list because its a LARGE vehicle list... That said, how does the Suburban (or Tahoe for that matter) not have more space than the Land Cruiser? If its true by the pingpong ball volume measurement of the cabin volume, then Chevy really needs to get to work on packaging the interior of their trucks more efficiently.
Neal M @ Aug 23rd 2006 3:05PM
This is factually incorrect.
The Hyundai Sonata is classified as a large car by the NHTSA and gets better fuel economy than the Ford Five Hundred when equipped with the I4 or V6 engine.
Check your s*** please, BusinessWeek. Amateurs...
Ohio John @ Aug 23rd 2006 3:18PM
What about the Dodge (Mercedes) Sprinter wagon with the 5 cylinder diesel? It holds 8 passengers + their luggage and gets 27 mgp. (It would take 3 Prius's to equal that.) And owners are getting hundreds of thousands of miles on the engine.
jjaxon @ Aug 23rd 2006 3:35PM
#14 For that matter the BUICK LESABRE isnt a small car and it will get 35 mpg highway..
fuscob @ Aug 23rd 2006 7:49PM
Good question, those who asked about the size of the Land Cruiser vs. the Suburban.
These figures are cargo room in cu. ft. behind the 1st/2nd/3rd rows, respectively.
Land Cruiser 90.8/39.2/20.8
Suburban 137.4/90.0/45.8
The Suburban (1500 w/ 5.3L V8) gets better gas mileage, too - 15/19mpg vs. the Land Cruiser's 13/17mpg.
GM Lover @ Aug 23rd 2006 9:48PM
#11...I have to say that either there was something wrong with your Trailblazer or your wife drove with the pedal to the floor with the shifter in second gear!
I have a 2002 GMC Envoy 2WD that is my daily driver. It has the 4.10 rear gear which is the worst of the three they offer as far as fuel economy (vs. the 3.43 or 3.73). The SUV always gets 21mpg on the highway doing 75-80 mph. In the city if I drive like a madman (as I tend to do) the average can get down to 14.5-15 mpg but even some sane driving gets me up aroung 16 mpg. Driving like a normal person in the city the truck gets 17-18 mpg.
And I agree with #12 about the 4.2L I-6 engine being silky smooth. I honestly think this SUV gets a bad rap...I still get positive comments about the vehicle and it's 5 years old already! And for those that knock the Trailblazer interior, I totally agree but the GMC/Olds/Buick/Saab versions really improve upon an otherwise nice SUV.
snickers_60177 @ Aug 23rd 2006 10:10PM
my uncle has a trailblazer...we carpool on highways often...he gets about 15 mpg driving 75-80, yet when he drives 55 he gets about 22...when we drive my honda pilot we get 22 mpg going 75-80 and about 24 going 55...go figure!
td500 @ Aug 23rd 2006 10:13PM
Trailblazer? Are they nuts?!
Overlooked: Honda Pilot (seats 8, 18/24mpg in FWD) and the huge Ford Freestyle (seats 6 very comfortably, 20/27mpg in FWD).