Efficiency is the name of the game, and automakers are striving for higher and higher numbers. Currently, the most fuel efficient gasoline-powered vehicle is the Toyota Prius at 50 mpg. Getting into plug-in hybrids [PHEV] and electric vehicles [EV] though, these numbers climb even higher, to 121 MPGe in the case of the Scion iQ EV.
In case you didn’t know, MPGe is a new standard developed by the EPA to measure “fuel” efficiency of vehicles that require recharging, whether PHEV or EV types. To calculate MPGe, consider that a gallon of gasoline has the same amount of energy as 33.7 kW. Since an EV does not use gasoline, knowing that it can travel a certain distance on 33.7 kW of electricity is similar to knowing that a gasoline-powered vehicle traveling a certain distance on one gallon of gasoline.
As we mentioned earlier, the highest MPGe vehicle is currently the Scion iQ EV at 121 MPGe, followed by the Honda FIT EV at 118 MPGe. We recently reported to you the concept of a new EV by Fiat, and this newcomer to the EV fleet, the Fiat 500e, was just rated by the EPA at 116 MPGe, making it 3rd place in fuel efficiency, only 2 MPGe behind the Honda, and just 5 MPGe behind the Scion.
The new Fiat 500e is also more efficient than the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Smart Fortwo EV, Focus EV, Tesla Model S, and Chevy Volt. With the 500e’s unique styling and 116 MPGe economy, better than so many others, Fiat is sure to make a dent in the EV markets. The 500e
The fiat 500e only cost 500$ to run per year.
Hi Chris,
Sorry, but we can’t possibly transform our figures in every measuring unit on the planet. Kilometers per litre is just as absurd as miles per gallon. Litres per 100 kilometers makes much more sense, from my point of view (any many others’). While sometimes we do express fuel consumption that way, a simple Google search will solve the conversion issue. There’s even a petition for the wider adoption of L/100km (I’m sure I saw it mentioned on Gizmodo). Thanks.
Any chance of your writers converting MPG into KPL (Kilometres per litre)? There are lots of countries out there other than the USA and the UK! Chris Chatteris (South Africa)!