A look at the year’s worst gas-guzzlers
Most expensive cars to buy are also most expensive to drive
The price of gasoline is creeping up again as we leave 2016 in the rearview, poised to go higher with even the slightest murmur over the price of oil.
Funny how the price of gas takes forever to fall after the price of oil drops, yet the price at the pumps jumps instantly the second OPEC sneezes or gathers for apple tea. And isn’t it just a bit strange the average price of gas across the country — $1.19/litre — is the same as October 2015 when oil was almost double what it is today?
Since Canadians appear to be subsidizing oil companies with over-inflated pump prices, fuel economy remains an important metric. And while the best and “greenest” cars are heavily promoted, the worst guzzlers are less obvious. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), however, keeps score of the city, highway and average fuel economy of all makes and models sold in Canada.
So, after combing through data in NRCan’s excellent Fuel Consumption Guide, the following were found to be the 2017 vehicles that consumed the most (and least) gasoline in their segments, based on combined average litres of fuel consumed per 100 kilometres.
(Note: NRCan’s vehicle classes are determined by the interior volume, not exterior dimensions. The classes, therefore, are not the same as those commonly used in the industry. A Civic, for example, is classified as full size. Also, higher consuming ethanol (E85) vehicles are excluded from this list, as are electric vehicles.)
SUBCOMPACT Worst: We wouldn’t classify the Bentley Continental GT Convertible or the Maserati GranTurismo as “subcompacts,” but for NRCan’s classifications, that’s where they fall based on interior volume. The pair also scored worst for fuel consumption; the Bentley and its 6.0-litre V12 swigging back 16L/100 kilometres compared to the Maserati’s 15.2. They’re followed by the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at 14.9 — all depending on the number of burnouts attempted during each drive.
Best: Ford’s Fiesta SFE with its 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder, the Fiat 500 hatchback and the Chevrolet Spark.
COMPACT Worst: How the RollsRoyce Phantom Coupe measures up as compact might be a mystery to anyone outside government, but it’s no surprise its 6.7-litre V12 devours gasoline at the prodigious rate of 17.1L/100 average — 20.7 in the city — to rank as one darn thirsty car. The Rolls-Royce Dawn follows, as does the Mercedes-AMG S65 coupe, also with a 12-cylinder engine. In the V8 category, the worst is the BMW M6 Gran Coupe.
Best: Highest honours go to the Toyota Prius C, the Lexus CT 200h and Mitsubishi’s Mirage.
MID-SIZED Worst: Bentley’s Mulsanne, both the long wheelbase and regular, will require close to $4,000 a year to fuel, while the Rolls-Royce Wraith takes second at 16.1 L/100 km. Among vehicles not bought by oil barons, the Cadillac CTS-V ranks as the highest consuming, with a combined average of 14L/100 km, followed by the Audi S8 and RS7, both of which require premium.
Best: Toyota’s Prius, the Honda Accord Hybrid and the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid rank as the top three.
FULL-SIZED Worst: Rolls-Royce takes the crown yet again for its Phantom that devours premium at the rate of 17.1L/100 km, but it’s only little worse than second place BMW M760i xDrive at 15.1 and the Mercedes-Maybach S 600 in third place, which burns fuel for its 6.0L V12 at a rate of 15L/100 km.
Best: The Ford C-Max Hybrid and Honda Civic are not considered fullsized cars by most people’s standards, but NRCan ranks them there and puts their fuel consumption at 5.9 and 6.9 respectively, followed by the Kia Forte5. WAGON Worst: Infiniti’s QX50 AWD might be more SUV than wagon, but it ranks as the highest consuming in NRCan’s wagon roundup at 11.9L/100 km. Volvo’s V60 and its V90 sibling take second and third spots at 9.5 and 9.4 despite 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines.
Best: The Kia Niro, Toyota Prius V and Honda Fit.
SUV Worst: The Mercedes-AMG G 65, with its 6.0-litre V12 powerhouse tops the SUV thirst meter at 20.3L/100 km, followed by the G 63 and its more “efficient” 5.5L V8 that averages 18.5 and the G 550, all three of which are shaped like bricks and based on a decades old formula. Among mainstream SUVs, the Toyota Sequoia, also based on old tech, hits a meagre 16.5 with its 5.7L V8, shadowed by the Lexus LX 570 at 15.8.
Best: The Toyota RAV4 AWD Hybrid at 7.3, the Lexus NX 300h at 7.5 and the RX450h AWD at 7.9.
MINIVAN Worst: The Kia Sedona SX-L and its 3.3-litre V6 averages a combined 12.5 L/100 km and will require $2,325 to operate over a year. The ever-popular Dodge Grand Caravan takes second behind the Kia for most fuel used among vans, followed by the all-wheel-drive Toyota Sienna as third most thirsty.
Best: The Mazda5, the Chrysler Pacifica and the front-wheel-drive Sienna. PICKUP Worst: Among 4×4 pickups, Toyota’s long-in-the-tooth Tundra is the highest consuming gas pickup on the market today, averaging 16.2L/100 km from its 5.7L V8, for a fuel bill of more than $3,000 per year. Second place goes to the Ram 1500 at 15.4 L/100 km, and third the Ford F-150 with the payload package and its 5.0L V8 at 14.8.
Best: The leanest and most efficient 4×4 pickups are the GMC Canyon and the Toyota Tacoma — both compact pickups — followed by the full-size F-150 equipped with the 2.7L Ecoboost V6 engine.