EPA’s gas mileage ratings drop for some 2017 models
New-car shoppers will see mileage numbers on stickers of many 2017 model-year cars that are lower than their 2016 predecessors, even though the vehicles have no mechanical differences.
It’s due to a change in the way the Environmental Protection Agency calculates window-sticker gas mileage in an effort to better reflect real-world mileage, the agency and automakers say.
The change could meaningful- ly affect EPA ratings on nearly 30% of all new cars, a Cars.com analysis of 2017 model-year EPA data indicates.
The analysis looked at the top 75 best-selling vehicles through July with no mechanical or aerodynamic changes. Out of that group, there were 84 variations of individual vehicles (the V-6 versus the 4-cylinder, for example). Twenty-three, or 27.4%, received a lower EPA highway and city combined driving mileage rating for the 2017 model year.
The revisions could cause consumers to change their minds about models. Bill Meyer, a Kansas City, Mo., attorney, saw the 2017 Volkswagen Passat he has been eyeing fell 4 miles per gal- lon, from 38 mpg to 34 mpg, in its EPA highway mileage rating, and 2 mpg combined.
“When I looked at the sticker, I thought, ‘Wow, this is taking a big hit,’ ” Meyer said. “Why is there such a mileage discrepancy? Thirty-four is not nearly as interesting to me as 38. So it’s making me rethink my decision.”
Models seeing the drop of a mile per gallon in combined ratings included versions of Honda Accord, Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Sonata. Versions of the Volkswagen Passat and Toyota Camry Hybrid fell by 2 mpg in combined highway and city driving.
The recalculation means shoppers can’t compare 2017 mileage numbers to 2016 predecessors, but Cars.com has learned the EPA plans to address this soon with updates to its website that will allow shoppers to compare the new numbers with models as far back as the 2011 model year.
Real-world mileage shouldn’t change for drivers, but the EPA ratings could fall noticeably in the agency’s biggest adjustment since it issued sweeping changes to window-sticker mileage ratings nearly a decade ago.