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2025 Buick Enclave vs Honda PilotCritics’ Choice: Great Fuel Efficiency at $20,000
We challenged our writers to find the best fuel-efficient vehicle for under $20,000.
In It for the Long Haul
As we look toward a spring and summer of road trips and scenic drives, the one thing threatening to dampen our enthusiasm is high gas prices. Our solution? Finding a new ride with great fuel economy. This month, we asked our writers to find the most fuel-efficient vehicle for their summer travel plans. The only stipulation was keeping things to a budget of less than $20,000.
Chris Kaiser
2017 Toyota Prius Prime
Short List:
2017 Honda Accord Hybrid
2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek Plug-In Hybrid
Given the growth in hybrid and electric vehicles, the number of choices even for used examples of highly efficient vehicles is increasing by the day. My first instinct was to go with something like the Subaru Crosstrek plug-in hybrid. The Crosstrek is a unique hatchback with 8.7-inches of ground clearance, Subaru’s signature all-wheel drive, and almost 52 cu-ft of cargo space. Efficiency is good, with 17 miles of all-electric range and 35 MPG, but not quite good enough for this challenge. The next vehicle I considered was the Honda Accord Hybrid. That car gets an excellent 49 city and 47 highway MPG and today’s Honda cars, if you’re unfamiliar, are very, very good. But again, this wasn’t efficient enough.
As a former Prius owner, I was naturally drawn to the OG of efficiency for my pick. And today’s Toyota Prius Prime, their latest version of a plug-in hybrid Prius, was thoroughly revised in 2017 with a new powertrain for even greater efficiency. The 2017 Prius Prime Plus example I found is about as efficient as you’ll find, new or used.
The Prius is about as car-as-appliance as it gets. The looks are either charming or odd depending on your taste (either way owing to the car’s fuel-saving aerodynamics). Toyota has made sure that it doesn’t look boring with a front end that would look more at home on the GR86, which looks oddly conservative by comparison. Love it or hate it, no one is buying the Prius Prime for its looks.
Rather, the big attraction for the Prius Prime is ever greater efficiency. The plug-in hybrid system consists of a 1.8L inline-four paired with two electric motors and a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). This system produces a combined 121 horsepower. Not earthshattering, but the electrically provided torque means the Prius Prime isn’t sluggish off the line either. Transitions between the all-electric mode and the gas engine are nearly seamless, something that can’t be said of other plug-in hybrid systems.
The all-important fuel economy comes in at 55 city and 53 highway MPG for the gas engine and 133 MPGe in EV mode. And speaking of electric propulsion, the Prius Prime offers up to 25 miles of electric-only driving before the gas engine kicks in. This will cover a good chunk of most people’s commutes (average distance being around 30-40 miles depending on your state). Even more impressive for summer road trips is the Prius Prime’s total range at 640 miles.
Again, the Prius Prime is all about practicality and convenience. Consequently, the interior is quiet, comfortable, and exceedingly roomy. The seats are great and there’s plenty of room in the rear for full-size adults to travel long distances. Cargo comes in at 19.8 cu-ft in the rear hatch and 36.6 cu-ft in total. Toyota Safety Sense comes standard with a whole host of the latest safety tech like adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, lane departure warning with steering assist, pre-collision warnings, pedestrian detection, and more. Tech and amenities include an upgraded 11-inch touchscreen (up from the standard 7-inch version), navigation, Bluetooth, HD and satellite radio, synthetic leather, and wireless charging.
To top it all off, the 2017 Prius Prime offers impeccable safety as an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ and the recipient of excellent crash test scores.
If you’re looking for maximum efficiency, make sure to put the Prius Prime on your shortlist.
Jesse Batson
2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid
Short List:
2019 Ford Fusion Hybrid SE 4dr Sedan
There’s a whole new world to explore when broadening your car search to hybrids and PHEVs. Finding a used one with lower miles that is priced right can be more difficult but is certainly doable. Take the 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV I found. It’s priced at $18,999 and only has 43,137 miles on it. I’ll explore some of the features in just a moment, but let’s talk about range first. The first thing people usually ask first when contemplating making the switch to hybrid or PHEV is: ‘How far can I get in this car?’
The EPA estimates that a 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV has a fuel economy rating of 110 MPGe. That’s one of the highest of its 2018 class. Just using the battery in the 2018 Clarity will last for 47 miles on a full charge. Driving with only gasoline results in 44 MPG in the city and 40 MPG on the highway. With the push of a button, the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid will utilize the combustion engine to generate electricity and, sometimes, act as a direct power source. Doing this results in an overall EPA driving rating of 340 miles, useful for longer road trips. There’s room to fill the 2018 Honda Clarity gas tank with seven gallons of gas.
This 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV is usually powered by a 181-horsepower electric motor and 17.0 kWh battery pack. It also has a gasoline-powered 1.5-liter inline-4 that makes 103 horsepower on its own. That ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) puts out 99 lb-ft of torque. The 2018 Clarity has a combined total output of 212 horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque. A single-speed transmission is used in this model. Honda calls the transmission an E-CVT, but it’s a direct-drive single-speed transmission. The clutch does engage if more traction is needed in certain conditions.
Smooth is one way to describe the ride of a 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV. There are three selectable modes to customize the driving experience: Normal, ECON, and Sport. The ECON mode maximizes battery-only driving, but pushing the pedal all the way to the floor will revive the gasoline engine for a boosted response. Sport mode uses the combustion engine and electric motor at the same time to add a little more spice to the ride.
There’s enough room inside to seat five people with 39.1 inches of headroom, 42.2 inches of legroom, and 59.7 inches of shoulder room in the front seats. In back, there is 37.1 inches of headroom, 36.2 inches of legroom, and 57.3 inches of shoulder room. This 2018 Clarity PHEV is a Touring trim, so it has leatherette door trim inserts, two LCD monitors in front, dual-zone automatic air conditioning in front, and heated front bucket seats with two-position memory and eight-way power adjustment. It’s a simple enough control panel layout with knobs for climate control. Audio is controlled by using the 8-inch touchscreen. There’s also steering wheel controls for Bluetooth and cruise control.
Even though it’s a used car, since it’s still a recently released model, the 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV includes several up-to-date driver assists. Those include cruise control with stop-and-go functions, LED brake lights, and LED daytime running lights. The wheels are 18″ hybrid aerodynamic alloy. This 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV also comes with a back-up camera.
It’s a pretty versatile vehicle overall. The 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV is FWD, so it’s maybe not the vehicle you want to take off the beaten path, but day-to-day driving in the city or on the highway shouldn’t be an issue. It’s a good option for someone on a budget who is still looking to make the switch to a well-equipped PHEV.
Jesse McGraw
2022 Mitsubishi Mirage
Shortlist:
2022 Kia Niro
2017 Toyota Prius Prime
2017 Toyota Prius c
Why spend money on a used hybrid when you can get great gas mileage in a brand-new car for the same price range? Hybrid batteries don’t last forever and that all-electric range on PHEVs starts to dwindle after multiple charges. So, maybe you would be better off taking a look at this subcompact I found that’ll get you from place to place in an efficient manner.
The 2022 Mitsubishi Mirage may not be everyone’s first choice when it comes to car shopping, but there’s no denying the value you get out of this little hatchback. The 1.2L three-cylinder motor may only make 78 horsepower and 74 lb-ft of torque, but that tiny unit sips fuel at a rate of 36 MPG in the city and 43 MPG on the highway, for a combined 39 mpg when paired with the automatic CVT. There’s also a bit of three pedal fun to be had if you go for the available manual transmission, an option that’s becoming a rarity in today’s market. That’ll drop you down to about 36 mpg combined, but you can feel a little more superior to others on the road while manually shifting gears.
Inside is where you get a mix of the good with the bad. The Mirage is a subcompact car, so don’t expect a lot of room on the inside, this isn’t a Dr. Who TARDIS situation. Mitsubishi says the Mirage can seat up to five passengers, but it’s more like four if you need to and two comfortably. If you’re not utilizing those rear seats, the Mirage can expand from 17.1 cu-ft to 47 cu-ft of usable cargo space, which is not too shabby for such a little car. Then there’s the components of the interior itself. There’s a lot of cheap plastic and a lot of cloth upholstery, so you aren’t in the lap of luxury necessarily. Then there’s a nice little seven-inch infotainment system with phone mirroring software available in the center of the dash.
My competition may have hybrid drivetrains (albeit used ones) and a bit more interior space, but this thing has something neither of them do – warranty coverage. And a good one at that. Mitsubishi offers one of the best warranties in the business with the limited warranty running for five years or 60,000 miles, the powertrain coverage running for ten years or 100,000 miles, anti-corrosion coverage for seven years or 100,000 miles, and roadside assistance for five years. That’s a lot of time to not have to stress about fueling up at the pump or problems with the car.
We’re at a sort of parallel point in time to the Oil Crisis of 1973. Fuel prices are rising and cars are getting smaller. The Mitsubishi Mirage fills that same value classed, fuel-efficient role that the original Honda Civic had way back then. Nobody really knocks the Civic on its humble beginnings as the economical model, so maybe the Mirage is worth your time in the present day.
