The 100 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars of All Time
Have you ever wondered just how much more fuel efficient modern cars have become? Which cars are the most fuel efficient now that electric vehicles are mainstream? In this article, we'll give you the 100 most fuel efficient cars of all time, with information on each of them!
How to Determine Fuel Efficiency
The list of the best fuel efficient cars on this page is based on one simple metric provided to us by the U.S. Department of Energy: the combined miles per gallon (MPG).
This metric is calculated by taking the total miles driven by the car and dividing it by the total gallons of fuel used.
Manufacturers provide this information to the Department of Energy, they provide it to us, and we provide it to you after sifting and organizing it.
The combined miles per gallon (MPG) is a measure of how much fuel the car uses per mile and is a good indicator of how efficient the car is. It's a combination of both city and highway driving, to give you a more overall accurate MPG.
With that out of the way, let's dive into the list. You can click the links in the table below to see more detailed information about each car.
Best Cars by Miles per Gallon
Best Regular Fuel Cars by Miles per Gallon
You might have noticed that the list above includes a lot of electric cars. We can remove those from the list by filtering out the electric cars, to give us the best fuel efficient cars that run on regular fuel.
Conclusion
The most fuel efficient car of all time is the 2021 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus RWD. It has a combined MPG of 142 and costs $450 per year to drive it.
The most fuel efficient non-electric car of all time is the 2003 Honda Insight. It has a combined MPG of 53 and costs $1,200 per year to drive it.
Most Fuel Efficient Cars By Year
Link To or Reference This Page
If you use this page in your research, please reference MPG Buddy as the source.
<a href="https://mpgbuddy.com/most-fuel-efficient-cars">The 100 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars of All Time</a>
"The 100 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars of All Time." MPG Buddy. Accessed on January 3, 2026. https://mpgbuddy.com/most-fuel-efficient-cars.
"The 100 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars of All Time." MPG Buddy, https://mpgbuddy.com/most-fuel-efficient-cars. Accessed January 3, 2026.
The 100 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars of All Time. MPG Buddy. Retrieved from https://mpgbuddy.com/most-fuel-efficient-cars.