The 100 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars in 1997

Have you ever wondered what the most fuel efficient cars manufactured in 1997 are? In this article, we'll list out the best 100 fuel efficient cars from 1997 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 1997 Cars by Miles per Gallon

The list below is sorted by the combined miles per gallon (MPG) of the car, with the highest MPG at the top. This list includes both electric and regular fuel cars.

Car Combined MPG Fuel Cost
Geo Metro 40 $1,550
Volkswagen Golf/GTI 37 $2,100
Volkswagen Jetta 37 $2,100
Volkswagen Passat 36 $2,150
Volkswagen Passat Wagon 36 $2,150
Geo Metro 35 $1,800
Suzuki Swift 35 $1,800
Honda Civic 34 $1,850
Ford Aspire 33 $1,900
Honda Civic 31 $2,000
Honda Del Sol 31 $2,000
Mitsubishi Mirage 31 $2,000
Toyota Tercel 31 $2,000
Honda Civic 30 $2,100
Dodge Neon 29 $2,150
Mazda Protege 29 $2,150
Nissan Sentra/200SX 29 $2,150
Plymouth Neon 29 $2,150
Suzuki Esteem 29 $2,150
Toyota Corolla 29 $2,150
Toyota Paseo 29 $2,150
Toyota Tercel 29 $2,150
Ford Escort 28 $2,250
Ford Escort Wagon 28 $2,250
Geo Metro 28 $2,250
Geo Prizm 28 $2,250
Honda Civic 28 $2,250
Honda Civic 28 $2,250
Honda Del Sol 28 $2,250
Hyundai Accent (SOHC) 28 $2,250
Mercury Tracer 28 $2,250
Mercury Tracer Wagon 28 $2,250
Mitsubishi Mirage 28 $2,250
Mitsubishi Mirage 28 $2,250
Saturn SC 28 $2,250
Saturn SL 28 $2,250
Saturn SW 28 $2,250
Suzuki Swift 28 $2,250
Toyota Celica 28 $2,250
Toyota Corolla 28 $2,250
Toyota Paseo Convertible 28 $2,250
Dodge Stratus 27 $2,300
Honda Civic 27 $2,300
Honda Del Sol 27 $2,300
Hyundai Accent (SOHC) 27 $2,300
Kia Sephia 27 $2,300
Nissan Sentra/200SX 27 $2,300
Plymouth Breeze 27 $2,300
Saturn SC 27 $2,300
Saturn SC 27 $2,300
Saturn SL 27 $2,300
Saturn SL 27 $2,300
Saturn SW 27 $2,300
Toyota Tercel 27 $2,300
Chevrolet Cavalier 26 $2,400
Ford Aspire 26 $2,400
Ford Escort 26 $2,400
Ford Escort Wagon 26 $2,400
Geo Prizm 26 $2,400
Mazda 626 26 $2,400
Mazda MX-6 26 $2,400
Mercedes-Benz E300 Diesel 26 $2,950
Mercury Tracer 26 $2,400
Mercury Tracer Wagon 26 $2,400
Mitsubishi Mirage 26 $2,400
Pontiac Sunfire 26 $2,400
Saturn SW 26 $2,400
Suzuki Esteem 26 $2,400
Toyota Celica 26 $2,400
Toyota Corolla 26 $2,400
Toyota Paseo 26 $2,400
Toyota Paseo Convertible 26 $2,400
Acura Integra 25 $2,500
Acura Integra 25 $2,950
Chevrolet Cavalier 25 $2,500
Dodge Neon 25 $2,500
Ford Probe 25 $2,500
Honda Accord 25 $2,500
Honda Del Sol 25 $2,950
Mazda Protege 25 $2,500
Mazda Protege 25 $2,500
Plymouth Neon 25 $2,500
Pontiac Sunfire 25 $2,500
Saturn SC 25 $2,500
Saturn SL 25 $2,500
Saturn SW 25 $2,500
Acura 2.2CL/3.0CL 24 $2,600
Acura Integra 24 $2,600
BMW 318i/318is 24 $3,100
BMW 318ti 24 $3,100
BMW Z3 Roadster 24 $3,100
Chevrolet Cavalier 24 $2,600
Chevrolet Cavalier 24 $2,600
Eagle Talon 24 $3,100
Ford Contour 24 $2,600
Geo Prizm 24 $2,600
Honda Accord 24 $2,600
Hyundai Elantra 24 $2,600
Hyundai Elantra Wagon 24 $2,600
Kia Sephia 24 $2,600

Best 1997 Regular Fuel Cars by Miles per Gallon

The table below contains the best 1997 regular fuel cars by combined miles per gallon (MPG).

Car Combined MPG Fuel Cost
Volkswagen Golf/GTI (Manual 5-spd) 37 $2,100
Volkswagen Jetta (Manual 5-spd) 37 $2,100
Volkswagen Passat (Manual 5-spd) 36 $2,150
Volkswagen Passat Wagon (Manual 5-spd) 36 $2,150
Mercedes-Benz E300 Diesel (Automatic 5-spd) 26 $2,950
Chevrolet K1500 Pickup 4WD (Automatic 4-spd) 15 $5,150
Chevrolet Tahoe 1500 4WD (Automatic 4-spd) 15 $5,150
GMC Sierra 1500 4WD (Automatic 4-spd) 15 $5,150
GMC Sierra 2500 2WD (Automatic 4-spd) 15 $5,150
GMC Yukon 1500 4WD (Automatic 4-spd) 15 $5,150
Chevrolet Pickup 2500 2WD (Automatic 4-spd) 14 $5,500

Conclusion

The most fuel efficient car of 1997 is the Geo Metro. It has a combined MPG of 40 and costs $1,550 per year to drive it.

The most fuel efficient non-electric car of 1997 is the Volkswagen Golf/GTI. It has a combined MPG of 37 and costs $2,100 per year to drive it.

Most Fuel Efficient Cars By Year

If you want to continue researching the best fuel efficient cars of all time, you can also look at the list of cars by year.

Link To or Reference This Page

We spend a lot of time collecting, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site to be as useful to you as possible.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference MPG Buddy as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "The 100 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars in 1997". MPG Buddy. Accessed on November 21, 2024. http://mpgbuddy.com/most-fuel-efficient-cars-in-1997.

  • "The 100 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars in 1997". MPG Buddy, http://mpgbuddy.com/most-fuel-efficient-cars-in-1997. Accessed 21 November, 2024

  • The 100 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars in 1997. MPG Buddy. Retrieved from http://mpgbuddy.com/most-fuel-efficient-cars-in-1997.