Fuel-efficient sedans: Chevrolet Cruze Eco, Ford Focus SFE, Honda Civic HF | Consumer Reports

The Chevrolet Cruze Eco, Ford Focus SFE and Honda Civic HF are special fuel-economy versions of popular small sedans. They cost $500-$800 more than their regular counterparts. Consumer Reports tests to see if they're worth it.

[adamYK]

active grill shutters. They make so much difference

[adamYK]

Civic the best <3 always matches or beats the official number. Its not about how it looks out of the skin. Its the engineering excellence beneath it, and no other automaker can match Honda's track record of producing the best and most unique mass market powertrains and engines.

[TimJoseph]

I think that it doesn't matter whether you get a model with the fuel-saving package or not. In my opinion the fuel economy is not going to change by much with the fuel-saving package. It also depends on driving conditions as well. Stop & Go traffic and driving up the hill frequently requires more fuel consuption than when driving downhill or driving constant on the highway.

[kokobasha]

very good review, thanks CR.
what is the difference in price between the regular and the special version for each ?

[ateixeira]

What I don't like is that some of these have smaller gas tanks. I want good range, so making the tank smaller defeats the whole purpose!

[NeutralGenericUser]

I'd take the Civic, Corolla, or the Mazda 3 :) The Cruz's fuel economy is horrendous compared to the competition.

[GoldenLegionHoney]

if you really wanted better fuel economy you should have gotten the 6 speed manual. I get 50 MPG at times in my 2011 Cruze eco... around 35-40mpg average.

[superfueled]

The manual cruze has been proven to get up to 51.2 mpg on strictly highway and 43 on slightly mixed driving. Consumer reports has always been brand biased. I know Honda's are good cars, but I love the cruze Eco manual.

[carwrtr]

I disagree; we have a 2012 Focus SFE, and we’ve averaged 43 MPG on trips, and I’ve driven a 2013 Focus SE without the SFE package on a road trip. THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE with the fuel economy package, and it’s worth the money. If you know how to drive (use the cruise control as much as possible, especially on the highway), the Focus SFE gets superior mileage. Ford only made this version for 3 years, and it makes sense. We would buy another...

[electrictroy]

This is 5, 000 cheaper than the Hybrid, and it comes with a folddown rear seat for more usability
.

[robpottie]

My Cruze "LS" 1.8 which is supposedly the least fuel efficient of all cruzes averages 30mpg with mainly in town driving. A cruze LT I drive frequently with the 1.4 does even better with an average of 36mpg. Imagine that, when according to your report the "eco" averages

[knack]

You picked the auto for the Cruze.... most people who go for a high effeciency model, I would think, opt for the manual version not that auto since the auto only gets that 1 mpg greater on the highway/city as compared to the standard cruze with the 1.4L Turbo. I'd choose a stick cruze eco or a top trim model with the auto personally not an auto eco.

[mb]

they used the automatic cruze eco not manual...they got 49 mpg hwy in the civic hf which isn't that far from your 51 mpg btw

[dahgutone]

Does a trunk deck lid spoiler really improve aerodynamics?

[coolwaterdvr]

I'm wondering even though these cars are special-eco versions how come they can't beat the Hyundai Elantra and Accent in fuel economy?

[TER]

What you quoted are metric numbers, your "gallon" is larger, making our numbers smaller.

[bmwmsport]

If the corolla gets better MPGs than the cruze Eco, why do people talk bad things about the corolla. Yeah the interior may be cheap, but it's not meant to be a soft-dash car. People should really talk about the corolla's 4-speed so maybe Toyota would upgrade that.

[thRiflesOCI]

I'll buy them jsut for that tiny spoiler :D

[BillyInnes]

Thanks for the review but did you break in the engine. It's a totally different animal if the engine is broken in usually after 1000-3000 miles.
I say it's mostly a gimmick to sell anyway. I like the review.

[seanmac]

33 MPG? WTF thats awful here the average SUV gets 30-40MPG and the average sedan at least 50-70