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Mileage Reviews

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Make no mistake about it. We do car reviews differently at MPGomatic.com. Our fuel economy focused mileage reviews deliver a unique perspective by consistently testing each vehicle with a light-footed driving style. Over time, our mileage review testing procedure has evolved to include a specific highway circuit. We don’t test in a lab or on a closed course. Our highway miles are rolled up in the real world, on a forty mile loop of Interstate highway that includes a good number of grade changes and variable traffic conditions. Each vehicle runs a minimum of two loops on the highway circuit.

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2009 BMW 335d MPG Review

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2009 BMW 335d MPG-o-Matic BMW 335d Review Summary: . The 2009 BMW 335d sets a new standard for performance-oriented sedans, by delivering a remarkable combination of fuel economy, acceleration, handling, and electronics.

The 2009 BMW 335d is like nothing else on the road in America today. While it looks, for all intents and purposes, like typical 3-series BMW, the 335d’s game-changing clean diesel engine transforms the car into a tour de force to be reckoned with.

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Hybrid SUV Milestones

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While the hybrid SUV phenomena can’t match the combination of peanut butter and chocolate for pure popularity, the blending of truck-based people-mover and electric propulsion technology has produced a notable oxymoron.

Justly or not, SUVs are frequently cast as the poster boy for conspicuous consumption. You won’t find the conventional press or hordes of lemmings (any similarities are purely coincidental) praising the vast majority of SUVs for their fuel-stinginess. Yet the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV achieves quite remarkable gas mileage in city settings. (We were able to hit the magic 40 MPG mark in-town in our Escape Hybrid review.) This unique quality has led the Escape Hybrid to sell out its production runs, year-after-year.

Earlier this week, Ford announced a notable milestone: the 100,000th Escape Hybrid has rolled off the line at the Kansas City Assembly Plant. With production constraints due to battery availability, 100,000 vehicles in a relatively short time frame is significant. It’s clear that many Americans aren’t keen on giving up their SUVs and the Escape Hybrid fills an important niche.

The economic climate and drop in the price of gasoline have not been kind to the market, and there’s little to trumpet on this front on the other side of town. With Chrysler putting a hold on production of the Chrysler Aspen Hybrid and Dodge Durango Hybrid late last year, the twins have earned the distinction of being the first hybrid SUVs to be put on hold … two canaries in the coal mine. The market has further delayed the introduction of GM’s next-generation Saturn VUE Two-Mode Hybrid.

Nevertheless, there are seven hybrid SUVs available in America today. Over the last twelve months, we’ve had the good fortune to have opportunity to review four of the hybrid SUVs currently on sale:

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