How much more a hybrid version is rated

Across 613 model years in which one nameplate had both a gasoline and a hybrid version, the hybrid's best combined rating was a median 27.3% higher than the gas version's. Nearly all of that comes from city driving: the median city gain is 40%, the median highway gain only 9.4%. The gap is far from uniform; for 14 of 108 nameplates the hybrid version rated lower.

How the comparison works

For each nameplate and model year with both kinds of version, this page takes the best combined rating among gasoline versions without a hybrid system and the best among versions EPA flags as hybrid, and works out the difference in percent. Plug-in hybrids are not part of the comparison. EPA's hybrid flag covers a wide range: full hybrids that can move on electric power at low speed, mild hybrids that mostly assist the engine, and performance hybrids that use the electric motor for power rather than economy. Counts on this page are of versions or nameplates EPA rated, not of vehicles sold, so nothing here is weighted by sales.

The typical gain

The median gain is 27.3%. For a car rated 30 MPG as a gas version, that would mean a hybrid version near 38 MPG. The gain changed little over time: the yearly median was 30.8% in 2008, 28.7% in 2015 and 30.0% in 2026. The early years were mixed, with only a few pairs per year; the median was 6.2% in 2004.

City ratings carry the difference: the median city gain is 40%, against 9.4% on the highway. The city vs highway explainer shows the same pattern from the other side.

The largest gains belong to a full-size SUV whose gas version rated low and to midsize sedans such as the Lincoln MKZ and the Toyota Avalon. The GMC Yukon hybrid of 2013 rated 21 MPG against 12 for the gas version, a 75.0% difference. A gain of 50% or more showed up for 17 nameplates in their latest year with both versions.

Nameplate	Year	Gas	Hybrid	Gain
GMC Yukon	2013	12	21	+75.0%
Lincoln MKZ	2020	24	41	+70.8%
Toyota Avalon	2022	26	44	+69.2%
Lexus NX	2026	24	40	+66.7%
Toyota Camry	2024	32	52	+62.5%
Hyundai Palisade	2026	21	34	+61.9%
Lexus LC	2025	18	29	+61.1%
Hyundai Sonata	2026	32	51	+59.4%
Lexus ES	2025	28	44	+57.1%
Ford Fusion	2020	27	42	+55.6%

When the hybrid rates lower

In the latest year with both versions, 14 nameplates had a hybrid version rated below their gas version, and eight showed no difference. They are mostly upscale and performance nameplates; the Audi RS shows the largest negative figure, -30.4% in 2026. EPA's hybrid flag includes mild hybrids, whose electric part is small, so the hybrid label covers a wide range of systems.

How many pairs

The comparison only exists where a nameplate offered both kinds of version in the same year. That was rare at first: one pair for 2003, the first year with one. The count reached 18 for 2010 and 45 for 2026, the most of any year being 49, for 2025. Early medians rest on very few pairs and move a lot from year to year; from about 2006 on there are enough pairs for the yearly median to settle.

The current list

For the 45 nameplates whose latest pair is from 2026, the median gain is 30.0%; seven of them have a hybrid version rated below the gas version. The largest 2026 gain belongs to the Lexus NX, whose hybrid version rates 40 MPG against 24 MPG for the gas version. Across all years, the yearly median was lowest in 2004 at 6.2% and highest in 2009 at 31.0%; since 2006 it has never been below 22.7%.

How the gains spread

Taking each nameplate's latest model year with both versions, the gains spread widely. The table counts the 108 nameplates by the size of the difference. The largest group, 34 nameplates, sits between 25% and 50%, around the overall median. For 45 of them the latest pair is from 2026, so the table also describes the current list.

Hybrid vs gas, latest year	Nameplates
Hybrid rated lower	14
0% to under 10%	16
10% to under 25%	27
25% to under 50%	34
50% or more	17

The yearly median

Model year	Median gain
2003	20.6%
2004	6.2%
2005	7.7%
2006	22.7%
2007	28.6%
2008	30.8%
2009	31.0%
2010	29.4%
2011	28.0%
2012	25.4%
2013	27.3%
2014	29.9%
2015	28.7%
2016	27.3%
2017	28.3%
2018	26.1%
2019	30.4%
2020	26.7%
2021	24.0%
2022	25.1%
2023	26.1%
2024	30.0%
2025	30.0%
2026	30.0%

Using these numbers

On the model pages, a green dot in the chart marks a year in which the nameplate's best version was a hybrid, and the year table names that version, so a switch from a gas to a hybrid best version shows up at a glance. Pages of nameplates sold only as hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, have no gas version to compare with and are not part of the figures above.

A median says what is typical, not what a given model will do. The model pages show the exact best versions year by year, for example the Toyota Camry and the Ford Escape, and the gallons calculator turns any gas and hybrid pair into gallons a year at your own mileage and city share.