ExplainersSUVs with the best EPA ratings by year
SUVs with the best EPA ratings by year
For model year 2026 the highest-rated small SUV is the Kia Niro FE at 53 MPG combined, and the highest-rated standard SUV is the Jeep Cherokee hybrid at 37. Without a hybrid system the best small SUV is the Nissan Rogue at 32 MPG and the best standard SUV the Ford Explorer at 24. The median small SUV rates 26 MPG, the median standard SUV 20.
One class, then two
On this site SUVs appear as an EPA class from model year 1999; earlier sport utility vehicles sit in EPA's special purpose class. Until 2012 all SUVs shared one class. For 2013 EPA split them into small and standard SUVs by gross vehicle weight rating, so the lines in the chart above break at that point and the two halves should not be compared directly. Counts on this page are of versions or nameplates EPA rated, not of vehicles sold, so nothing here is weighted by sales.
The single-class years, 1999–2012
EPA rated 39 SUV nameplates for 1999 and 97 for 2009, the most in a single year of that era. The median moved from 17 MPG to 20 MPG over the period. Small two-wheel-drive models led until 2004: the Suzuki Vitara, the Chevrolet Tracker convertible and the Toyota RAV4 at 24 MPG, then the Saturn Vue at 23. The Ford Escape Hybrid took over from 2005 and held first place every year to 2012, rising from 29 to 32 MPG.
Small SUVs since 2013
The small SUV median went from 22 MPG for 2013 to 26 MPG for 2026. At the top, hybrids have led every year: the Lexus RX 450h and the Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid first, then the Lexus NX 300h, the Nissan Rogue Hybrid, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid at 40 MPG for 2019, the Ford Escape hybrid at 41 for 2020–2022 and the Kia Sportage Hybrid at 43 for 2023, before the Kia Niro FE reached 53 for 2024.
The best conventional small SUV rose more slowly: 29 MPG for the 2013 Mazda CX-5, 33 for the Nissan Rogue from 2021 to 2025, and 32 for 2026.
Standard SUVs since 2013
Standard SUVs started the split at a median of 17 MPG and reach 20 for 2026. Their leaders were also all hybrids: the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, the Lexus RX 450h, the Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid at 36 MPG for 2024 and 2025, and now the Jeep Cherokee. The best conventional standard SUV has stayed between 23 and 25 MPG throughout, with the Ford Explorer, the Volvo XC90 and the GMC Acadia taking turns: the Ford Explorer in 2013–2015; the Volvo XC90 in 2016–2020; the GMC Acadia in 2021–2023; the Ford Explorer in 2024–2026.
Front-wheel drive dominates the conventional lists. Of the 28 best-conventional entries for small and standard SUVs since 2013, 21 are front-wheel-drive or two-wheel-drive versions by their EPA name.
How many SUVs, and how far hybrids lead
The number of SUV nameplates grew with the class. EPA rated 39 for 1999 and 97 for 2009. After the split, small SUVs went from 50 nameplates for 2013 to a high of 79 for 2025, and stand at 69 for 2026; standard SUVs went from 37 to 58.
The distance between the hybrid leader and the best conventional SUV has opened up. For 2013 the best small SUV and the best conventional small SUV both rated 29 MPG; for 2026 the gap is 21 MPG. Among standard SUVs it grew from 5 MPG for 2013 to 13 for 2026. The medians moved far less than either leader.
In the table below, each row names the single version with the highest combined rating that year, which is often a two-wheel-drive version of a model most buyers know in all-wheel-drive form. A dash in the standard columns marks the years before 2013, when EPA kept all SUVs in one class. The medians are of each nameplate's best version, so they describe the class as EPA listed it rather than the SUVs people bought.
| Model year | Small: best (MPG) | Small: best gas | Standard: best (MPG) | Median small / standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Kia Niro FE, 53 (hybrid) | Nissan Rogue FWD, 32 | Jeep Cherokee AWD, 37 (hybrid) | 26 / 20 |
| 2025 | Kia Niro FE, 53 (hybrid) | Nissan Rogue FWD, 33 | Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid, 36 (hybrid) | 25 / 20 |
| 2024 | Kia Niro FE, 53 (hybrid) | Nissan Rogue FWD, 33 | Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid, 36 (hybrid) | 25 / 19 |
| 2023 | Kia Sportage Hybrid FWD, 43 (hybrid) | Nissan Rogue FWD, 33 | Toyota Highlander Hybrid AWD, 35 (hybrid) | 25 / 19 |
| 2022 | Ford Escape FWD HEV, 41 (hybrid) | Nissan Rogue FWD, 33 | Toyota Highlander Hybrid AWD, 35 (hybrid) | 24 / 18 |
| 2021 | Ford Escape FWD HEV, 41 (hybrid) | Nissan Rogue AWD, 33 | Toyota Highlander Hybrid AWD, 35 (hybrid) | 24 / 18 |
| 2020 | Ford Escape FWD HEV, 41 (hybrid) | Buick Encore GX FWD, 31 | Toyota Highlander Hybrid AWD, 35 (hybrid) | 24 / 18 |
| 2019 | Toyota RAV4 Hybrid AWD, 40 (hybrid) | Honda CR-V FWD, 30 | Lexus RX 450h AWD, 30 (hybrid) | 24 / 18 |
| 2018 | Nissan Rogue Hybrid FWD, 34 (hybrid) | Buick Encore, 30 | Lexus RX 450h AWD, 30 (hybrid) | 24 / 19 |
| 2017 | Nissan Rogue Hybrid FWD, 34 (hybrid) | Buick Encore, 30 | Lexus RX 450h AWD, 30 (hybrid) | 23 / 18 |
| 2016 | Lexus NX 300h, 32 (hybrid) | Honda HR-V 2WD, 31 | Lexus RX 450h AWD, 30 (hybrid) | 23 / 18 |
| 2015 | Lexus NX 300h, 32 (hybrid) | Chevrolet Trax, 29 | Toyota Highlander Hybrid AWD, 28 (hybrid) | 23 / 18 |
| 2014 | Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid AWD, 30 (hybrid) | Mazda CX-5 2WD, 29 | Toyota Highlander Hybrid AWD, 28 (hybrid) | 22 / 17.5 |
| 2013 | Lexus RX 450h, 29 (hybrid) | Mazda CX-5 2WD, 29 | Toyota Highlander Hybrid 4WD, 28 (hybrid) | 22 / 17 |
| 2012 | Ford Escape Hybrid FWD, 32 (hybrid) (all SUVs) | Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 2WD, 27 | – | 20 |
| 2011 | Ford Escape Hybrid FWD, 32 (hybrid) (all SUVs) | Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 2WD, 27 | – | 19 |
| 2010 | Ford Escape Hybrid FWD, 32 (hybrid) (all SUVs) | Chevrolet Equinox FWD, 26 | – | 19 |
| 2009 | Ford Escape Hybrid FWD, 32 (hybrid) (all SUVs) | Jeep Compass 2WD, 25 | – | 18 |
| 2008 | Ford Escape Hybrid FWD, 32 (hybrid) (all SUVs) | Chevrolet HHR FWD, 25 | – | 18 |
| 2007 | Ford Escape Hybrid FWD, 30 (hybrid) (all SUVs) | Jeep Compass 2WD, 24 | – | 17 |
| 2006 | Ford Escape Hybrid FWD, 29 (hybrid) (all SUVs) | Toyota RAV4 2WD, 24 | – | 17 |
| 2005 | Ford Escape Hybrid 2WD, 29 (hybrid) (all SUVs) | Ford Escape 2WD, 24 | – | 17 |
| 2004 | Saturn Vue FWD, 23 (all SUVs) | Saturn Vue FWD, 23 | – | 16 |
| 2003 | Toyota RAV4 2WD, 24 (all SUVs) | Toyota RAV4 2WD, 24 | – | 16 |
| 2002 | Toyota RAV4 2WD, 24 (all SUVs) | Toyota RAV4 2WD, 24 | – | 16 |
| 2001 | Toyota RAV4 2WD, 24 (all SUVs) | Toyota RAV4 2WD, 24 | – | 17 |
| 2000 | Chevrolet Tracker 2WD Convertible, 24 (all SUVs) | Chevrolet Tracker 2WD Convertible, 24 | – | 16 |
| 1999 | Suzuki Vitara 2Door 2WD, 24 (all SUVs) | Suzuki Vitara 2Door 2WD, 24 | – | 17 |
Using these numbers
EPA rates front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions separately, and in this table the best version is often the two-wheel-drive one. The AWD and 4WD explainer shows how much the drive usually costs. Model pages such as the Toyota RAV4 or the Honda CR-V show every year's best and lowest version, and the small SUV class page lists each year's leader and last place.
Sources: U.S. EPA and U.S. DOE, FuelEconomy.gov data (vehicles.csv), retrieved October 28, 2026; tables and medians computed by MPG by Model over model years 1984–2026. Model year 2027 is partial and left out. Not endorsed by EPA or DOE.