Petroleum
The Energy Impact Score shows the number of barrels of petroleum a vehicle will likely consume each year from domestic sources (represented by green barrels) and imports (represented by yellow barrels). Forty-two gallons of petroleum are contained in every barrel. (Source: US Department of Energy.)
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
This measure shows a vehicle's impact on climate change in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide (CO2), it emits. Automobiles account for more than half of the CO2 emissions from a typical household. These estimates include CO2, methane, and oxides of nitrogen emitted from all steps in the use of a fuel, from production and refining to distribution and final use. Vehicle manufacture is excluded. (Source: US Department of Energy.)
MSRP
Lowest price of a new base-level model.
Estimated Fuel Cost
Costs based on 15,000 annual miles, with fuel selling at $3.50/gallon for regular unleaded gasoline; $3.80 for diesel; $.10/kWh for electricity; and $2.09 per gasoline-equivalent gallon of CNG. The mix of driving is 55% in the city and 45% on the highway. (Source: US Department of Energy.)
Efficiency (MPG or MPGe)
Miles-per-gallon is a well-understood metric, but in the world of alternative fuels, the stuff that powers your car can take the form of electricity or gaseous material. These aren’t measures in gallons, and therefore the Environmental Protection Agency assigns an MPGe, or miles-per-gallon equivalent—determining the amount energy used if it were in gallons. It’s not a perfect measurement, but allows the best possible apples-to-apples comparison of different fuel sources. (Source: US Environmental Protection Agency.)
Driving Range
The range number tells you the typical number of miles a car can be driven between refueling events. In other words, range indicates how much energy can be stored on a vehicle—whatever form that energy takes. This becomes an important issue for pure electric cars that typically have a shorter driving range than most gas-powered cars—and for other alternatives that can be harder to find.
0-60 Performance
Auto manufacturers usually publish numbers indicating how fast a car accelerates. The acceleration is measured by the number of seconds it takes to travel from a standstill to 60 miles per hour. The number can be misleading, because sometimes cars are very fast from 0 – 30 mph, and not as fast all the way to 60 mph.
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