Best Gas Mileage SUV

Fuel Economy? You must be joking!

Looking for the best gas mileage SUV makes you realize just how poor the gas mileage is for big vehicles. SUVs are known as the passenger vehicles with the worst fuel economy. So it should come as no shock when you discover that your fuel economy is going to be way less than 20 miles per gallon for all-gasoline models.

As of 2011, the best gas mileage SUVs are,
not surprisingly, hybrids:

Vehicle size and luxury matters to you much more than efficiency, if you are in the market for a big, all-gas SUV. The SUV category includes big off-road vehicles, which are supposed to be rugged vehicles.

However, the reality is much different; many SUVs are just status symbols for people who like to be seen driving around in the biggest, baddest vehicles on the road. Sitting higher than everyone else, looking down on the low-to-the-ground cars.

They are roomy inside and high above the ground, which makes them generally safer in crashes... I say "generally safer," but oftentimes the opposite is true: SUV crashes often result in violent rollovers that injure or kill the driver and/or passengers, due to their higher stance off the road and resulting higher center of gravity. That isn't to say that SUVs are not safe, however.

But what vehicles are actually considered SUVs instead of just "large cars" is open to debate. Since the introduction of hybrid SUVs some years back, the definition of Sport Utility Vehicle has changed.  Who knows, but any vehicle big enough to make you feel like you're in a Sport Utility Vehicle should probably be called a SUV.

Finding out what the best gas mileage all-gasoline SUV may just make you reconsider ever buying a huge, fuel-sucking model. You may even conclude that a hybrid SUV is your best choice after you run the numbers on your monthly fuel bill! 

After looking at numbers exceeding $500 dollars per month for fuel, you may just change your mind about ever wanting a SUV.

Questions you should ask yourself before buying a SUV:  Do I need the extra space? Do I need to take cargo and/or passengers often? Because if you don't, and if you don't need to drive in the snow often, then why pay the extra money for a SUV? The gas savings alone will pay off in spades if you opt for a smaller car.

Hybrid SUVs

Let's face it, if you're serious about getting good gas mileage in a vehicle large enough to be classified as a Sport Utility Vehicle, go hybrid. Hybrid SUVs are becoming affordable and (hopefully), shortly you will only find hybrids available.

We simply must break the choke-hold that fossil fuel shortages and high pricing has on us. And currently the best way to do that is with hybrid cars and all-electric cars. 

If we utilize off-the-shelf automotive technology like hybrid car technology, in combination with leading-edge technological advances in fuel and battery innovations, we just may break free from the Middle East yet.