Since interest in fuel economy tends to rise in conjunction with fuel prices, Natural Resource Canada's list of the most fuel-efficient vehicle in every segment of the auto industry should be of increased interest to new car buyers.
But the financial costs associated with driving certain vehicles are not the only reason to care about fuel-efficiency, points out Ralph Goodale, the Minister of Natural Resources, since there is also an environmental cost.
"There are approximately 17 million light-duty vehicles on the road today," Goodale says, "which are responsible for about 15 percent of Canada's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Reducing fuel consumption is a direct link to reducing the level of greenhouse gases produced in Canada, since every litre of gasoline saved means 2.4 fewer kg of CO2 enter the atmosphere."
The ministry's EnerGuide Award winners are determined using annual fuel consumption estimates for each vehicle, Goodale explains, which are published in the Government of Canada's Fuel Consumption Guide. The best place to find that is on the Auto$mart web site at http://autosmart.nrcan.gc.ca.
In real world terms the NRCan fuel economy tests are unlikely to reflect the mileage you actually get, but they can be helpful in comparing how vehicles might compare on the road over time.
To put the various fuel economy levels in the best context, the NRCan has also calculated how much money it costs to drive a vehicle 20,000 km a year (55 percent city, 45 percent highway) at a flat per-litre rate.