Prius Wins Japan's Fuel-Efficiency Rankings for 6th Year (Except It Doesn't Really) …
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced Friday that Toyota’s Prius had won the latest 2011-12 fuel-efficiency rankings, handing a 6th straight victory for the Prius.
Nine of the top 10 regular passenger cars (kei cars are not included in this ranking) were hybrids — the exception being Mazda’s Demio with its Skyactive tech.
| Position | Maker | Model | KM/L in JC08 Mode） | KM/L in 10/15 Mode | Transmission | Car Type |
| 1 | Toyota | Prius | 32.6 | 38.0 | CVT | Hybrid |
| 2 | Lexus | CT200h | 30.4 | 34.0 | CVT | Hybrid |
| 3 | Honda | Insight | 27.2 | 31.0 | CVT | Hybrid |
| 4 | Toyota | Prius α | 26.2 | 31.0 | CVT | Hybrid |
| 4 | Honda | Fit | 26.0 | 30.0 | CVT | Hybrid |
| 6 | Honda | Fit Shuttle | 26.0 | 30.0 | CVT | Hybrid |
| 7 | Mazda | Demio | 25.0 | 30.0 | CVT | ICE |
| 8 | Toyota | Camry | 23.4 | 26.5 | CVT | Hybrid |
| 9 | Honda | Insight Exclusive | 23.2 | 26.5 | CVT | Hybrid |
| 10 | Honda | CR-Z | 22.8 | 25.0 | CVT | Hybrid |
But wait a minute. There’s something fishy going on… A surprising omission here is the Toyota Aqua (Prius C outside Japan) which should surely have made the list with its fuel consumption figures.
In fact, the Aqua would have topped the list with its economy figures outstripping the Prius at 35.4 KM/L in JC08 mode. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport states that vehicles had to be on sale in the 2011 calendar year, and the Aqua did just that — scraping in right at the end by going on sale on December 26th.
So perhaps this isn’t really the 6th straight win for the Prius at all? Following the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s own rules, I hereby pronounce the real winner as the Toyota Aqua.
So the Prius loses its crown in my reckoning. But Toyota shouldn’t waste too many tears over it: Add the Aqua to the mix, and you have Toyota products filling out all top-three spaces.
Sources: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport , Car Watch, Toyota Aqua site (all Japanese-language)
Thanks for posting this list. My daughter has been wanting a new car for graduation, and we have been buying Japanese since the beginning. Now I know which one is most fuel efficient, though I’m not a fan of their visual design.
So long as my daughter loves it, and the cost of gas won’t cripple her (or us), I can’t say too much against that funny little car.