2015 BRZ helps catapult Subaru to #3 in U.S. vehicle fuel mileage

Subaru is in the top 3 automakers for getting the best fuel mileage for their entire lineup and the 2015 BRZ sports car is helping. The Subaru BRZ may not be selling all that well, but the two-door sports coupe helps push Subaru to #3 to lead the U.S. in top fuel mileage. According to 24/7 Wall ST, Subaru ranks #3, behind Honda who is #2 and Mazda who ranks #1 for best fuel mileage.

The highest adjusted (as defined by the EPA) fuel economy rating among automakers was achieved by Mazda, with model year 2013 rating on all its cars and trucks of 28.1 mpg. Honda ranked second with an fleet-wide rating of 27.4 mpg, followed by Subaru with 26.7 mpg, Nissan with 26.2 mpg, and Volkswagen with 25.7 mpg.

Subaru achieves it with AWD vehicles

What makes the accomplishment even more impressive, is the fact that Subaru produces a lineup that is entirely made up of all-wheel-drive vehicles. The only vehicle in their lineup that isn’t AWD is the BRZ sports coupe. Subaru was also able to beat Toyota at 25.1 mpg (down 0.5 mpg from the previous year), BMW at 24.5 mpg, Daimler Benz at 22.4 mpg, Ford Motor Co.at 22.2 mpg (down 0.6 mpg year-over-year), General Motors Co. at 22 mpg, and Chrysler-Fiat at 20.9 mpg. That puts Subaru in rarified air when it comes to being able to boast about their all-wheel-drive vehicles achieving good fuel economy.

BRZ is the only 2WD vehicle in the lineup

Things are going well for Subaru who makes all-wheel-drive multi-purpose vehicles. The high-performance 2015 WRX and WRX STI are flying out of dealer showrooms and seeing a 33.2 percent increase YTD. And the Subaru brand has its seventh consecutive month that sales have exceeded 40,000 units and 34th consecutive month of year-over-year growth. There is a lot to celebrate for Subaru as they have vehicles that get excellent fuel mileage and come with all-wheel-drive. But the two-wheel-drive BRZ is not selling well for the brand. 2015 Subaru BRZ sales are down month to date and are also down for the year.

Read how Subaru improves fuel mileage on new 2015 Subaru Impreza

But the BRZ is helping Subaru raise their fleet fuel mileage numbers and is a reason why it’s good to have the sports coupe in the lineup. Subaru executives have said they have plans for a second generation BRZ. Subaru will likely update the sports coupe with a new drivetrain and that would spur new interest in the two-door sports car. Should Subaru stick to AWD vehicles that made them so popular? We think that Subaru needs BRZ and a new high-performance BRZ STI would be the answer to lagging sales. But for now, Subaru can celebrate their lineup being in the top 3 in U.S. fleet mileage and the 2WD 2015 Subaru BRZ is helping. It achieves 25/34 city/highway fuel mileage.

Other 2015 Subaru BRZ stories of interest.
4 reasons why Subaru needs to launch a new turbo BRZ STI