5 Most fuel-efficient cars in Malaysia today

We look at the best from 5 very different segments

Fuel efficiency is very subjective as it all comes down to the way you drive and the overall condition of your vehicle. Car manufacturers will provide the best case fuel efficiency figures and most of the time these figures will never be seen by car owners and some will get upset, especially car owners with less common sense.

 Please understand that you are driving in different traffic conditions, and you have different driving styles for different times of the day. Your conscious mood plays into your driving style, which can be aggressive or relaxed?

Plus, we need to look at how well your engine is being maintained and small issues like tire pressure and tire tread depth. Also, let's not forget the unnecessary weight that might be sitting in your luggage area which will weigh down the car and your excess weight, if any, should be considered.

 So, when attempting to share information like this, we have to be very careful as some of you with less common sense will get upset with our suggestions and some others might think their personal suggestions are best. 

So, the below 5 suggested vehicles are from our personal opinion of test driving them and not from ownership over a period of time. 

With a compact car, the Perodua Myvi 1.5L is the best in its segment with an estimated 4.7 litres per 100 kilometres driven. Yes, some might say the 1.3L Myvi will be better, but we are focusing on the popular model, the 1.5L against the Proton Iriz 1.6L which consumes 8.1 litres per 100 kilometres driven. Nothing else matters in this segment as the rest are too expensive as they are NOT ‘national cars’ with tax incentives. 

In the mid sedan segment, the Toyota Vios 1.5L sedan takes the win at 6.3 litres per 100 kilometres driven against its rivals, the Mazda2 and Honda City sedan. We are looking at sedans costing less than RM 90,000 here. So, the latest electrified Honda City e-HEV delivers 5.4 litres per 100 kilometres driven, is out of the competition as it is a little more expensive, however, if you can afford the price, it is a real fuel sipper.

 When it comes to pickup trucks, the all-new Isuzu D-Max 1.9L Bluepower Diesel takes the top spot with its frugal engine that sips 5.8 litres of diesel over 100 kilometres driven. The rest are good at sipping fuel, but they are not as good as this 1.9L Isuzu. Plus, it is well built and a good looking vehicle. 

The executive sedan segment is not as crowded as before and we have the Honda Accord 1.5L Turbocharged and the Toyota Camry 2.5L. Here you have two large sedans that have been in the competition for decades and this time around the Accord takes a clear win as its 1.5L Turbocharged engine is not only frugal at sipping just 6.5 litres of fuel every 100 kilometres driven, but it is also quite lively. The Camry is front heavy with the large 2.5L engine that consumes 7.7 litres of fuel after driving for 100 kilometres but offers some added zest with its better top-end speed. 

 The most popular segment today is the SUV segment below RM 180k. You have the Mazda CX-5, the Subaru XV, Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, Proton X70 and the Honda CR-V. Let's leave the older models out of the equation and concentrate on the new models. Here is the SKYACTIV powered Mazda CX-5 2.0L inches ahead of the rest with petrol sipping engine at 6.9 litres for every 100 kilometres driven and also great looks making it a segment favourite even before fuel efficiency is taken into consideration.  

So, the above is our suggestions based on our personal test drive and also many social media postings we evaluated over the years from owners who share their fuel economy figures. 

Also read: 5 beautiful Bespoke Rolls-Royce of recent times; a package of grace, modern tones, and calmness