Australia's most fuel-efficient cars in 2022

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) often steal the spotlight regarding fuel-efficient internal-combustion cars, but other relatively green vehicles are available in Australia today.

While Toyota Australia has retired the pioneering Prius hatchback after 21 years on sale, the self-charging hybrid powertrain – removing the need to plug-in – has become an increasingly popular, mainstream choice locally.

For instance, the most favoured variants of Australia’s best-selling crossover, the Toyota RAV4 medium SUV, feature a hybrid powertrain, while other brands such as Honda, Kia, GWM Haval and Lexus offer a petrol-electric combination.

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WhichCar has compiled data from third-party industry body JATO revealing each non-PHEV vehicle currently available in Australia, excluding recently-discontinued models, with a claimed combined fuel efficiency of five litres per 100 kilometres or less.

Litres per 100km is exactly as stated, relating to the distance you can travel on an amount of fuel. A lower number demonstrates better fuel efficiency.

For example, a vehicle with a 40-litre fuel tank with a claimed fuel consumption of 5L/100km will travel 800 kilometres from full to empty.

However, this is in an ideal situation, as a vehicle's actual fuel economy can differ based on various driving conditions – including weight, acceleration, the weather, air-conditioning, tyre pressures, and the route.

(Then, of course, there's the 'fuel reserve light'...)

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Firstly, which is the most fuel-efficient car in Australia?

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid, powered by a low-capacity 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine with an electric motor, is currently the most fuel-efficient vehicle in Australia – joining more than 30 variants from 10 brands that sip fuel.

Those include...

Most of the vehicles featured include a hybrid powertrain; however, some pure petrol and diesel internal-combustion vehicles – including the Suzuki Swift, Audi A3 35 TFSI, and Volkswagen Caddy diesel – also feature on the interactive graph below.

A more-comprehensive table detailing each vehicle’s engine, transmission, fuel and drive type, variant and claimed combined fuel consumption (L/100km) is available below:

NOTE: The data below was provided by JATO, and is accurate as at July 9, 2022.

Want to read our reviews of the cars above? See the links below

Audi A3, Honda Accord, Honda HR-V, Kia Niro, Lexus ES, Lexus NX, Lexus UX, Skoda Fabia, Skoda Kamiq, Skoda Scala, Suzuki Ignis, Suzuki Swift, Toyota Camry, Toyota C-HR, Toyota Corolla, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Yaris Cross, Toyota Yaris, Volkswagen Caddy