*The values used in this article are as of 2022-2023.
In this article, we will determine if 20 MPG, or 11.8 L/100 km, is an acceptable fuel economy for a general automobile, and then we will discuss 20 MPG for specific vehicle types.
The focus will be on combined fuel economy. We will, however, briefly discuss city and highway fuel economy.
Is 20 MPG Good?
For an average vehicle, 20 MPG is not good fuel economy. A 20 MPG car is 13% less fuel-efficient than the median automobile, which does 23 MPG. In the context of specific vehicle types, 20 MPG is considered acceptable fuel economy for pick-up trucks, full-size SUVs, and sports cars.
The table below shows how good 20 MPG is for different types of vehicles.
| Vehicle Type | Median Fuel Economy | 20 MPG is | 20MPG/Median Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Automobiles | 23 | Substandard | – 13.04% |
| Sedan | 28 | Very Bad | – 28.57% |
| Small SUV | 27 | Very Bad | – 25.93% |
| Large SUV | 21 | Acceptable | – 4.76% |
| Sports Cars | 19 | Decent | + 5.26% |
| Pickup Truck | 18 | Good | + 11.11% |
As we can see in this chart, 20 MPG is only above the median gas mileage of 3 vehicle categories: full-size SUVs, full-size pickup trucks, and sports cars (coupes).
The median is a better measure of assessing whether or not 20 MPG is good. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids can significantly inflate average gas mileage values.
For example, we calculated that the average MPG for a pickup truck is 20.6 miles per gallon. However, 20.6 MPG is above the 70th percentile for all pickup trucks. That means for every 10 pickup trucks, 7 get a lower gas mileage than the average of 20.6.
The median MPG, or 50th percentile, much better reconciles the large efficiency gap between electric and gas-powered vehicles.
20 MPG City
20 MPG in the city is not good or bad, but standard fuel economy. The median car (50th percentile) gets 20 MPG in the city.
However, for a car with a regenerative braking system, 20 MPG in the city is insufficient. The 50th percentile city fuel economy for a hybrid (MHEV/HEV) is 23 MPG.
Typically, city fuel economy is lower than highway fuel economy. Full-hybrid cars, on the other hand, are often more efficient in the city than on the highway because of regenerative braking systems.
20 MPG Highway
20 MPG on the highway is very bad fuel economy. It is well below the 50th percentile of highway fuel economy, which is 27 MPG. That’s a 7-mile difference per gallon. For most vehicles, 20 MPG on the highway translates to 16-17 MPG combined (city/highway), which is horrible.
The cost of 20 MPG
A car that gets only 20 MPG is going to cost you significantly more money to drive than the average vehicle.
At $5.00 per gallon, a vehicle that does 20 MPG will generally cost you $0.25 per mile. A 15-mile commute to work will cost you $3.75 in gas.
When driving 15,000 miles per year, the annual cost of fuel for a car that gets 20 MPG is $3,750. At 20 MPG, you spend $500 more on gas than the median car.
How many miles is 20 MPG?
MPG is a measurement of how far your car can travel per gallon of gas. So, at 20 MPG, your car can cover a distance of 20 miles, or 32.2 kilometers, for every gallon of fuel. A 20 MPG car with a fuel capacity of 15 gallons can travel up to 300 miles before having to refuel.
20 MPG on SUVs
20 MPG is considered substandard fuel economy for SUVs in general. However, like for any other vehicle type, there are many things to consider before determining whether or not 20 MPG is good fuel economy for a given vehicle.
For example, 20 MPG might be great for a large SUV with a V8 engine, but horrible for a small 4-cylinder SUV.
There are 2 main categories and 4 subcategories for SUVs: full-size and mid-size SUVs fall into the large SUV category, while compact and subcompact SUVs fall into the small SUV category.
To get a better idea of what you can consider good fuel economy for an SUV, please check out our articles covering the fuel economies of large SUVs and small SUVs.
We’ll take a look at each subcategory.
Full-size SUVs:
20 MPG is excellent fuel economy for a full-size SUV. It is 17.6% greater than the median fuel economy. The median full-size SUV gets a gas mileage of 17 miles per gallon. 20 MPG is in the 90th percentile of efficiency for full-size SUVs.
20 MPG or above is usually seen in the most fuel-efficient full-size SUV trims, typically fitted with MHEV 6-cylinder engines or diesel engines.
The 6-cylinder, diesel-engined Cadillac Escalade is one of the few full-sized SUVs that can achieve a gas mileage above 20 MPG. It has an EPA rating of 22 MPG.
Mid-size SUVs:
For a mid-size SUV, 20 MPG is considered substandard gas mileage. It is 1 mile less than the median MPG for the segment, which is 21. 20 MPG is the 40th percentile of the gas mileage for mid-size SUVs. It’s not good, but it is not bad either.
20 MPG falls right into the 50th percentile of fuel economy for 6-cylinder mid-size SUVs.
The 3.0 L 6-cylinder rear-wheel-drive Ford Explorer is an example of an SUV which does 20 miles per gallon.
Compact SUVs:
For compact SUVs, 20 MPG is considered a very bad fuel economy. It is 20% lower than the median compact SUV gas mileage and is well below the 20th percentile. The median fuel economy for this segment is 25 MPG.
20 MPG is typically seen in performance variants of luxury compact SUVs. The Porsche Macan is an example of a compact SUV that averages 20 MPG across its specs (Macan/Macan-S/Macan-GTS).
Subcompact SUVs:
20 MPG is the worst gas mileage you can get on a subcompact SUV. There are little to no subcompact SUVs that are supposed to do 20 MPG or lower.
If you are getting 20 MPG or less on a subcompact SUV, it is likely due to driving habits or conditions. If not, then you should probably have the car inspected in a garage.
The subcompact SUV with the lowest gas mileage is the 2.0 L 4-cylinder Mercedes-Benz AMG GLA45 4matic, which gets 22 MPG.
20 MPG on Pick-up Trucks
Whether 20 MPG is good for a pickup truck mainly depends on what type of pickup truck you drive. The average mid-size gasoline pickup truck is 16% more fuel-efficient than its average full-size counterpart.
Pickup trucks that are fitted with bigger engines are typically expected to have a lower fuel economy than pickup trucks with smaller engines.
To get a better idea of what you can consider good fuel economy for pickup trucks, please check out our articles covering the fuel economies of mid-size and full-size pickup trucks.
Full-size trucks:
20 MPG is good fuel economy for a full-size pickup truck. A full-size pickup doing 20 miles per gallon is 11% more fuel-efficient than the median full-size pickup truck, which does 18 MPG.
20 MPG is generally seen in full-size pickup trucks that have 4-cylinder engines. The average 4-cylinder pickup truck gets 20.5 MPG.
An example of a full-size pickup truck that does 20 MPG is the 2.7L 4-cylinder trim of the GMC Sierra.
Mid-size trucks:
20 MPG is not good fuel economy for midsize pickup trucks. It falls below the 50th percentile of the gas mileage for all midsize pickup trucks. The median MPG for this type of pickup is 21 miles per gallon.
Concerning mid-size pickup trucks, 20 MPG is usually seen in 6-cylinder engines. An example of a mid-size pickup truck that does 20 MPG is the 3.8L 6-cylinder Nissan Frontier.
20 MPG on Sedans
As we can see in the above chart, which illustrates the different percentile ranges for sedans, 20 MPG is considered horrible gas mileage for a sedan in general.
However, the answer may vary depending on the type of sedan you drive. For example, 20 MPG might be great for a full-size luxury sedan with a V8 engine but horrible for a 4-cylinder mid-size sedan.
To get a better idea of what you can consider good fuel economy for sedans, please check out our articles covering the fuel economies of every type of sedan vehicle.
Full-size sedans:
20 MPG is in the lower bounds of what is considered acceptable fuel economy for full-size sedans, 19 to 25 MPG.
You can generally expect 6-cylinder luxury full-size sedans to do 20 MPG.
An example of a full-size sedan that does 20 miles per gallon is the 3.3 L 6-cylinder Genesis G90.
Mid-size sedans:
20 MPG is considered very bad for a mid-size sedan. The median fuel economy for a mid-size is 26 MPG, which is 30% higher than 20.
Most mid-size sedans that get 20 MPG are 6-cylinder to 8-cylinder luxury cars. An example of this would be the 3.5 L 6-cylinder Genesis G80 and the 4.4 L V8 BMW M550i.
Small sedans (including hatchbacks):
20 MPG is considered horrible fuel economy for compact sedans or hatchbacks. These cars normally do between 28 and 35 miles per gallon, with the median being 31.5 miles per gallon. Getting 20 MPG with a small sedan is likely due to poor driving habits.
Much like subcompact SUVs, small/compact 4-5 door cars should not be getting 20 MPG. The lowest fuel economy compact car is the 2.4 L 4-cylinder Subaru WRX, which has an EPA rating of 21 MPG.
20 MPG on Sports Cars
20 MPG is in the 60th percentile for sports cars, which is considered decent fuel economy. The median sports car does 19 miles per gallon.
It is excellent fuel economy for sports cars with V8, V10, V12, and W16 engines, but very bad for 4-cylinder sports cars. 20 miles per gallon is the median fuel economy for a 6-cylinder sports car.
A sports car that does 20 MPG is the 3.0 L 6-cylinder Porsche 911 GTS.
Conclusion
Whether or not 20 MPG is a good fuel economy largely comes down to the type of vehicle you are driving. In a general sense, 20 MPG is not a good fuel economy, as it is 3 MPG lower than the median for all automobiles. However, for full-size pickup trucks, full-size SUVs, and sports cars, 20 MPG is considered good.