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Honda Fit EV gets record fuel-efficiency rating: 118 m.p.g.

Honda Fit EV beats out other electrics, including the Mitsubishi i at 112 m.p.g. equivalent. EPA also gives 2013 Honda Fit EV a longer driving range than Ford Focus Electric and Nissan Leaf.

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Taro Koyano/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP/File
In this November file photo, the 2013 Honda Fit EV is officially unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles. Honda said Wednesday that the electric vehicle has received the highest fuel efficiency rating ever from the Environmental Protection Agency.
  • By John Voelcker Guest blogger

The 2013 Honda Fit EV has earned the highest EPA efficiency rating granted to any vehicle offered in the U.S.: 118 miles-per-gallon-equivalent.

That's higher than the 2012 Mitsubishi i minicar, the previous record-holder at 112 MPGe, and considerably higher than the Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus Electric, at 99 MPGe and 105 MPGe respectively.

MPGe is an efficiency measure based on how far the car can travel on the amount of electricity with energy equivalent to that in a single gallon of gasoline.

The EPA has also rated the Honda Fit EV at 82 miles of driving range.

That's more than the Focus Electric (at 76 miles), the Leaf (at 73 miles), or the 'i' (at 62 miles).

So to put all the relevant data in a single table, here's a look at how all five battery-electric vehicles offered in the U.S. market so far stack up:

  • 2013 Honda Fit EV, 118 MPGe, 82 miles: 20-kWh battery pack, 92-kW motor
  • 2012 Mitsubishi 'i,' 112 MPGe, 62 miles:16-kWh battery pack, 66-kW motor
  • 2012 Ford Focus Electric, 105 MPGe, 76 miles: 23-kWh battery pack, 107-kW motor
  • 2012 Nissan Leaf, 99 MPGe, 73 miles: 24-kWh battery pack, 80-kW motor
  • 2012 Coda Sedan, 73 MPGe, 88 miles: 31-kWh battery pack, 100-kW motor

(We haven't included data for the 2012 Tesla Model S because its EPA ratings haven't yet been released--though they should be within the next couple of weeks.)

Honda's first electric car in roughly a decade should also be relatively punchy off the line, with a 92-kilowatt (123-horsepower) motor producing 188 lb-ft of torque to power the front wheels, giving it 15 percent more power than the larger Nissan Leaf.

We're expecting some of the car magazines to test the Fit EV, in fact, against the larger (and even more powerful) Ford Focus Electric to see which one has the best off-the-line and 0-to-60-mph times.

Honda quotes a recharging time of 3 hours for a fully depleted battery using a 240-Volt Level 2 charging station, likely indicating a 6.6-kilowatt charger (matching the Coda Sedan and Focus Electric, and faster than the current Leaf).

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