The money flows from the pump along with the fuel/ShutterStock
In September 2012, the price of a liter of self-service 95 octane gasoline jumped to an all-time high: NIS 8.25 per liter.
On the other hand, in May 2020, right at the peak of the corona closures when we had nowhere to go, its price deteriorated to NIS 4.79.
As of last night, we are much closer to the first price, after at the beginning of the year the price of a liter of gasoline jumped by 57 shekels, a sharp increase of 7%, which amounts to an addition of thousands of shekels per year to the car expenses of quite a few Israelis, and "only" hundreds of shekels for those who travel little or who bought an economical car.
As soon as, due to the budget crisis created by the war of iron swords, the government canceled the reduction in fuel taxation that was introduced in August 2022, in the twilight of the Bennett-Lapid government, the price went up again and there is no stopping it from going up again next month.
A good time to remember that there are only small differences in fuel consumption between cars of similar sizes and prices.
We checked how it looks in the seven main market groups, from mini cars to seven-seat vehicles, up to NIS 200,000.
The review is based on the new cars, but most of them have been with us for several years, so the rating also refers to young used cars.
For the sake of unification, we rated according to the manufacturer's data in the current WLTP standard.
It is more accurate than its predecessors, guarantees the same test for all cars, but you can expect an average gap of about 10 to 20% between its data and those of real life.
The key word is "average": the actual fuel consumption will always depend on the driving style.
Are you always the first to jump at the traffic lights, overtake whenever possible, go up hills as fast as possible?
Your numbers will be worse than those shown here.
On the other hand, if you drive moderately, take your foot off the gas a little on uphills or when you spot a red light on the horizon, you will be able to improve them.
You can see that the gap between the most wasteful and the most economical car in each group can reach more than 50%.
The normal hybrids, the mild hybrids - which are equipped with a simpler and cheaper hybrid system with reduced economy performance - and the few diesel models that are still sold in Israel are a trump card, but there are also significant differences between the various gasoline models.
We chose not to refer to plug-in vehicles in the data.
These show in theory, i.e. on the dynamometer of the WLTP test, fantastic data, of 100 km per liter and more. But these can only be achieved in a journey of a few tens of kilometers, where you set out with a fully charged battery. In a longer journey the numbers will be completely different, and vary greatly according to the length of the trip, the route and the degree of battery charging, with much larger gaps than in other propulsion systems.
1. Mini
Those who buy the cheapest cars on the market also expect low fuel consumption.
Indeed, they are all relatively economical, but there are considerable differences.
Specifically, the Kia Picanto, the eternal sales level of this market is the least economical, and that's even after it switched to a robotic box with a single meter instead of the automatic box it had until 2020 and became very thirsty for fuel.
On the other hand, the Toyota Aygo manages to present more than 15% better data, thanks to the use of the old and economical 1,000th engine of the Japanese manufacturer.
The extravagance:
Kia Picanto/Keenan Cohen
Kia Picanto |
17.2 kml
Hyundai i10 |
About 18.2 kml
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Economical:
Toyota Aygo/Manufacturer's website
Toyota Aygo
20.4 kml
Mitsubishi Space Star |
18.8 kml
2. Super Mini
First appearance in the ranking for hybrids, which as expected show much better data than the gasoline models.
Toyota Yaris (from NIS 134,000), like Mazda 2 (NIS 116,000), is not particularly large.
But the Mazda is almost eight years old now and although its engine has been slightly improved since launch, it can't compete with a modern hybrid power unit.
On the other hand, with a price difference of NIS 18,000 between them, the Mazda 2 will do the job if you don't travel much, given the high price of the Yaris.
And it is another bargain compared to that of the Honda Jazz.
An excellent car, but the one that sells the most for NIS 151,000 is clearly not competitive.
the spendthrift
Mazda 2/Walla! system, Audi Etzion
Mazda 2 |
15.8 kml
Citroen C3 |
About 16.4 kml
Seat Ibiza
17.2 kml
Economical:
Toyota Yaris/Kinan Cohen, Assaf Bar Shai
Toyota Yaris Hybrid |
26.3 kml
Honda Jazz Hybrid |
22.2 kml
Peugeot 208 |
18.8 kml
3. Familiarity
Another case of economical but expensive hybrid technology against thirsty and cheap gasoline.
Mazda 3, which is currently sold with a 2-liter engine for NIS 151,000, is the most wasteful family car.
But it is also NIS 14,000 cheaper than the hybrid Corolla and NIS 19,000 cheaper than the Elantra, which show identical consumption data.
Rather, the Skoda Octavia 1,000 cc mild hybrid (NIS 156,000) is closer in its fuel consumption to the pair of full hybrids, and closer in price to the Mazda.
The extravagance:
Mazda 3/manufacturer website, manufacturer
Mazda 3 Comfort |
13.9 kml
Nissan Sentra
16.1 kml
Citroen C4X |
About 16.9 kml
Economical:
Toyota Corolla/Walla system!, Yoav Falls
Toyota Corolla Hybrid |
22.7 kml
Hyundai Elantra Hybrid |
22.7 kml
Skoda Octavia 1 liter |
19.2 kml
4. Small crossovers
The Toyota Yaris Cross is by far the most economical small crossover, certainly as only the hybrid version is now imported.
But at NIS 151,000, it is significantly more expensive than the less economical competitors, even though this category has also experienced a jump in prices in recent months: even the Suzuki Ignis mild hybrid automatic costs NIS 115,000 and the Hyundai Van - from NIS 122,000.
Suzuki Jimny (NIS 166,000 for the automatic) is also more expensive than the Hiaris Cross, but also much thirstier for 95 octane.
Another reason to think if it suits you.
If you are a field mouse, there is no other offer like this even for 100 thousand shekels more.
But if you wanted it only because you are urban types who want a small and tall car, it is not for you.
You will not take advantage of its advantages, and you will suffer from its disadvantages.
The cost-effective:
Toyota Yaris Cross/Manufacturer's website
Toyota Yaris Cross |
22.7 kml
Suzuki Ignis |
17.8 kml
Kia Stonic
17.5 kml
The spendthrifts:
Suzuki Jimny/Nir Ben Tovim, Rami Gilboa
Suzuki Jimny |
12.3 kml
Hyundai and New |
15.1 kml
Mazda CX3 |
About 15.3 kml
5. Family crossovers
Huge gaps between hybrid crossovers and some of those with gasoline engines.
The Chery FX is strong and agile, and at NIS 150,000 it is about NIS 20,000 cheaper than the Toyota C-HR and Hyundai Kona hybrids, but its fuel consumption is almost double.
The Mitsubishi ASX is already quite old with its 2 liter engine, and the Chevy Trax is disappointing in terms of fuel consumption despite a 1.2 liter turbo gasoline engine, the thirst of which clouds a handsome and spacious vehicle.
The cost-effective:
Toyota C-HR/MDA, Toyota
Toyota C-HR Hybrid |
21.3 kml
Hyundai buys a hybrid |
21.3 kml
Buy a Hybrid Capture |
21.2 kml
Nissan Juke Hybrid |
20 kml
The spendthrifts:
Cheri FX/Keenan Cohen
Chery FX |
About 11 kml
Mitsubishi ASX |
About 11.5 kml
Chevrolet Trax |
13.5 kml
Volkswagen T Cross |
15.6 kml
6. Executive crossovers
Here there is a smaller price gap between the economical Toyota Corolla Cross (NIS 175,000) and the Chery Tigo 7 (NIS 160,000) and the Hyundai Tucson (NIS 164,000) and there is no gap at all against the Kia Sportage (NIS 175,000).
Which makes the fuel consumption differences more significant.
The Tucson and Sportage have more powerful and more economical 1,600 turbo petrol versions and the Sportage also has a slightly more economical turbo diesel version.
The cost-effective:
Toyota Rav4/manufacturer website, manufacturer
Toyota Corollas Cross Hybrid |
20 kml
Toyota Rav4 Hybrid |
17.5 kml
Kia Niro Plus Hybrid |
18.8 kml
Nissan Qashqai Hybrid |
18.6 kml
The spendthrifts:
Cheri Tigo 7/Kinan Cohen
Cherry Tigo 7 |
11.6 kml
Kia Sportage 2 liters | 12 kml
Hyundai Tucson 2 liters |
12.2 kml
Chevrolet Trail Blazer | 14.5 kml
7. Executive cars
There aren't many executive cars left below the NIS 200,000 mark.
The two hybrids, Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Camry are already above it, and this is even before the arrival of their updated models.
The old Chevrolet Malibu is the most extravagant here, although it is equipped with a very modest 1.5 liter engine in American terms.
On the other hand, a Skoda Superb with a more modern engine of the same volume and a robotic gearbox with clutches achieves a 15% better result.
Economical:
Road test: Skoda Superb 2.0 liter/Keenan Cohen, Keenan Cohen
Skoda Superb 1.5 liter |
14.7 kml
Mazda 6 two liter |
14 kml
The extravagance:
Chevrolet Malibu 2015/manufacturer website
Chevrolet Malibu
12.9 kml
Mazda 6 2.5 liter |
13.3 kml
8. Seven-seater vehicles
In the days of such prices at the gas pumps, one can remember longing for the hybrid Toyota Prius+ that would have easily taken the first place in the group, but its production was stopped in 2021.
Dacia Jogger exists in such a drive version, but so far only one shipment of hybrid Joggers sold to taxi drivers has arrived.
Owners of large families who want to save fuel will be able to choose a gasoline Jogger, which is both the cheapest 7-seater vehicle in Israel, and also the most economical.
However being manual only also gives the long-running Berlingo diesel and the basic 5008 petrol a chance.
From the second past, the Mitsubishi Outlander, and the new sales hit in the group, the Chery Tigo 8, show approximately 40% higher consumption.
Toyota City, the twin of the Berlingo, is a little less thirsty than the first two, but less economical than the 5008 which is equipped with the same engine.
Skoda Kodiaq already costs more than NIS 200,000, but if it entered the ranking it would be included in the less economical group, like the twin Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace.
The cost-effective:
Dacia Jogger.
The cheapest 7-seater mini van in Israel is also the most economical/Keenan Cohen
Dacia Jogger 1 liter |
17.5 kml
Citroen Berlingo Diesel |
17.2 kml
Peugeot 5008 1.2 liter |
14.9 kml
The spendthrifts:
Mitsubishi Outlander.
Engine 2.5 liters Thirsty/Ronen Topelberg
Mitsubishi Outlander |
11.5 kml
Cherry Tigo 8
|
12.3 kml
Toyota City Gasoline |
14.5 kml
More on the same topic:
Fuel consumption
Fuel economy
Car Maintenance