Wealthy people know that one of the ways to remain rich is to live well within your means, and to retain as much liquidity for investing as you can. Some relax such self-imposed constraints when it comes to spending money on a home, a vacation, a meal, or consumer goods such as a new sport-utility vehicle, accepting that swapping cash for a more enjoyable life is a worthwhile trade-off. But that doesn’t mean one ought to spend unnecessarily in the process.
Take luxury SUVs, for example. Consumers shopping this class of vehicle can choose from a wide range of models spanning from compact crossovers to huge 8-passenger behemoths. As with any vehicle purchase, luxury SUV buyers frequently pick a model that meets their lifestyle requirements. Often, however, they do not.
We’re not naïve enough to think that luxury SUV buyers would go broke over the estimated $4,650 cost of annually filling a Mercedes-Benz G550’s tank, so the reason consumers might seek guidance about the best MPG luxury SUVs for 2012 must be a different one, perhaps an altruistic one associated with the environment, or maybe a personal one reflecting a desire to visit as few gas stations as possible along the road of life.
Whatever the reason, Autobytel is here to help. We’ve done the research for you, and we can tell you that the best way to combine luxury and fuel efficiency in a high MPG luxury SUV for 2012 is to buy a Lexus RX 450h. It stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the pack on any list of best MPG luxury sport utility vehicles for 2012, able to get up to 30 mpg in combined driving.
If you’re not crazy about the Lexus, the next five contestants are all tied at 22 mpg in combined driving. On the pages that follow, we’ll talk about the best MPG luxury SUV of 2012, and list the five runners-up in alphabetical order.
