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After years of complaints, the EPA has altered its methods for calculating fuel economy figures. Reflecting how people actually drive - accelerating quickly and using the air conditioner to name a couple – 2008 models bear more realistic, and therefore lower, figures on their window stickers. Take the new Avenger, for example. Using 2007 standards, the four-cylinder engine would rate 24 mpg city/32 mpg highway, while the 2.7-liter V6 would rate 22/30 mpg and the 3.5-liter V6 would rate 19/28 mpg. Those figures drop to 21/30 mpg, 19/27 mpg, and 16/26 mpg, respectively. When cross-shopping, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples and not 2007 figures with those for 2008.
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