Toyota Prado, Ford Ranger, popular hybrids use more fuel than claimed in real-world Australian tests

New testing has put the real-world fuel consumption of 30 popular cars – including the new Prado, and a number of Toyota hybrids – under the microscope, outside of a laboratory.

Some of Australia’s top-selling cars – from the Ford Ranger ute and Toyota Prado 4WD, to a slew of new hybrids – have used up to 33 per cent more fuel than claimed on the windscreen sticker in new real-world testing.

The latest round of tests conducted by the Australian Automobile Association – with Federal Government funding – has placed the real-world fuel consumption of 30 vehicles.

Twenty-five of the vehicles tested consumed more fuel than claimed by the manufacturer, up to 33 per cent in the case of the Hyundai Kona Hybrid – and 26 per cent for the Kia Stonic turbo.

The Ford Ranger consumed 6 per cent more fuel than claimed in bi-turbo, four-wheel-drive form, while the new Toyota Prado used 8 per cent more than quoted.

MORE: Popular new model revealed to use 35 per cent more fuel than advertised

Among the vehicles that beat their lab-tested fuel consumption are the Lexus NX350h (7 per cent), Ford Transit Custom van (9 per cent), and Mercedes-Benz GLB250 (3 per cent).

Six of the 30 vehicles also exceeded noxious emissions limits for new vehicles in the AAA’s testing, despite meeting the standards in lab testing conducted by the government.

Two vehicles surpassed the limits in real-world testing across more than one type of pollutant measured by the AAA, both Toyotas: the Fortuner 4WD, and HiAce LWB van.

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The AAA has now conducted ‘real-world’ testing on 114 vehicles since August 2023, 77 per cent of which have used more than quoted on the fuel label.

The program is designed to uncover the true fuel consumption of vehicles on real roads – and in real conditions – rather than when strapped to a ‘rolling road’ in a laboratory for mandatory government testing.

It says it generates its real-world results “on roads in and around Geelong, Victoria,” but uses “strict test protocols to ensure fuel consumption and emissions results are repeatable, and to minimise the influence of human factors such as driving style and changing traffic flows.”

Funding by the Federal Government – with support from both major parties – covers the testing of 200 vehicles, the AAA says.

MORE: Victoria trialling new traffic cameras, but won’t tell us why

“It’s becoming clear that carmakers continue to optimise their vehicles’ performance for lab testing, meaning new cars are too often over-stating their improvements in fuel use and environmental performance,” AAA managing director Michael Bradley said in a media statement.

“Some vehicles perform as advertised, but most do not, and our Program is seeking to reward carmakers that deliver genuine financial and environmental savings.”

Latest AAA real-world fuel consumption test results: July 2025

Model Type Lab-test fuel use (L/100km) Real-world test fuel use (L/100km) Difference
Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Large SUV 5.6 6.2 10 per cent
Toyota Fortuner Large SUV 7.6 8.8 16 per cent
Toyota Prado Large SUV 7.6 8.2 8 per cent
Mercedes-Benz GLE300d Large SUV 6.6 6.9 4 per cent
Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max Large SUV 8.1 8.4 3 per cent
Skoda Octavia 1.4-litre wagon Medium car 5.8 6.1 6 per cent
Hyundai Tucson Hybrid AWD Medium SUV 5.3 5.7 8 per cent
Lexus NX350h 2WD Medium SUV 5.0 4.7 -7 per cent
Nissan X-Trail e-Power hybrid Medium SUV 6.1 6.7 9 per cent
Kia Sportage Hybrid FWD Medium SUV 4.9 5.6 14 per cent
Hyundai Tucson turbo FWD Medium SUV 6.7 6.9 3 per cent
Mercedes-Benz GLC200 Medium SUV 7.5 7.6 1 per cent
Mercedes-Benz GLB250 Medium SUV 7.9 7.6 -3 per cent
Mercedes-Benz GLB200 Medium SUV 7.5 7.4 -1 per cent
Hyundai Staria V6 petrol People mover 10.5 10.6 1 per cent
Mazda 3 G25 hatch Small car 6.6 7.4 13 per cent
MG 3 petrol Small car 6.0 6.7 12 per cent
Hyundai i30 Sedan Hybrid Small car 3.9 4.6 17 per cent
Mazda CX-30 G20 Small SUV 6.3 6.4 1 per cent
Mercedes-Benz GLA200 Small SUV 7.3 7.4 -2 per cent
Hyundai Kona Hybrid Small SUV 3.9 5.2 33 per cent
Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid Small SUV 4.0 4.5 12 per cent
Kia Stonic turbo Small SUV 5.4 6.8 26 per cent
Volkswagen T-Cross Small SUV 5.6 5.8 4 per cent
Suzuki Vitara Turbo 2WD Small SUV 5.9 6.3 7 per cent
BMW X1 sDrive 18i Small SUV 6.5 6.7 4 per cent
Ford Ranger bi-turbo Ute (4WD) 8.4 8.9 6 per cent
Toyota HiAce LWB Van 7.9 8.7 10 per cent
Toyota HiAce SLWB Van 8.1 9 11 per cent
Ford Transit Custom Van 8.0 7.2 -9 per cent

Latest AAA real-world emissions test results: July 2025

Model Type Real-world test NOx emissions (mg/km) Real-world test carbon monoxide emissions (mg/km) Real-world test hydrocarbon emissions (mg/km)
Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Large SUV 7 102 12
Toyota Fortuner Large SUV 384 (exceeded limits) 70 396 (exceeded limits)
Toyota Prado Large SUV 42 59 54
Mercedes-Benz GLE300d Large SUV 6 50 24
Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max Large SUV 12 170 18
Skoda Octavia 1.4-litre wagon Medium car 10 78 12
Hyundai Tucson Hybrid AWD Medium SUV 15 114 11
Lexus NX350h 2WD Medium SUV 3 39 7
Nissan X-Trail e-Power hybrid Medium SUV 6 47 5
Kia Sportage Hybrid FWD Medium SUV 8 49 11
Hyundai Tucson turbo FWD Medium SUV 20 174 19
Mercedes-Benz GLC200 Medium SUV 20 133 13
Mercedes-Benz GLB250 Medium SUV 14 132 11
Mercedes-Benz GLB200 Medium SUV 9 200 17
Hyundai Staria V6 petrol People mover 18 288 16
Mazda 3 G25 hatch Small car 13 103 21
MG 3 Small car 7 149 12
Hyundai i30 Sedan Hybrid Small car 9 143 35
Mazda CX-30 G20 Small SUV 8 73 22
Mercedes-Benz GLA200 Small SUV 6 175 25
Hyundai Kona Hybrid Small SUV 3 41 8
Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid Small SUV 3 53 13
Kia Stonic turbo Small SUV 24 642 25
Volkswagen T-Cross Small SUV 8 104 13
Suzuki Vitara Turbo 2WD Small SUV 7 1178 (exceeded limits) 38
BMW X1 sDrive 18i Small SUV 68 (exceeded limits) 670 22
Ford Ranger bi-turbo Ute (4WD) 552 (exceeded limits) 73 577
Toyota HiAce LWB Van 349 (exceeded limits) 39 363 (exceeded limits)
Toyota HiAce SLWB Van 476 57 492 (exceeded limits)
Ford Transit Custom Van 7 39 28

The post Toyota Prado, Ford Ranger, popular hybrids use more fuel than claimed in real-world Australian tests appeared first on Drive.

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