Why isn't the Mirage on the U.S. EPA's "best/worst" MPG list?

[MetroMPG]

Check out http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/best-worst.shtml

And click the tab for "Cars (Excluding EV's)"...

EPA Class	Vehicle Description	Fuel Economy Combined
Two-Seaters	Honda CR-Z 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Automatic (AV-S7), Regular	37
Minicompacts	Scion iQ 4 cyl, 1.3 L, Automatic (CVT), Regular	37
Subcompacts	Audi A3 Diesel 4 cyl, 2.0 L, Automatic(AM-S6), Diesel	36
	Ford Fiesta SFE FWD 3 cyl, 1.0 L, Manual(5), Regular	36
Compacts	Toyota Prius c Hybrid 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Automatic (CVT), HEV, Regular	50

How come the Mirage isn't listed in there? The CVT's 40 mpg combined rating beats the Scion iQ, Fiesta and A3 diesel.

Is the Mirage somehow classified as a compact, so the Prius C beats it?

[Yttrium]

Yup, they classify it as a "compact" car.

Go to the "Specs" tab:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find....n=sbs&id=34989

The Audi A3 and Chevy Spark are both listed as subcompacts despite having the exact same listed passenger volume as the Mirage. Someone at the department of Energy must be smoking something.

[MetroMPG]

So I wonder which is wrong, then: the Mirage's size rating or the Audi's.

[Yttrium]

Looking through the numbers a bit more, its the combination of passenger space and luggage space that determines the category. The Mirage has 86 cubic feet of passenger space with 17 of cargo space, for a total of 103. The Audi A3 has 86 cubic feet of passenger space with 11 of cargo space (not a hatchback) so it comes in at 98, which is under the 100 threshold for "supcompact" cars.

So, that means despite being over two feet longer than the Mirage, the A3 qualifies as a subcompact while the Mirage does not. Crazy...

[MetroMPG]

Aha. Thanks for digging.

Two feet longer and more than twice the price!

[MetroMPG]

Further to this discussion... In the eyes of the EPA for size classification:



There's an article about this topic:
Everything That's Ridiculous About The EPA's Vehicle Classes In Pictures