What is the best Mitsubishi Starion for fuel economy?

The strongest year was 1984 at 19 mpg combined, against 18 mpg in 1985. That is a 1 mpg spread across the nameplate's history.

How much does a Mitsubishi Starion cost to fuel each year?

At 11,500 miles a year the 1989 model uses between 639 and 639 gallons, or $2,236 to $2,236 at $3.50 a gallon.

What does the Mitsubishi Starion emit?

EPA reports 493.72222222222223 to 493.72222222222223 grams of tailpipe CO2 per mile for the 1989 model year, or about 5.7 to 5.7 tons over a year of driving.

Mitsubishi Starion MPG by year — every rating on record

The Mitsubishi Starion has a combined EPA fuel economy rating for 6 model years, from 1984 to 1989. Across those years its best rated version returned 19 mpg (1984) and its thirstiest returned 18 mpg (1985). The EPA record holds 20 configurations for this nameplate, most recently a Subcompact Cars.

19best combined mpg (1984)

18worst combined mpg (1985)

18latest year best (1989)

20configurations on record

Year-by-year EPA ratings

Model year	Configurations	Best combined	Worst combined	Class rank that year	Drivetrains	Fuel	EPA class
1984	6	19 mpg	19 mpg	#46 of 57 (20th pct)	n/a	Regular	Subcompact Cars
1985	6	19 mpg	18 mpg	#45 of 57 (21th pct)	Rear-Wheel Drive	Premium	Subcompact Cars
1986	2	19 mpg	18 mpg	#49 of 59 (17th pct)	Rear-Wheel Drive	Premium	Subcompact Cars
1987	2	18 mpg	18 mpg	#62 of 72 (14th pct)	Rear-Wheel Drive	Premium	Subcompact Cars
1988	2	18 mpg	18 mpg	#53 of 60 (12th pct)	Rear-Wheel Drive	Premium	Subcompact Cars
1989	2	18 mpg	18 mpg	#59 of 71 (17th pct)	Rear-Wheel Drive	Premium	Subcompact Cars

Where it has stood in its class

Ranked against every other nameplate the EPA filed under the same class that year. The Mitsubishi Starion placed highest in 1985 at #45 of 57, and lowest in 1987 at #62 of 72. It spent 0 of its 6 ranked years in the top half of its class.

Every configuration on record

All 20 configurations EPA lists for this nameplate, newest first.

Year	Configuration	Engine detail	City	Highway	Combined	Gallons/yr	Barrels/yr	EPA fuel cost/yr	CO2 g/mi	GHG
1989	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Automatic 4-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	22	18	638.9	16.5	$4,300	493.72222222222223	n/a
1989	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	20	18	638.9	16.5	$4,300	493.72222222222223	n/a
1988	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Automatic 4-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	22	18	638.9	16.5	$4,300	493.72222222222223	n/a
1988	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	20	18	638.9	16.5	$4,300	493.72222222222223	n/a
1987	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Automatic 4-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	22	18	638.9	16.5	$4,300	493.72222222222223	n/a
1987	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	22	18	638.9	16.5	$4,300	493.72222222222223	n/a
1986	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	22	18	638.9	16.5	$4,300	493.72222222222223	n/a
1986	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Automatic 4-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	17	22	19	605.3	15.7	$4,100	467.7368421052632	n/a
1985	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	22	18	638.9	16.5	$4,300	493.72222222222223	n/a
1985	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Premium	(CALIF) (FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	16	22	18	638.9	16.5	$4,300	493.72222222222223	n/a
1985	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Automatic 4-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	17	22	19	605.3	15.7	$4,100	467.7368421052632	n/a
1985	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Automatic 4-spd Premium	(CALIF) (FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	17	22	19	605.3	15.7	$4,100	467.7368421052632	n/a
1985	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Premium	(CALIF) (FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	17	22	19	605.3	15.7	$4,100	467.7368421052632	n/a
1985	2.6L 4-cyl Rear-Wheel Drive Manual 5-spd Premium	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	17	22	19	605.3	15.7	$4,100	467.7368421052632	n/a
1984	2.6L 4-cyl Automatic 4-spd Regular	(CALIF), turbocharged	17	23	19	605.3	15.7	$3,300	467.7368421052632	n/a
1984	2.6L 4-cyl Automatic 4-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	17	23	19	605.3	15.7	$3,300	467.7368421052632	n/a
1984	2.6L 4-cyl Manual 5-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO), turbocharged	17	22	19	605.3	15.7	$3,300	467.7368421052632	n/a
1984	2.6L 4-cyl Manual 5-spd Regular	(CALIF), turbocharged	17	22	19	605.3	15.7	$3,300	467.7368421052632	n/a
1984	2.6L 4-cyl Automatic 4-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO) CA model, turbocharged	17	23	19	605.3	15.7	$3,300	467.7368421052632	n/a
1984	2.6L 4-cyl Manual 5-spd Regular	(FFS,TRBO) CA model, turbocharged	17	22	19	605.3	15.7	$3,300	467.7368421052632	n/a

How the rating has moved between model years

Comparing the best-rated configuration of each year. 0 of 1 year-over-year steps improved the top rating.

Change	Best combined	Delta	Gallons a year at the newer rating
1986 → 1987	19 → 18 mpg	-1 mpg	639 gal

What Starion fuel costs over a year

At the EPA's 11,500 miles a year, the 1989 Mitsubishi Starion burns 639 to 639 gallons depending on configuration. Below is what that costs at three pump prices, and how much more the thirstiest configuration costs than the most efficient one.

Pump price	Most efficient	Thirstiest	Spread
$3.00/gal	$1,917	$1,917	$0
$3.50/gal	$2,236	$2,236	$0
$4.00/gal	$2,556	$2,556	$0

EPA’s own estimate for the 1989 model year is $4,300 to $4,300 a year in fuel, or $10,250 more than the average new vehicle over five years.

How it compares with other Subcompact Cars

Across the 461 nameplates EPA classifies as Subcompact Cars, the median best combined rating is 24 mpg. At 18 mpg the Mitsubishi Starion is 6 mpg below the median, which is worth about $559 a year at $3.50 a gallon.

All Subcompact Cars rankings — every nameplate in the class, best to worst.

Other Mitsubishi nameplates

Every Mitsubishi model compared → — all nameplates ranked by best combined rating, with what each one costs a year.