Producing a fuel efficient car is not enough. After all, the Chevy Volt continues to fail to sell despite its fuel efficiency and the willingness of the government to pay people to buy the darn thing. When it comes to evaluating just how good a vehicle’s MPG is, one has likewise got to take into account just how well the vehicle sells. This is where the Mini Cooper really shines.

Realizing that it is better to sell 50,000 cars that are more fuel efficient by five miles a gallon than it is to sell 500 that are 10 miles a gallon more efficient, TrueCar tracks the MPG averages of the vehicles actually purchased in America. 

The 2012 industry average mpg is 22.3, an increase of 0.9 miles over the 2011 number. Fourteen car brands rated higher than the industry average. The top five brands were smart, MINI, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Kia which respectively rate at 36.2, 30.3, 27.8, 27.4 and 26.1 miles per gallon. The remaining nine brands more efficient than the average were Scion, Honda, Mazda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Nissan, Suzuki and Buick.

Those models below the industry average were Audi, Chevrolet, Ford, Lexus, Acura, Saab, Chrysler, Volvo, BMW, Mercedes, Dodge, Lincoln, Infiniti, Porsche, GMC, Jeep, Cadillac, Jaguar, Ram and Land Rover. This last model rates a dinosaur-juice destroying 15 miles per gallon.

So not only are insurance rates for Mini Cooper some of the most affordable, you can enjoy knowing you’re helping to save the environment too.