FuelFacts

1985 Chevrolet Corvette MPG & Specs — Real-World vs EPA, All Trims

Every trim takes regular — no premium needed.

17
MPG combined (15 city / 20–21 hwy)
$3,353
est. fuel / year (today's prices, 15k mi)
Regular
gas type

Is the 1985 Chevrolet Corvette good on gas?

At up to 17 MPG combined, the 1985 Chevrolet Corvette is worse than average for a Two Seaters — that class averages about 19.4 MPG across 2,500 EPA-tested versions, so it's on the thirsty side for its size.

Real-world MPG vs the EPA number

The EPA figures above come from a standardized dynamometer test, not the open road — real-world MPG typically runs a bit lower depending on your driving, climate and terrain. That's true of every car on this site, old or new.

This 1985 model was originally EPA-tested under the pre-2008 2-cycle method, which didn't account for highway speeds over 60 mph, air-conditioner use, or cold starts. When EPA overhauled the test for model year 2008, city ratings fell by about 12% and highway by about 8% on average industry-wide — and EPA retroactively adjusted every 1984-2007 rating to the stricter standard so old and new cars could be compared fairly. The MPG above is already on that modern scale — the window sticker on this car when it was new likely showed a higher, pre-2008-method number.

At today's AAA national average price — $3.80/gal for regular gas as of 2026-07-05 — the most efficient trim runs about $3,353/year (roughly $279/month, about $22.35 per 100 miles) at the EPA's assumed 15,000 miles/year, using an estimated 882 gallons a year. We don't estimate a cost-per-fill since exact tank size isn't in the public EPA dataset, but the per-100-mile figure scales to any tank. Current national average gas prices →

1985 Chevrolet Corvette trims & fuel economy

Trim (engine / transmission)FuelMPGFuel/yr (today's price)
5.7L 8-cyl, Automatic 4-spd, RWDREGULAR17$3,353
5.7L 8-cyl, 4-spd manual, RWDREGULAR17$3,353

1985 Chevrolet Corvette specs

What the EPA test-car listings record for this model year — every combination sold is a row in the trims table above.

Engine options5.7L 8-cyl
TransmissionAutomatic 4-spd · 4-spd manual
Drive typeRWD
EPA body classTwo Seaters
FuelRegular

Other years of the Chevrolet Corvette

1992 Chevrolet Corvette1991 Chevrolet Corvette1990 Chevrolet Corvette1989 Chevrolet Corvette1988 Chevrolet Corvette1987 Chevrolet Corvette1986 Chevrolet Corvette1984 Chevrolet Corvette

Similar cars (Two Seaters)

1985 Pininfarina Spider1985 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce 20001985 TVR Engineering Ltd TVR 280i Convertible1985 TVR Engineering Ltd TVR 280i Coupe1985 Mercedes-Benz 380SL1985 Ferrari 308

Cars that take premium · Cheapest cars to fuel · Where fuel grade depends on the trim · Fuel guides

2 trim(s) · EPA FuelEconomy.gov data retrieved 2026-07-24 · fuel prices AAA national average as of 2026-07-05.