FuelFacts

1987 Buick Electra/Park Avenue MPG & Specs — Real-World vs EPA, All Trims

Every trim takes regular — no premium needed.

19
MPG combined (16 city / 25 hwy)
$3,000
est. fuel / year (today's prices, 15k mi)
Regular
gas type

Is the 1987 Buick Electra/Park Avenue good on gas?

At up to 19 MPG combined, the 1987 Buick Electra/Park Avenue is about average for a Large Cars — that class averages about 20.3 MPG across 2,605 EPA-tested versions, so it's middle-of-the-road 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 1987 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 $3,000/year (roughly $250/month, about $20.00 per 100 miles) at the EPA's assumed 15,000 miles/year, using an estimated 789 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 →

1987 Buick Electra/Park Avenue trims & fuel economy

Trim (engine / transmission)FuelMPGFuel/yr (today's price)
3.8L 6-cyl, Automatic 4-spd, FWDREGULAR19$3,000

1987 Buick Electra/Park Avenue specs

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

Engine options3.8L 6-cyl
TransmissionAutomatic 4-spd
Drive typeFWD
EPA body classLarge Cars
FuelRegular

Other years of the Buick Electra/Park Avenue

1990 Buick Electra/Park Avenue1989 Buick Electra/Park Avenue1988 Buick Electra/Park Avenue1986 Buick Electra/Park Avenue1985 Buick Electra/Park Avenue1984 Buick Electra/Park Avenue

Similar cars (Large Cars)

1987 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale1987 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency1988 Oldsmobile Delta 881986 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham1986 Pontiac Parisienne1988 CX Automotive CX 25 Prestige

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

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