FuelFacts

1990 Lincoln Continental MPG & Specs — Real-World vs EPA, All Trims

Every trim takes regular — no premium needed.

19
MPG combined (16 city / 23 hwy)
$3,000
est. fuel / year (today's prices, 15k mi)
Regular
gas type

Is the 1990 Lincoln Continental good on gas?

At up to 19 MPG combined, the 1990 Lincoln Continental 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 1990 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 →

1990 Lincoln Continental trims & fuel economy

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

1990 Lincoln Continental 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 Lincoln Continental

1994 Lincoln Continental1993 Lincoln Continental1992 Lincoln Continental1991 Lincoln Continental1989 Lincoln Continental1988 Lincoln Continental1987 Lincoln Continental1986 Lincoln Continental

Similar cars (Large Cars)

1990 Buick Electra/Park Avenue1991 Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Avenue/Imperial1991 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight/Touring1989 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL1988 Oldsmobile Delta 881992 Chrysler Imperial/New Yorker Fifth Avenue

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.