FuelFacts

1999 Ford Escort MPG & Specs — Real-World vs EPA, All Trims

Every trim takes regular — no premium needed.

25–28
MPG combined (22–24 city / 31–34 hwy)
$2,036–$2,280
est. fuel / year (today's prices, 15k mi)
Regular
gas type

Is the 1999 Ford Escort good on gas?

At up to 28 MPG combined, the 1999 Ford Escort is better than average for a Compact Cars — that class averages about 24.1 MPG across 6,481 EPA-tested versions, so it's a good pick on fuel 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 1999 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 $2,036/year (roughly $170/month, about $13.57 per 100 miles) at the EPA's assumed 15,000 miles/year, using an estimated 536 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 →

1999 Ford Escort trims & fuel economy

Trim (engine / transmission)FuelMPGFuel/yr (today's price)
2.0L 4-cyl, 5-spd manual, FWDREGULAR28$2,036
2.0L 4-cyl, Automatic 4-spd, FWDREGULAR25$2,280

1999 Ford Escort specs

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

Engine options2.0L 4-cyl
Transmission5-spd manual · Automatic 4-spd
Drive typeFWD
EPA body classCompact Cars
FuelRegular

Other years of the Ford Escort

2002 Ford Escort2001 Ford Escort2000 Ford Escort1998 Ford Escort1997 Ford Escort1996 Ford Escort1995 Ford Escort1994 Ford Escort

Similar cars (Compact Cars)

1999 Honda EV Plus1999 Volkswagen New Golf1999 Volkswagen New Jetta1999 Mercury Tracer1999 BMW 318ti1999 Kia Sephia

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.