FuelFacts

2004 Buick Century MPG & Specs — Real-World vs EPA, All Trims

Every trim takes regular — no premium needed.

21
MPG combined (18 city / 27 hwy)
$2,714
est. fuel / year (today's prices, 15k mi)
Regular
gas type

Is the 2004 Buick Century good on gas?

At up to 21 MPG combined, the 2004 Buick Century is worse than average for a Midsize Cars — that class averages about 23.0 MPG across 5,710 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 2004 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 $2,714/year (roughly $226/month, about $18.10 per 100 miles) at the EPA's assumed 15,000 miles/year, using an estimated 714 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 →

2004 Buick Century trims & fuel economy

Trim (engine / transmission)FuelMPGFuel/yr (today's price)
3.1L 6-cyl, Automatic 4-spd, FWDREGULAR21$2,714

2004 Buick Century specs

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

Engine options3.1L 6-cyl
TransmissionAutomatic 4-spd
Drive typeFWD
EPA body classMidsize Cars
FuelRegular

Other years of the Buick Century

2005 Buick Century2003 Buick Century2002 Buick Century2001 Buick Century2000 Buick Century1999 Buick Century1998 Buick Century1996 Buick Century

Similar cars (Midsize Cars)

2004 Hyundai Elantra Hatchback2004 Kia Spectra 2.0L2004 Volvo S80/S80 Premier2004 Daewoo Magnus2004 Infiniti I352004 Cadillac Seville

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.