Good news for Honda as its 2013 Fit EV has scored a combined adjusted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mile-per-gallon-equivalency rating of 118 MPGe, which the company says is the “highest fuel-efficiency rating ever given by the EPA”.

But wait, doesn’t the EV part of the new Fit’s name stand for ‘Electric Vehicle‘? Yes, it does, so saying it has the “highest fuel-efficiency” is not entirely true. What Honda has achieved is to create a vehicle with a low consumption rating of 29 kilowatt hours (kWh) per 100 miles.

The 118 MPGe figure along with an EPA combined city/highway estimated driving range rating of 82-miles, places the Honda Fit EV ahead of the Ford Focus Electric (105 MPGe, 76-mile range), Nissan Leaf (99 MPGe, 73-mile range), and Mitsubishi i-MiEV (112 MPGe, 62-mile range).

However, unlike the aforementioned models, the 2013 Fit EV is only available for lease with the Japanese automaker saying it will produce approximately 1,100 over the next three years, though the number may increase if there’s sufficient interest in the car. The electric model’s MSRP is $36,625 with an estimated lease priced at $399 a month.

The Fit EV features a 92 kilowatt (123 horsepower) coaxial electric motor that generates 189 ft-lb of torque, driving the front wheels.

“Just as important as the industry-leading fuel-efficiency and fast recharging time, as a Honda, the 2013 Fit EV will be an absolute kick to drive,” said Steve Center, vice president of the American Honda Environmental Business Development Office.

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