Best Fuel Economy Cars
The best fuel economy cars at present time are hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius or Honda Civic. These are closely-followed by the smaller foreign cars like the (non-hybrid) Honda Civic, the Mini Cooper, Toyota Corolla, the Nissan Altima and even the luxurious Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec diesel passenger car.
The Toyota Prius has an EPA mileage score of 48/45. That’s 48 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 45 mpg on the highway. That’s extremely impressive. The Prius combines a regular 1.5 liter, 4-cylinder gasoline powered engine with a bank of batteries an electric motor. When you brake in traffic, the power that is normally wasted as heat in brake drums is used to charge the hybrid car’s batteries.
The hybrid Honda Civic achieves an EPA mpg score of 40/45 mpg and is powered by a 1.3 liter, 4-cylinder gasoline engine plus an electric motor. It looks identical to the regular gas-powered Civic (detailed below), except for a badge which says Hybrid.
The regular Honda Civic shows an EPA score of 26/34 mpg (manual) or 25/36 (automatic). It is small, stylish and luxurious, and Honda sure know how to make this baby squeeze every yard of travel from each drop of gasoline it burns.
The sporty Mini Cooper has an EPA mileage score of 28/37 mpg (manual) or 26/34 mpg (automatic). This modern remake of the famous 1960s British “Mini” car is actually built by BMW these days. It is a tiny vehicle with a surprising amount of room when you sit inside it. And like the little Cooper S model of old, this baby can accelerate and corner like a real sports car. It is certainly one of the best fuel economy cars, just as the original British mini was back in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Toyota Corolla just goes on and on as a reliable cheap-to-run favorite vehicle. It does 26/35 mpg (manual) and 27/35 mpg (automatic) by EPA figures. That’s truly excellent fuel economy. The new 2009 Corolla is roomy, affordable and comfortable. And its reliability is legendary.
The Nissan Altima achieves an EPA 23/32 mpg (manual), 23/31 (automatic). Like the hybrid cars above it has a continuously-variable transmission (CVT) which has no obvious gear changes – since it is making infinitely-small gearing changes all the time. The Altima is a mid-sized car with a 2.5 liter engine, and it squeezes every inch of power out of it while delivering excellent fuel economy.
The Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec does a respectable 23/32 mpg on the EPA tests, and does it with luxurious style inside and out, powered by its 3 liter V6 engine which makes you think you are driving an 8-cylinder monster.
Fluctuating gas prices and the worldwide financial crisis are both making US motorists think again about their big gas-guzzling automobiles. And while foreign imported cars were cheap in looks and quality some decades back, that is no longer the case. The quality is now excellent and the savings are too good to ignore. That’s why it’s time to look for the best fuel economy cars you can get. At present the main ones are all made overseas, but you can expect this to change real fast.
