Best Fuel Economy Cars For 2009 And Beyond

The best fuel economy cars around are the fuel+electric motor hybrid cars. Probably the best-known examples would be the Toyota Prius or Honda's Civic hybrid car.

These are followed by tiny foreign cars like the (non-hybrid) Honda Civic, the ever-popular Toyota Corolla, the revamped Mini Cooper, the Nissan Altima and even the swank Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec diesel passenger car.

Toyota's Prius rates an EPA mileage rating of 48/45. That's 48 miles per gallon in the city and 45 mpg out on the highway. That's extremely impressive. The Prius teams a standard 1.5 liter, 4-cylinder gas-powered engine with a bank of batteries and a nifty little electric motor. When you press the brake pedal in slow traffic, the momentum that is normally wasted as heat in the brakes is used to charge the storage batteries on the vehicle.

The hybrid version of Honda's little Civic rates an EPA mileage score of 40/45 miles per gallon and is driven by a 1.3 liter, 4-cylinder gas-powered plus an electric motor. It looks the same as the regular gas-powered Honda Civic (detailed below), except that has a badge which is labeled Hybrid.

Honda's regular-engined little Civic manages an EPA score of 26/34 mpg (with manual gearbox) or 25/36 (with automatic). The Honda Civic is compact yet stylish and luxurious. Those Japanese car makers certainly understand how to make this car squeeze every yard of travel from each drop of petrol that it burns.

The zippy Mini Cooper can boast an EPA mileage score of 28/37 mpg (manual) or 26/34 mpg (automatic). The first number is for driving in the city. The second is on the freeways. This up-to-date version of the famous 1950s and '60s English "Mini" is now built by BMW. It is a tiny car with an amazing amount of room when you sit inside. And like the little Cooper-S version of old, this baby can accelerate and corner like a real sports car.

Toyota's legendary Corolla keeps just on truckin' as a reliable cheap-to-run favorite economy automobile. It returns 26 mpg city driving, and 35 mpg highway cycle (with manual gears)... And it manages 27 mpg in city traffic and 35 mpg on the highway (automatic) according to the EPA. That's remarkable fuel economy. The new 2009 Corolla is not just affordable, it is comfortable to drive and to sit in.. And the Corolla's reliability is an absolute legend.

The Altima from Nissan does an EPA 23/32 mpg (manual), 23/31 (automatic). Like the hybrid vehicles mentioned earlier, it is equipped with a a continuously-variable transmission which means it has you won't feel any gear changes - since it is making infinitely-small transmission-adjustments as you drive. The Nissan Ultima is a medium-size motor car with a 2.5 liter engine, and it squeezes every bit of power out of the vehicle 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 imagine you are at the wheel of an 8-cylinder vehicle.

Some years back, Japanese and Korean-made imported autos were cheap - bot in looks and in quality. But that is not true today. The quality of foreign cars is truly excellent and the cost and fuel savings cannot be beaten.

American car makers are changing to meet the challenge, but will take some time to catch up. After all, it is a complete rethink for them. That's why it's time now to look for the best fuel economy cars available, and score yourself a good deal while sales car are low.