With gas prices rising, and no sign of that stopping, one of the most important things to look for when shopping for a car is how many miles it makes to the gallon. Although Americans tend to lean towards the larger, gas guzzling types of cars, there are still plenty of cars that succeed in looking and driving good and still keeping you from stopping at the fuel pump every handful of miles.
- Ford Focus. Most fuel efficient cars are from foreign companies, but with the Focus, Ford proves that the United States are on that market, too. With standard transmission, the car has 27/37 city/highway mpg, and with automatic 27/34 mpg. It’s also, needless to say, an enjoyable car to drive.
- Honda Fit. This is one of those miniature cars that has hit the American market recently, but unlike many in its class, it does a good job of dividing its space. City/highway mileage: 33/38 (manual), 31/38 (automatic Base), 31/37 (automatic Sport).
- Honda Civic. City/highway mileage: 30/38 (manual), 30/40 (automatic), 49/51 (hybrid). For such a roomy car, the ability to reach such achievements in mpg even in the non-hybrid versions of the car is amazing and unique.
- Mercedes Benz E320 BLUETEC. City/highway mileage: 26/37. This car has the fuel efficiency of a compact car with the power of a V8 engine.
- MINI Cooper. City/highway mileage: 32/40 (manual), 30/37 (automatic). Fun to drive, but also has power, fuel efficency, and a low amount of tailpipe emissions.
- Nissan Altima. City/highway mileage: 26/35 (manual), 26/34 (CVT automatic). With a whopping 180 pound feet of torque, it’s a surprise to find this car on a list of fuel economy, but there it is.
- Nissan Sentra. City/highway mileage: 28/34 (manual), 29/36 (automatic). It was true before that manual cars had better fuel economy than automatics, but as proved by the Sentra, that’s no longer the case.
- Toyota Camry Hybrid. City/highway mileage: 43/37. Bigger and better looking, it’s easy to forget that this Camry is a hybrid.
- Toyota Corolla. City/highway mileage: 32/41 (manual), 30/38 (automatic). Roomy and affordable, this is a wonderful addition to the Toyota line.
- Toyota Prius. City/highway mileage: 60/51. That kind of speaks for itself.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.