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In the last 17 years, no vehicle in America outsold the Ford F-150 on a monthly or yearly basis—not once. In May of this year, however, Honda moved more Civics and Accords and Toyota more Corollas and Camrys than Ford’s best-seller. America has been sideswiped by the $4 gallon and auto industry heads believe the higher gas prices are permanent, not just a temporary shift or spike.
From a manufacturing perspective, it’s increasingly difficult to build fuel-sipping vehicles, as current safety and emissions technologies add weight, a primary nemesis of fuel economy. Hybrid technology and low mass are the most cost-effective strategies to better fuel economy, and the bulk of our list of the ten most fuel-efficient vehicles utilize one or both. Toyota plays both sides, managing to field three of the top ten—four if you count the Nissan Altima, which uses the Toyota Camry’s hybrid drive system under license.
That five of the vehicles on our list are hybrids is a harbinger of things to come. Although there’s only one diesel in this group, expect that to change. The following vehicles are ranked according to their EPA combined fuel-economy ratings. Since the EPA calculation favors city mileage, that number is used here as a tie-breaker.
1. Toyota Prius
3. Smart Fortwo
8. Toyota Yaris
10. Honda Fit
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