Best Fuel Economy For The Buck

• September
• 10

12:30 am cars

As car buyers are drawn to more fuel-efficient cars, a common challenge people face is how to get the most gas mileage for the money. Hybrids car, for example, typically deliver the best fuel economy in their respective classes, but they sell for a premium. This begs the question: Is it better for your bank account to buy a small, less-expensive non-hybrid that still provides good, if not great, fuel economy?

If your goal in getting better fuel economy is to make every dollar count, the following list can guide to some of today’s best buys. Of the more than 260 vehicles that we’ve recently tested, these are the 10 cars that provide the best combination of low purchase price and high fuel economy.

To get this list, we divided the as-tested price (including options and destination charge) for each vehicle we’ve recently tested by the car’s overall mpg (including city and highway) in our fuel-economy tests. This tells the price will pay for each mpg.

But gas mileage isn’t everything. So, to ensure we aren’t guiding to cars that are mediocre in other areas, we selected only ones that meet our stringent criteria in performance, reliability and safety for being recommended. And to make sure the cars aren’t going to blindside with high ownership costs. we selected only models that earn an excellent owner-cost rating.

Drawing on a price that’s under $16,000 and good fuel economy in the low-to-mid 30’s, both versions of the Honda Fit we’ve tested topped the list. That shows that can pay more for a car with higher gas-mileage numbers (such as the Toyota Prius), but you won’t necessarily get better fuel economy for the buck.

If want a roomier car than the subcompact Fit, several compact cars made the list, including the Mazda3, Honda Civic and Hyundai Elantra. And, despite their higher cost, three hybrids — two versions of the Toyota Prius, and the Honda Civic Hybrid — made the list, based on stellar fuel economy results.

The lowest price per mpg in our analysis came from the Toyota Yaris and Hyundai Accent car with manual transmissions ($370 and $425, respectively). But because they scored too low in our tests to be recommended, they didn’t make the cut. Which cars are highest? With the Dodge Viper SRT10 and Mercedes-Benz SL550, will pay more than $6,000 for every mile-per-gallon. And have to feed these engines premium fuel, as well.