Top Fuel Efficient Vehicles

With gas prices soaring all the time, everybody is talking about which cars are the most fuel efficient. Fuel efficiency is now one of the most important considerations when looking into a car purchase.Here's a quick comparison run down on the top fuel efficient vehicles on the market. Some are actually surprising: Hands down, the most fuel efficient overall is the Honda Insight hybrid. With 60 mpg city and 66 mpg highway, the Honda hybrid gets top marks as most fuel efficient vehicle on the road in the US.  With a 1.0 gas engine mated to an electric motor, the insight was designed to make the most of the power by using low resistance tires.  The negative side of the Insight include a cramped interior, seating for two, and styling that not everyone likes. The top fuel efficient mid-size car is the Toyota Prius hybrid (60 mpg city and 51 mpg highway)The Prius, is capable of carrying 5 passengers, plus baggage.  The Prius will generate a total of 110 HP from its gasoline engine and electric motor.  The sleek shape to the Prius has a low co-efficient drag although Toyota has managed to do this with a larger, yet more driver friendly vehicle than the Honda Insight. The most efficient compact car is the Honda Civic hybrid (49 mpg city and 51 mpg highway). The Honda Civic has a reputation of being the cheapest hybrid in North America. Now, the Civic hybrid takes the great design of the regular Civic and makes it a lot more efficient.  With an output of 110 HP, the Civic hybrid is very competitive for the class.   The most fuel efficient winner in the sub compact car category is the Volkswagon diesel (37 mpg city and 44 mpg highway) The Volkswagon Beetle diesel is way ahead of even the sub compact hybrids.  Making 100 HP, the Beetle diesel may not sound that powerful, although the 177 lb-foot of torque is superior to every other vehicle in the same class.   Pontiac and Toyota produce the most efficient station wagons (30 mpg city and 36 mpg highway).The Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix are both the result of a joint venture of Toyota and General Motors.  Both station wagons come equipped with Toyota engines, while most of the design and engineering came from General Motors.  Both the Matrix and the Vibe are designed to be versatile for active lifestyles.  With a fuel efficient 1.8L 4 cylinder that produces 126 HP, the Matrix and the Vibe aren't race cars but, they offer smoothness, efficiency, and are great family cars. The most efficient large car is the Hyundai Sonata (24 mpg city and 34 mpg highway).The Sonata, beat out very tough competition.  The 2.4L 4 cylinder engine is very smooth, responsive, and powerful.  The suspension however, is soft, and geared more towards comfort than handling.  Quality is top notch. Hyundai is no longer a second rate manufacturer.