The Best New Fuel-Sippers From Every Segment

Ten trucks, crossovers, compacts, and more that burn less gas and don't burn you on the sticker.

MINIVAN

Honda Odyssey

Price: $28,375

Combined EPA MPG: 22

The Honda Odyssey is expensive, but it's the undisputed king of quality in a segment where just three competitors stand a chance. The $26,145 Toyota Sienna and $25,990 Nissan Quest are the only other rivals to the Odyssey, but each gets slightly worse overall fuel economy (21). Although both are less expensive than the Honda, they carry other disadvantages.

The Toyota's base price includes an anemic four-cylinder. If you decide you need V-6 power to carry around those eight passengers, the upgrade means you're quickly paying more than you would for the Honda or Nissan, both of which start with more potent sixes.

Not Plan B: A base Dodge Grand Caravan might seem like a great alternative, since you can get in the door for $20,995. But reliability issues have plagued its history, and as a result, its residual value is anemic. Get a 2-year-old Sienna or Odyssey instead.

Shopping for the best car to help you beat high gas prices isn't just a matter of picking the one with the highest mpg rating. Especially with the rise of hybrids and other engine options, you might find yourself paying a lot more up front for better mileage, then having to calculate whether you'll recoup that down the road.

Take the Ford F-150, which you can buy with the Ecoboost V-6 or the 5.0-liter V-8. According to the EPA, you'd save between $200 and $550 a year going EcoBoost (depending on whether you fill up with E85 or not, which greatly dings fuel economy). But the EcoBoost engine costs about $1000 more out the door. Depending on the price of gas and how much ethanol you use, you're looking at between two and five years to pay yourself back.

In the case of the F-150 we think that's okay—the EcoBoost motor really is a lot peppier as well as more fuel efficient, so you're getting some joy for the initial extra layout. But do the math—as we have here—and sometimes a more efficient car or truck just costs too much to balance those scales. In making our selections, we tried to weigh the mpg numbers against considerations such as resale value and reliability to recommend a few vehicles that should save you at the pump—and be fun to drive too.

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SUBCOMPACT

Toyota Prius C

Price: $18,950

Combined EPA mpg: 50

Only the Honda Insight is a cheaper hybrid, but we like the Prius C better. You sit more upright in this car, which means less claustrophobic sight lines and fewer blind spots. It's a little roomier, too, and the EPA combined mpg estimate of 50 nets you $200 a year in gas savings. Just comparing the Prius C to the Insight, with its $18,500 base and combined 42 mpg, you'd recoup the C's higher sale price within a few years.

Plan B: Go with the $13,600 Kia Rio hatchback that gets a combined 34 mpg. Although it costs about $550 more a year in gasoline (with gas at $4-ish a gallon), the Kia's discount price means you're looking at a good decade of ownership before the Prius C looks like a better buy. FYI, the Rio may not be the most amazing performance machine, but at this price it's a decent performer versus other subcompacts.

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COMPACT (Tie)

Chevy Cruze Eco

Price: $19,325

Combined EPA mpg: 33

This is one of those cases where you could argue in circles for ages and still come out right either way. The Cruze Eco gets better fuel economy, and the feds say that nets out as $150 a year in savings versus the Ford. But unless gas tops out at $20 a gallon, in which case we'll all be melting cars down to make more bikes, $150 a year isn't a good argument to buy the Chevy over the Ford. What is a good argument is that the Cruze Eco has more rear seat legroom, so backseat passengers will be happier in the back of the Chevy.

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COMPACT (Tie)

Ford Focus Hatchback

Price: $18,300

Combined EPA mpg: 30

Both of these cars are excellent drivers, with the Ford holding the advantage in sportiness and the Chevy feeling a bit more planted on the Interstate. Taller folks will appreciate the Ford's greater legroom up front, and empty nesters (or anyone with an infant) should note the much more agreeable hatchback configuration of the Ford.

If you're wondering why the Focus EV isn't here in place of the conventional model, that $39,995 sticker is a big roadblock. Even with incentives it's going to cost north of 30 grand, which is just too steep to recoup the high cost of entry.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29