Top 10 Most Fuel-Efficient Wagons and Hatchbacks
The most fuel-efficient vehicles on the market today are hatchbacks and wagons, with electric, hybrid and diesel models leading the way
The Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt lead the pack by a wide margin, getting nearly 100 miles per gallon.
For those not ready to buy an electric vehicle yet, The Toyota Prius is your best bet - getting 50 miles to the gallon.
Here's the list of the ten most fuel efficient hatchbacks and wagons.
Rankings based on EPA mpg ratings for city and highway, expressed in mpg as a city/highway/combined ratio.
Note: the Leaf uses no gas, but its ranking reflects the EPA's "mpg equivalent" figures: 33.7kW-hrs equaling one gallon of gasoline energy.
| Model | Highway | City | Combined | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  |
Nissan Leaf | 106 | 92 | 99 |
| 2. |  |
Chevrolet Volt | 95 | 90 | 93 |
| 3. |  |
Toyota Prius | 51 | 48 | 50 |
| 4. |  |
Lexus CT 200h | 43 | 40 | 42 |
| 5. |  |
Honda Insight | 40 | 43 | 41 |
| 6. |  |
Honda CR-Z | 35 | 39 | 37 |
| 7. |  |
Smart Fortwo | 33 | 41 | 36 |
| 8. |  |
Volkswagen Golf Diesel | 30 | 42 | 34 |
| 9. |  |
Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen Diesel | 30 | 42 | 34 |
| 10. |  |
Audi A3 Diesel | 30 | 42 | 34 |
3 Steps Every Car Buyer Needs to Take to Save Maximum Money
The key to getting the best deal is to gather price or lease bids from as many local dealers as possible. Then shop that best price around until no one can beat it. Here are the steps:Step 1 Get Prices From My Trusted Network
Select the vehicle you're interested in to see if there are local dealers in my network who will provide you with their best upfront price. You will get direct access to an internet sales manager who you can further negotiate with online (no need to visit dealership).Step 2 Get Prices From TrueCar / CarsDirect
TrueCar, and CarsDirect are my top 2 online price quote recommendations. These services show you pre-negotiated prices from dealers closest to you - and the deals are usually pretty decent. But remember, you can still negotiate further.Step 3 Complete my Checklist
Follow this up with my checklist to make sure you squeeze out every last bit of savings.- Gregg Fidan
Each week, I'll keep you up-to-date on the latest car deals and news that might affect your purchase. This includes...
- Best Rebates, Incentives, and Lease Deals
- Latest Car Buying Scams and Tricks
- The Best & Worst Time to Buy a Car
- Which Cars You Should Avoid
About The Author
Gregg Fidan is the founder of RealCarTips. After being ripped off on his first car purchase, he devoted several years to figuring out the best ways to avoid scams and negotiate
the best car deals. He has written hundreds of articles on the subject of car buying and taught thousands of car shoppers how to get the best deals.
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