Although it will be a cold, green day in Crawford, Texas, before gasoline costs as much in the U.S. as it does in Europe or most other parts of the world, petrol is pricey enough that the middle class is slowly releasing its sweaty embrace of the hulking SUVs that have defined the American road for the past decade.
Simultaneously, not just those who play hacky sack and wear tinfoil hats, but normal citizens, too, are fretting about that global-warming thing. These two factors have conspired to make fuel economy almost sexy, such is the new consumer lust for miles per gallon. It’s win-win for everyone but manufacturers whose sagging limbs are heavy with the rotten fruit of outdated gas guzzlers and Satan, otherwise known as the petroleum lobby.
Not all the vehicles on this list boast best-in-class fuel mileage numbers, but they are all significant for the fuel economy they offer, considering their package or particular talents. We've selected vehicles in segments generally considered as green as coal (which isn't) like midsize and large SUVs, sports cars, heck, even a supercar.
Weight is a primary foe of fuel efficiency, and we've seen all vehicles large and small pork up in the last 25 years. Although the basic new car equipment set has risen (remember painted metal interiors?), most new safety technologies have added weight. For example, the original VW Rabbit weighed under 2000 pounds; the current Rabbit, over 3000. Hauling around greater curb weights means engines need to produce more power, but consumers and additional legislation demand that they do so while using less fuel and producing fewer harmful emissions.
The rules governing efficiency, in reference to combustion, are as elemental in the extraction of maximum miles per gallon as they are for the production of monster horsepower and torque. The confluence of fuel efficiency and respectable performance is golden in a market where most consumers are willing to sacrifice absolutely nothing.
The vehicles here approach the fuel economy challenge differently, employing hybrid drive systems, forced induction, precise combustion control, the diesel cycle, good ol’ American ingenuity, or some combination thereof. That almost every light-duty diesel vehicle on sale in the U.S. now or in the near future is on this list is an indication of what you should expect in coming years. We look forward to seeing the current screaming horsepower wars get supplemented, if not supplanted, by growling torque smack downs.