Thanks to innovations in hybrid and diesel technologies, today's luxury cars are putting up MPG numbers that would have seemed nearly impossible for just about any class of car sold on the North American continent not too long ago, let alone a Lexus or BMW. Even some big names in performance sports luxury like Lotus and Porsche still put up respectable highway miles, managing to burn more rubber than unleaded. Here's our “Top 10 Fuel Efficient Luxury Vehicles” for 2010.
Fuel economy estimates are courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA estimates are based on laboratory tests conducted by manufacturers according to federal regulations. EPA re-tests about 10% of vehicle models to confirm manufacturer's results. Your results may vary. Learn more at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/.
10. 2010 Lexus GS 450h
We’ll wrap this list up the way we started: another nicely appointed Lexus that delivers a powerful mix of performance, styling and efficiency. Technically, the 2010 Lexus GS 450h (view photos) is a “large luxury car.” But with these kinds of numbers you'd think it's your old Camry with one sweet makeover and a few extra hamsters in wheels under the hood. Now that's a hybrid synergy drive we'd love to see.
9. 2010 Lotus Elise / 2010 Lotus Exige
If you care about performance, speed and little else, either the 2010 Lotus Elise (view photos) or 2010 Lotus Exige (view photos) fit the bill nicely. Don't expect to have much room for luggage or passengers in this rubber-burner, however. Then again, you could always just send them through the wormhole you'll open up with Lotus' other-worldly acceleration off the line.
8. 2010 Volvo C70
This retractable hardtop convertible looks a little bit more like it belongs among the company on this list than the Volvo S40. An updated version of the Volvo C70 (view photos) is slated for release for the 2011 model year. We spent some time with the car at the Detroit Auto Show and we think it packs improvement across the board. That said, time and engineering have worked out lots of the kinks on this one, and there might be a fire sale on them just before the 2011s hit.
7. 2010 Porsche Boxster / Cayman
If there's one entry on this list we don't feel like we have to explain, it would have to be this one. Except it's probably worth offering our kudos to Porsche for being able to squeeze so much performance and so many miles out of a gallon of unleaded. You may need to remind yourself of that when you wonder where that $60,000 went.
