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Fuel Efficient Car
updated: Mar 08, 2013, 2:30 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

I am looking to buy a fuel efficient car. Honda Insight cost less than Prius, but Prius is a little bigger and more fuel efficient. Has anyone gone through the same decision process? Curious to see what others learned.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 382749	2013-03-08 03:00 PM
Jetta diesel ...
COMMENT 382750	2013-03-08 03:01 PM
Used Mazda Protoge
COMMENT 382753	2013-03-08 03:13 PM
Ford F 250 Super Duty
COMMENT 382756P	2013-03-08 03:18 PM
Love my Prius!
COMMENT 382758P	2013-03-08 03:24 PM
Ditto 756P! I wouldn't have any other car!
COMMENT 382760	2013-03-08 03:26 PM
If you want a fuel efficient car with decent roominess and a big trunk, don't waste your money on a hybrid. Get a Nissan Sentra. 36 mpg. At the current level of gas prices, you would have to drive a Prius 60,000 miles a year to realize enough fuel savings to make up the whopping difference in price between it and a Sentra.
COMMENT 382766P	2013-03-08 03:37 PM
Isn't the 'carbon footprint' just as detrimental to the environment no matter what the vehicle? Just asking.
COMMENT 382768	2013-03-08 03:40 PM
Depends on the size of the carbon footprint. Vehicles that are more fuel efficient ostensibly have a lesser carbon footprint, though that doesn't necessarily pan out in some cases.
COMMENT 382772P	2013-03-08 03:56 PM
Bought a Ford Escape Hybrid. 6 years later, STILL happy with it. Perfect for hauling kids, dogs, surfboards, without big SUV footprint. Gets 32 mpg, up to 40 mpg in heavy stop-n-go. Low maintenance and solidly built.
COMMENT 382777	2013-03-08 04:08 PM
The new Mazda 6 with the Skyactiv-D diesel engine coming out soon is very interesting. It is efficient like the TDI from Volkswagen, but runs at a lower compression & lower temperature so it produces lower particulate emissions compared to other diesels. Rated at over 50 mpg on the highway. Hybrids are great for city driving, but less efficient on the highway. So it depends on where most of your miles are. I question the "green" hybrids like the Prius and the Insight because the batteries are never green, requiring mining of heavy metals to build them. But both are supposed to be good but the Prius is king for many reasons. Good luck!
COMMENT 382781	2013-03-08 04:15 PM
I like my 5 year old Yaris sedan. 36-37mpg in mixed driving, 40+ on the freeway with the AC blasting. I can't recommend hybrids for two reasons. 1) Their total carbon footprint is huge. While you may use less gasoline, the manufacturing of those battery packs is an ecological nightmare. 2) Those battery packs have a limited lifespan. They will need to be replaced long before the rest of the vehicle is ready for the scrap heap. My straight IC vehicles are 5, 11, 13, 26, and 34 years old and they've only needed a starter battery every 6-8 years at a cost of $50-100 along with regular maintenance. Battery packs for hybrids run thousands. If you just have to have a hybrid, the Prius C is the only one that makes economic sense at around $20k.
COMMENT 382788	2013-03-08 04:34 PM
Buy the current (April) issue of Consumer Reports. It contains complete information on all current automobile models.
COMMENT 382795P	2013-03-08 04:39 PM
No snarkiness intended, edhat is really not the place to find out this kind of information - google will yield much, much more reliable results as compared to 11 Santa Barbarian's opinions/shaky facts.
COMMENT 382797P	2013-03-08 04:42 PM
fuel efficiency and carbon footprint are totally different things. the prius has one of the largest carbon footprints of any vehicle on the road. toxic lithium is mined in canada, shipped to europe for refinement, shipped to japan to be put in batteries, shipped back to north america to be installed in the vehicle. there was a study several years back that looked at the global value chain for vehicles from a total cost (environment/efficiency/consumer price) standpoint and the toyota/scion xb was reported as the most efficient. the global cost of a prius was about the same as a hummer h2.
COMMENT 382807	2013-03-08 05:05 PM
Check out the Priuschat forums. A number of people have considered the same 2 options there.
COMMENT 382809P	2013-03-08 05:13 PM
I have the April Consumer Reports. Prius is their top "green" car. They don't recommend the Prius C.
COMMENT 382811	2013-03-08 05:17 PM
-809P, how does Consumer Reports feel about the Honda Civic Hybrid?
COMMENT 382817	2013-03-08 05:39 PM
Love my Jetta TDI, 45 mpg. and way better resale than a Prius. and much nicer.
COMMENT 382819	2013-03-08 05:41 PM
It really has a lot to do with your driving habits. Fuel efficiency for someone who is commuting 30 miles per day is different than for someone; say...who takes long trips on a regular basis. The "electric car" like the Volt or Leaf is primarily aimed at the shorter commuter segment.....
COMMENT 382823	2013-03-08 05:56 PM
Sportsfans, lithium is one of the lightest elements on earth! That's why its the battery with the best energy per pound available today. Shipping Li is not like shipping lead. As for toxicity, Li is frequently prescribed for ailments--too much is bad certainly, but the same can be said for salt. The biggest hazard if the Li battery is overheating. Something the new Boeing plane is struggling with, but I haven't heard about Priui catching on fire.
COMMENT 382824	2013-03-08 05:57 PM
Volkswagens are maintenance nightmares. The yaris or skyactiv mazda is your best bet. For a slight drop in fuel economy, the 04-09 accord 4 cyl's are bulletproof.
COMMENT 382828	2013-03-08 06:08 PM
Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, or Smart Car
COMMENT 382830	2013-03-08 06:16 PM
I've had my plug in prius for a few weeks. Very happy with my decision.
COMMENT 382832P	2013-03-08 06:20 PM
809P here. Honda Civic Hybrid isn't recommended. The other 2 fuel-efficient cars they recommend are the VW Golf TDI (38 mpg, $25,730) and VW Jetta SportWagen TDI (36 mpg, $28,085). They show the Prius getting 44 mpg and costing $26,750. Pick up the magazine, it has much more detailed info.
COMMENT 382835P	2013-03-08 06:27 PM
Love my Leaf powered by my solar panel "gas station.!" Iran doesn't get my petrodollars. ;-) But it's an 80mi car round trip. The good news is if you almost never leave SB, it works. If you drive to LA, you need a gas car and hybrids are tough to beat. If they bring back biodiesel and you get a VW, that'd be very economical as well.
COMMENT 382837	2013-03-08 06:39 PM
Mazda has a very efficient diesel version of the Mazda 6 available soon. The base price is $20,880 (cheaper that the Prius) and its a nice looking midsize car. Also Honda has improved the CR-Z Hybrid to have more power and better fuel efficiency. It costs less that the Insight and is kind of sporty with an optional manual transmission.
COMMENT 382844	2013-03-08 07:44 PM
797 - All of the Prius models offered in the United States, with the exception of the Prius plug-in, still use nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery packs. In Europe and Asia all of the Prius models use lithium but not here. Nickel is also a toxic substance, and nickel mining is very bad for the environment but nickel is recyclable unlike lithium. Although I should mention there is a considerable amount of effort going on right now to try and find a way to recycle lithium.
COMMENT 382849	2013-03-08 08:29 PM
Buying a Honda CR-Z tomorrow. Hybrids don't have to be fugly.
COMMENT 382894	2013-03-09 08:02 AM
Find a Geo Metro. They get 50 miles per gallon.Or a suzuki sidekick.
LOTUSEATER	2013-03-09 08:34 AM
Hi OP, yes I have gone thru the exact same decision making process and am an energy researcher. My initial finding was to purchase a VW Golf diesel (2003) and make my own fuel from collected wvo (waste vegetable oil) it has worked out great, and I do love the VW Golf TDI; but its been 10 years now and a whole lot of research later and The math says to get a used Japanese regular gas economy car. A gently used 4cyl Honda or Toyota will give you the most bang for the buck. It's also the smallest carbon footprint, and least use of oil over lifetime of use.
COMMENT 382913P	2013-03-09 09:00 AM
I love my Prius V (the larger Prius) - hybrid. I do not like driving small cars for several reasons, so this model is perfect. Lots of room, and I was very comfy driving between here and San Diego. They claim 44 mpg but I got 40, which I still consider to be very good mileage.They have been produced only since last year (2012). I like the looks too. My friend recommends gas-only Smart. Too small for me but she loves it. I think it gets around 50 mpg.
COMMENT 382915	2013-03-09 09:01 AM
Spring for the new sexy Tesla S sedan! My husband just test drove one and loved it (but not willing to give up his 911 since the handling isn't quite there).
MTNDRIVER	2013-03-09 09:19 AM
Prius! Seriously, I love it. Had the first little model, and now have a 2004 that has run perfectly for nine years. On long highway trips it gets right around 50mpg (and I tend to go, ahem, faster than the speed limit). For short trips around town (less than 3 miles), it's more like 40mpg. Only thing I don't like is poor rear visibility when reversing, but it has the little rear video camera (standard then, not sure if that's still the case) which helps a lot.
COMMENT 382947P	2013-03-09 10:18 AM
the new LaFerrari is definitely the fastest hybrid out there. A kinetic energy recovery system turns heat generated by braking into electricity!
COMMENT 382949P	2013-03-09 10:28 AM
oops meant to say nickel not lithium. here's the skinny on the prius batteries, "The nickel for the Prius is produced in Sudbury, Ontario. According to Demorro, " This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the 'dead zone' around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles." Toyota produces 1,000 tons annually. The production of the batteries does not end in Canada, the nickel is then sent off to a refinery in Europe and then off to China and finally it ends up in finished form in Japan. This in turn uses more energy to create the batteries since it involves many factories all over the world."
MTNDRIVER	2013-03-09 04:49 PM
844, 949P--Here is a debunk of the Prius nickel battery stuff being quoted from Chris Demorro. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_ lantern/2008/03/tank_vs_hybrid.html More discussion on this page, which makes Demorro out to be something of a crank. http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f...ly-mail-17465/
COMMENT 383197P	2013-03-10 01:52 AM
I have to second Joan Livingston and Lotuseater. A used Japanese 4 cylinder is great; and Mazda has the best (if you're a buyer) resale value: you can get a much-less-used Mazda 3/Protege for your money than a similarly priced Honda Civic. Also manual transmissions usually get better mileage, if you can find one. My Protege was a very zippy car, with much more sporty handling than you'd expect in a little hatchback.
COMMENT 383475	2013-03-11 09:01 AM
10-4 on the VW TDI-my son has a Passat, which is a pretty big car and he hasn't gotten worse than 39 MPG. Hybrids are a ruse. Most of the other cars are just too tiny for any sort of road trip....

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