Fuel economy is on everyone’s mind these days.  It gets harder and harder to put that credit card into the gas pump because we know it’s going to cost a fortune, and we’ll have to pull out the credit card again in another week or less.  If you are in the market for a new car, you may be interested in knowing which cars rated at the top of the US Department of Energy’s list as the most fuel efficient cars in America.

Best Fuel Economy – Overall

Put your credit card away for another week or two because with 60mpg city / 66 mpg hwy, the Honda Insight Hybrid is the most fuel efficient car in America.  The Insight achieves the surprisingly high miles per gallon not only because it runs partly on batteries, but because it has done things like reducing the drag (how hard a car has to work to cut through wind when it is driving), and putting low resistance tires on the car as a standard feature.  It’s not a family car by any means and it will certainly draw some attention.  Take a look at one on the internet to see why.

Best Fuel Economy – Mid-size  

So you took a look at the Insight and decided you are better off using the credit card weekly than strapping your child to the roof anytime you want to go somewhere.  Don’t give up yet.  The Toyota Prius Hybrid gets a whopping 60 / 51 mpg and will fit a child, two parents, a guest and a dog inside.  The Prius is a very popular hybrid car because of the fuel efficiency as well as the fact that the Prius is comfortable and handles quite well.

Best Fuel Economy – Large Car

At 24 / 34 mpg, the Hyundai Sonata sneaks in as the large car with the best fuel economy in America.  The Sonata is large and roomy, and offers a very comfortable ride.  One owner of a Sonata Luxury Edition says that her family, including her husband who owns a Honda Civic, would prefer to ride in the comfort of the Sonata to the more fuel efficient Civic for any trip that will take more than a half an hour.  This owner was apparently oblivious to the fact that she was getting the best fuel economy in America for a car of that size.

Other winning fuel efficient cars of note are the Honda Civic Hybrid (49 / 51 mpg) as the best fuel economy – compact car, the Volkswagon New Beetle Diesel (37 / 44 mpg) in the subcompact car category, and the Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe (30 / 36 mpg), both are basically the same car, in the station wagon category.

Are you ready to put your credit card away now and go shopping for a new fuel efficient car?  When you are, be sure to test drive all of the cars on this list and make a smart, green, eco-friendly, and most of all, wallet friendly choice.