Most Fuel Efficient Cars - Top Performers
Below are the most economical cars in current production. Its a keenly fought battle. Manufacturers are constantly battling it out to claim top spot.
Fiat 500 |
Smart for Two |
Citroen C3 |
Fiat Punto |
Toyota Prius Hybrid |
| If you're thinking about buying a breathalyzer for the car they're not all the same. You can read reviews of car breathalyzers at Blood Alcohol Breathalyzer |
Vehicle Fuel Economy - Latest News
Are the most efficient cars V8's?Posted Nov 09
No, they just sound like V8's. What you're hearing is SoundRacer - a device designed to make any car, even the most efficient cars, sound like they're hiding a V8 under the hood. Now you can be both frugal and have the engine noise you always dreamed of.
SoundRacer will give any vehicle the sound of a V8. So the most efficient cars can sound like a rampaging 7 liter sports car. The device plugs into the 12V socket in your car. More...
Ford economic cars to benefit from laser ignition
Posted Aug 09
Research recently completed in England has clearly shown that igniting fuel with a laser instead of spark plugs improves the overall efficency of an internal combustion engine. If laser ignition were built into Ford's economic cars it would definitely further improve their fuel consumption.
This interesting research was carried out at Liverpool University where Ford engineers and university scientists joined forces to do the testing. There is obviously not a lot of further development to do to the technology because Ford believes they can begin producing cars with laser ignition within just 2 years! More...
New Economic Cars From China
Posted Aug 09
New economic cars from China and India will soon be coming our way. These two countries are currently rapidly expanding their output of cars and efficient cars are high on their list of priorities. China, incredibly, is set to become the worlds biggest car producer this year. With lots of cheap labour to call on India and China are going to produce cars that will be super competitive on price and this means we may see small economic cars breaking new grounds in terms of pricing. The question that remains to be answered is what level of quality can they deliver in a budget economic car. We shall have to wait and see.
The Chinese auto industry is set to produce almost 11 million vehicles this year, overtaking both the US and Japanese to become the worlds largest car maker. This is quite amazing considering we currently don't see any Chinese cars on our roads and this is what China hopes to change. If China can crack the international market their car output will sky rocket even further. India produced 2.3 million cars last year, and are also in a stage of rapid expansion.
The two countries are in a good position for international growth because cheap efficient cars are one of the few growth areas More...
Turbosteamers Could Lead To More Efficient Cars
Posted Jul 09
BMW have discovered a great new technology to give us efficient cars. Car engines are quite inefficient and one of the ways they waste a lot of energy is in heat. The idea behind BMW's new turbosteamer is that some of this heat energy is recaptured by using the heat to power a small steam engine!
BMW say they can reduce the energy lost as heat by up to 80% through the turbosteamer technology. More...
US House approves vouchers designed to improve vehicle fuel economy
Posted 11/06/09
In an attempt to improve vehicle fuel economy across the US, the US House of Representatives have approved a bill to provide vouchers of up to $4,500 for customers to trade in their old cars and buy new fuel-efficient cars.
The bill was approved by 298 votes against 119 and would require four billion dollars to be allocated to the program. The bill is expected to encourage the purchase of one million new vehicles and would run for one year. New vehicles must have a better fuel economy than the cars being traded in. More...
Mazda commits to improving its vehicle fuel economy
Posted 21/04/09
Mazda is aiming to improve its vehicle fuel economy by 30 per cent by 2015 in response to rising fuel prices and increasing concerns about the environment.
Mazda will introduce various technologies that will combine to improve its vehicle fuel economy. Mazda will develop new, more efficient engines for its entire range of vehicles and employ a “smart idle stop system” as early as 2009. This technology can shut the engine down when the car is stationary – similar to a hybrid car – thus increasing vehicle fuel economy. More...
Australian showrooms forced to display realistic vehicle fuel economy figures
Posted 31/03/09
From April 1st 2009 Australian car makers must display both the urban (city) and extra urban (highway) vehicle fuel economy figures on cars in showrooms. Previously, they only had to display a combined vehicle fuel economy figure, which was skewed towards highway driving and hid the real fuel economy of some cars in typical day to day driving.
This is a big step forward in enlightening consumers about vehicle fuel economy since some larger cars can use almost twice as much fuel in the city as in the country. For example the Holden Commodore Calais V6 uses 15.8l/100km in the city versus a fuel economy of 8.6l/100km on the open road. More...
Most Economical Cars - Articles
BMW Mini: A new convertible efficient carBMW's efficient car has stood the test of time. The classic Mini was brought back to life by BMW some years ago and could so easily have been a fleeting success. Other cars from the same mould had initial success followed by falling sales. Cars such as the PT Cruiser and Beetle were very popular at the outset but the fad passed. BMW's Mini on the other hand is still recording strong sales urging BMW to continue releasing more iterations of the Mini. There are special high performance versions such as the Works Mini. They released a successful soft top and the Clubman - a slightly larger Mini with barn doors, a bit like a station wagon. There's even future plans for a soft roader Mini and talk of an electric Mini. The latest release from BMW is a new convertible Mini, which if the past is anything to go by, should be a great car and another hit.
As with the standard Mini there are two variants of the new convertible - the Cooper and Cooper S. Both have 1.6 litre engines but the Cooper S is turbocharged. Both have the option of manual or auto gearboxes. The normally aspirated engine puts out 120 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque. The turbocharged engine adds quite a lot more power, totalling 175 horsepower altogether. Although the normally aspirated engine squeezes out what power it can through variable valve timing, it's not a powerful engine and performance of the Mini with this engine is very average, especially when teamed with the sedentary auto gearbox. Having said that the auto box does have optional manual control through the use of a shifter or steering wheel paddles. Because of the extra weight of the equipment for the auto opening roof the turbo engine is definitely the one to go for on this car. You need that extra power to give the Mini its usual zip. And what a superb engine the turbocharged unit is - a million miles away from the non turbo version. The extra power makes all the difference and for such a small engine it does a great job of pulling strongly right across the rev range all the way up to the redline. Whats unusual for a small efficient car is that you don't feel like you need to constantly change gear all the time to get any power. This car still has power at low revs.
The standard Cooper is a noticeably more efficient car than the 'S' with a fuel efficiency of 49 mpg More on the BMW efficient car...
Supercars are racing to be efficient cars
Even supercar makers it seems are concerned about potential falls in sales if they don't become greener than they currently are. Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini are all investing lots of time and money into making more efficient cars in order not to lose favour with their customers. They also have a lot of work to do to meet strict new CO2 regulations being introduced in Europe in 2014 and the U.S. in 2016. Supercars are among the biggest culprits for bad fuel economy. The Lamborghini Murcielago for instance uses fuel about six times as quickly as a Smart Car!
Lamborghini have committed to reducing their vehicles carbon dioxide emissions by 35% by 2012. However they don't yet have a clear vision on how they're going to achieve this. They just say that they're looking into a variety of fuel saving options such as hybrids, biofuels, and stop start technology. More certain is the fact that they will reduce vehicle weight and develop their existing petrol engines into more fuel-efficient engines. Lamborghini have allocated around U.S$50 million over the next 5 years to develop more efficient cars.
Ferrari appear to be further down the road in their plans to produce more economical cars. More...
The Most Fuel Efficient Car In The World
The Pac-Car holds the Guinness World Record as the most fuel efficient car. Built by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology to demonstrate how economical a car can be, it traveled 5385 km for the equivalent energy of only 1 litre of gasoline. This corresponds to 0.0186 litres/100km, or 12,646 miles per gallon! This means the Pac-Car would only use 8 litres of fuel to drive around the globe. More about the Most Fuel Efficient Car...
Most Efficient Cars - Toyota Prius
Toyota were really ahead of the pack when they released their hybrid efficient car, the Prius, back in 2004 and it has been one of the most efficient cars on the market ever since. When it was first unveiled most people had no idea how a hybrid car even worked. Other car makers were left bewildered at the amazing technology that was packed into the Prius. The Toyota Prius was the hybrid trailblazer and it would be quite some time before it would have any decent competition. Toyota very definitely still lead the way in hybrid economical cars and their latest edition, the 2010 Prius packs lots of new hi-tech features as well as being the most economical Prius yet.
The Prius initially had a 1.5 litre 4 cylinder petrol engine but many customers were unhappy with the cars sluggish acceleration. The latest Prius has a larger 1.8 litre petrol engine outputting 73kW in combination with a 60kW electric motor. The car is still sluggish on take off when only powered by the electric motor but when the petrol engine kicks in at about 25mph, acceleration is comparable to other family cars.
Incredibly the new 1.8 litre engine makes the Prius a more fuel-efficient car than the old 1.5 litre car. This must certainly be in part because the more powerful engine doesn't need to work as hard as the old one. The hybrid engine is combined with a continuously variable automatic transmission which always keeps the petrol engine in a narrow rev range thats best suited for maximum fuel efficiency. The Prius is the most economical family car on the market. It returns amazing fuel efficiency figures - 51 mpg in the city and 48 mpg on the highway. Only smaller cars with tiny engines can beat it. More...
Economical Car - Kia Soul car review
The Soul is a new economical car released this year by Korean car maker Kia. It is a radical looking small car designed to compete in the cool micro car category against other economical cars such as the Fiat 500.
Historically Kia have given us rather uninspiring designs that offered a lot of value but little excitement to look at. The car maker is making a definite attempt to make its image more cool this year. The Cerato released earlier in 2009 suggested this but the new Kia Soul really confirms it.
The Soul is a weird looking car. Although this kind of styling has been around for a while in some Asian local markets (most notably Japan), we're yet to see it outside of Asia. This economical car has a very boxy design, wrap around glass and off roader cues. Its styling is very bold indeed and Kia hopes it will resonate with young people. Like the Mini, its looks can be customised with plenty of paint, chrome and plastic exterior options as well as adhesive graphics. Kia claims that customers will check out the colours and accessories before the price tag.
The Kia Soul is powered by a 1.6 litre 4 cylinder petrol 'Gamma' engine. It produces 91 kW and it is combined with either a 5 speed manual or automatic gearbox. The 5 speed manual version of the car offers a fuel economy of 6.5 l/100km and CO2 emissions of 154 g/km. This fuel mileage is not too bad at all, making the Kia Soul quite an economical car to own and run. One of its big competitors will be the Fiat 500, another cool looking economical car with similar figures of 6.3 l/100km and 149 g/km. The auuto Soul is slightly less fuel efficient with a gas mileage of 7 l/100km and 167 g/km of CO2. More...
Economic Cars - Alfa Romeo's new sporty MiTo challenges the Mini Cooper
Alfa Romeo has stepped into the world of sporty economic cars with its new MiTo which will challenge the Mini Cooper. Two MiTo models are available and they are a direct price rival to the two Mini Cooper models. The base model MiTo will compete with the base Mini Cooper while the MiTo Sport is up against the Mini Cooper S. Since its 2001 launch the Mini has been very successful and Alfa Romeo hope to steal some of the Mini's customers with its own blend of economic car, stylish design and sports handling.
Alfa Romeo have not produced a car as small as the MiTo until now and the new economic car will sit below the current 147 in terms of size. The MiTo shares its chassis with parent company Fiat's Grande Punto. Whereas the Mini was based on a vehicle of the past, the MiTo is not but it has been designed as the spiritual successor to the Alfasud of the 1970's and 80's. Its a a really good lokking car, combining classic Alfa Romeo design features with hints of the 8C Competizione More...
Cars Economical - Suzuki Alto
The small Suzuki Alto is one of the latest cars economical and efficient to be released. It is also one of the cheapest new cars around, so saves you money two ways.
Car manufacturers these days are desperately trying to convince us that they've always been thinking of the planet and Suzuki are no different: 'Weaved throughout the rich 100 year history of Suzuki is the story of a company that has dedicated itself to environmental awareness and sustainability'. I'll let you decide whether you believe them or whether you think their interest in cars economical and fuel-efficient is because theres money to be made in them. Its interesting how car makers have never previously told us about their devotion to the environment, but suddenly they're all saying they're green companies. Don't get me wrong I think its a great step forward if they start being friendlier to the environment, just don't try and feed us garbage that you've always been environmentally friendly.
Anyway, rant aside, lets get back to the new economical car - the Suzuki Alto. Interesting name for a car. I don't think it rolls off the tongue that easily and is it pronounced 'Al' as in 'Altitude' or 'Al' as in 'All'? Suzuki say their primary target market for this fuel efficient car is the over 45's. This is interesting because I, like a lot of people, thought that the young and funky bought these small cars economical and cheap that they are. In fact Suzuki says that although the advertising themes are young, most buyers are 45 plus. The remaining owners are split between 18 to 25 year olds who want a practical city car and cost conscious buyers who would otherwise be looking at purchasing a used car. Within all these groups there will be a proportion of people who will be buying an economical car for the planets sake (hence Suzuki's claim of green credentials).
As far as fuel efficiency goes the Alto is certainly one of the more impressive cars economical wise. More...
Most Efficient Cars - Are they the most environmentally friendly?
Should you simply buy the latest most efficient cars to be environmentally friendly? Which car is the most environmentally friendly?
To be as environmentally friendly as possible its not just a case of buying the car that uses the least fuel. New cars use enormous resources to build and subsequently transport to dealers. This energy use can take years for even the most efficient cars to repay to the environment by way of their better fuel consumption.
The best way to be environmentally friendly is to consume less. This means both driving less and not buying new products as often, such as cars. The most environmentally friendly thing to do of course is not own a car and use public transport, a bike, or walk instead. Many of the journeys done in a car could be substituted by one of these other methods of transport, especially when living in a city.
If you need personal motorised transport you could opt for a scooter which uses less resources to build and is far more fuel-efficient than even the most efficient cars. In fact scooters are becoming more and more popular in our crowded cities as a quicker, cheaper and cooler way of travelling. Their only drawback is safety, and its a big drawback. You have no protection from impacts at all apart from your helmet and leathers. More...
High Car Fuel Mileage From A Sports Classic - Mini Cooper S
Sporty cars usually mean bad car fuel mileage, but the iconic Mini Cooper S provides sports handling for minimal fuel consumption.
The original Mini was launched in 1959. It was very compact but used its space brilliantly. The car brought motoring to the masses thanks to its rock bottom price and high car fuel mileage. It turned into one of the most popular and instantly recognisable cars of all time and was a success all round the globe.
BMW relaunched the Mini in 2001. It retained the original styling but the car had grown up with contemporary features that the spartan original vehicle lacked. The cabin was more luxurious, the car drove and felt like a modern large car, the car was safe in the event of an accident, and overall it offered much more practicality over the original vehicle. Even so, the new Mini very definitely retained the character of the orginal car which was important.
BMW predicted annual sales of 100,000 vehicles but in reality sold twice that figure. The reincarnation of the Mini was an instant hit. The new car is now in its second generation and continues to sell well, sparking rival fuel efficient classics to be produced such as the Fiat 500 and VW Beetle. More...
Best Mileage Cars - Smart For Two
One of the greatest best mileage cars of all time is the Smart For Two whose revolutionary new features in car design have been highly successful and stood the test of time. Many people thought this car would be a failure like many other odd vehicle designs in the past. The Smart For Two is a rear engined, two seater with interchangeable body panels. Its just 250 cm long allowing it to park lengthways in a parallel parking space, which quickly became its party trick and a marketing drive.
The Smart For Two car is built by Smart GmbH, a brand of Daimler AG, based in Boblingen, Germany. Smart's logo is the letter "c" combined with an arrow and denotes "compact" and "forward thinking" respectively. The economical little Smart car was initially produced in 1998 and is still in production today as a second generation form since 2006.
The first generation car originally had a 3 cylinder 599cc turbo petrol engine, but this engine was quickly changed to a 698 cc unit which output either 37 kW or 45 kW in two different variants. A 799cc turbodiesel engine was also available with 30 kW of power.
There were a few special editions of the Smart For Two, most notably the Brabus, which was the sports version of the car with 72 kW of power More...
Good Car Fuel Mileage Is Cool
In the future it will be socially unacceptable to drive a vehicle with bad car fuel mileage. You'll be looked down upon like you're a cousin kissing, uncultured neanderthal. Your friends will talk about you behind your back. When you park your bad car mileage vehicle on the road it might be attacked by green extremists. Driving good car fuel mileage vehicles is slowly turning into the new cool.
Many people think this change in social thinking is further along than I do. I think its still in its infancy. The day of not being able to drive your V8 for fear of ridicule is not here yet and it won't happen for a while. I actually don't think we're as green as we like to think we are. I think we're fundametally selfish and still think of ourselves, not of the planet.
An example of our selfishness is when gas prices shot sky high about a year ago. In Australia V8 car sales rose to all time highs. More...
Best Mileage Cars
The best mileage cars in production are all mini or subcompact cars with tiny engines. Some have advanced diesel engines while others have 3 or 4 cylinder petrol engines. The best mileage cars are all lightweight and tend to have narrow wheels providing little rolling resistance.
These efficient cars can return gas mileage figures in excess of 60 mpg compared to some large V8 engines which manage less than 20 mpg. This means that these economical vehicles will cost you less than a third of the fuel costs of some V8's. Not only this but running costs will of course also be a fraction of the cost.
The best gas mileage cars can save you a lot of money and these days they are also surprisingly nice to drive. Many don't feel as small as they actually are to drive. More...
Car Fuel Mileage
Car fuel mileage refers to the distance in miles a car can drive on 1 gallon of fuel. The unit of measurement is mpg (miles per gallon). When comparing car fuel mileage figures you need to know which gallon is being referred to - the U.S. or gallon or imperial gallon. The imperial gallon is approximately 20% larger than the U.S. gallon.
A higher mpg means better fuel economy - you can travel further for the same amount of fuel.
The two extremes of car fuel mileage figures are a top fuel dragster which consumes about 24 U.S. gallons per mile (or 0.042 mpg) and the world record holding Pac Car which manages 12,660 mpg. Most people in standard cars achieve a car fuel mileage of between 15 and 40 mpg. Governments want to raise this figure. New cars sold today in the U.S. must meet a fuel economy standard of 27 mpg however this will slowly be increased to 35.5 mpg by 2016. The European Union is going further, demanding a car fuel mileage of 47 mpg by 2012. More...
Fuel efficiency figures explained
Each new car is tested on what's called a dynamometer, which is like a large treadmill. While the engine and transmission drive the wheels, the vehicle never actually moves - just the rollers upon which the wheels are placed. A professional driver runs the vehicle through two standardized driving schedules, one each to simulate city and highway driving conditions, and ensures he or she is maintaining the correct pace via a real time computer display. More...
Improve Fuel Economy
You can improve fuel economy by changing your driving habits. If you are wondering why you don't get the fuel economy your manufacturer advertises one of the main reasons is likely to be your style of driving. By altering your driving technique you can improve fuel economy greatly. And we're not talking about negligible differences here. You will notice quite a difference the next time you fill up your car with fuel. More...