The Top Fuel Saving Vehicles for 2008
Of the top fuel-efficient vehicles, eight are hybrids, the remaining 22 are not.
JD Power has released a report containing the top 30 fuel-efficient vehicles of 2008. Topping the list are hybrids including the Ford Escape Hybrid, Nissan Altima Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Lexus RX 400h, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Mercury Mariner, and Toyota Prius.
The remaining 22 vehicles on this list were not hybrids, but reflected widely the top cars purchased the previous year, as fuel costs surge. The 22 others include models such as the Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Aveo5, Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Rio, Kia Spectra, MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper S, Nissan Sentra, Nissan Versa, Pontiac G5, Pontiac Vibe, Saturn Astra, Smart Fortwo Convertible, Smart Fortwo Coupe, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, and the Toyota Yaris.
Also in the report, there was a poll that asked 4000 people whether they were willing to consider purchasing a hybrid-electric vehicle, whereas the respondents agreed in favor at 62%, up from a response of 50% a year ago.
While the willingness to purchase electric-hybrids has increased, most people are feeling more reluctant to purchase vehicles based on flex-fuel ethanol systems, considering that these systems use wheat to create fuel, driving food prices through the roof.
Less people are willing to buy diesels because of the increase in fuel costs, and e85 vehicles because of the increase in food costs, so hybrids are becoming a viable alternative.