The EPA just released its figures for the 2009 model year. But unlike last year, this year’s list includes two vehicles that don’t burn gasoline at all.
Honda Civic Hybrid
Top 3 Models Remain the Same
If you’re looking at just the bottom line, your vehicle of choice will still be a hybrid. Matching last year’s results, the Toyota Prius is still number one; the Honda Civic Hybrid retains its number 2 ranking and the Nissan Altima Hybrid again finds its way to the podium in third place.
The Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute/Mercury Mariner hybrid trio moves up a notch from fifth place to fourth place based on a 1 mpg improvement in highway mileage. All three, by the way, are the front-wheel-drive as opposed to the all-wheel-drive versions of the platform. In fifth place are the new-to-the-U.S. Smart Fortwo convertible and coupe – the top non-hybrid fuel economy leaders for 2009.
Ford Escape Hybrid
Weighing in at number 6, and falling two places since last year, is the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Although the Camry’s numbers haven’t changed, the improved fuel economy of Ford’s SUVs and the inclusion of the Smart twins caused the Camry to drop. When it comes to fuel economy, it’s a tough world out there.
Next on the list are two versions of the same two vehicles. And for those fans of great handling vehicles as well as proponents of compression ignition engine technology, you now have two reasons to rejoice: The manual versions of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI sedan and Volkswagen Jetta TDI SportWagen finished in 7th place, while the automatic versions of each made it into the 8th spot.
Volkswagen Jetta
Rounding out the last two spots on the list is the Toyota Yaris. Bumped from 6th place last year, the manual version is number 9 for 2009, while the automatic model is in 10th place.
Who missed the cut?
On last year’s list but dropped for this year is the Toyota Corolla, Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Scion xD and the Hyundai Accent. Here is the complete list for this year:
Tags: EPA, Ford, Ford Escape, Fuel Economy, Honda, Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Fit, Hyundai, hyundai accent, mazda, mazda tribute, mercury, mercury mariner, Nissan, Nissan Altima Hybrid, nissan versa, scion, scion xd, Smart ForTwo, Toyota, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Prius, Toyota Yaris, Volkswagen, volkswagen jetta tdi, volkswagen jetta tdi sportwagen
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