Fuel Economy: Hybrids, Diesels and the EPA

The EPA's top pick for 2009

I've been ill the last several days, so when I saw the EPA's Top 10 Most Fuel Efficient Vehicles List last week, I just wasn't very surprised or excited. Hybrids still dominate, especially in the city. Since, however, I've read a few articles noting the significance of the first diesel making the list.

A manual VW Jetta TDI is rated 30 mpg in the city, 41 on the highway. The Toyota Prius is 48 and 45, respectively.

Many diesel fans regularly chide the whole hybrid cars segment as a fad, but when it comes to city driving it's clear, hybrids are easily superior.

In order the list goes: Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Nissan Altima hybrid, Ford Escape hybrid (and Mercury Mariner hybrid, Mazda Tribute hybrid), Smart ForTwo, Toyota Camry hybrid, VW Jetta Diesel Manual, VW Jetta Diesel Automatic, Toyota Yaris Manual, and the Toyota Yaris Automatic.