1) Toyota Prius: It’s the only reasonably-sized family four-door that gets almost Geo-Metro fuel economy. Now that the novelty has worn off a bit,

the price mark-ups aren’t as bad as they once were.

2) Ford Escape Hybrid: It was the first small 4WD SUV that got 33 mpg city and 30 mpg highway (2WD got 36/31, respectively). More space than a Prius and 4WD for those in snow-belt areas.

3) Chevy Tahoe/Silverado Hybrid (and GMC equiv.):

The first full-sized hybrid truck…and they can be used as trucks (6100 lb. towing capacity). When not towing, it will return 21/22 mpg. The hybridcenter’s penalty for the large engine is a bit misplaced here.

The 6.0L has active-fuel-management (i.e. displacement on demand) so, with the help of the electric engine, it will be in 4-cyl mode and be essentially a 3.0L if you’re easy on the pedal. My guess is that it would return 25 mpg to a trained driver on the highway.

Honorable mention goes to the original Honda Insight for being the ultra-mpg machine (I’ve heard of people getting 100+ mpg with manual transmission). Unfortunately, the market for high-priced non-sports-car two seaters is very limited.

1) Toyota Prius: It’s the only reasonably-sized family four-door that gets almost Geo-Metro fuel economy. Now that the novelty has worn off a bit,

the price mark-ups aren’t as bad as they once were.

2) Ford Escape Hybrid: It was the first small 4WD SUV that got 33 mpg city and 30 mpg highway (2WD got 36/31, respectively). More space than a Prius and 4WD for those in snow-belt areas.

3) Chevy Tahoe/Silverado Hybrid (and GMC equiv.):

The first full-sized hybrid truck…and they can be used as trucks (6100 lb. towing capacity). When not towing, it will return 21/22 mpg. The hybridcenter’s penalty for the large engine is a bit misplaced here.

The 6.0L has active-fuel-management (i.e. displacement on demand) so, with the help of the electric engine, it will be in 4-cyl mode and be essentially a 3.0L if you’re easy on the pedal. My guess is that it would return 25 mpg to a trained driver on the highway.

Honorable mention goes to the original Honda Insight for being the ultra-mpg machine (I’ve heard of people getting 100+ mpg with manual transmission). Unfortunately, the market for high-priced non-sports-car two seaters is very limited.

1) Toyota Prius: It’s the only reasonably-sized family four-door that gets almost Geo-Metro fuel economy. Now that the novelty has worn off a bit,

the price mark-ups aren’t as bad as they once were.

2) Ford Escape Hybrid: It was the first small 4WD SUV that got 33 mpg city and 30 mpg highway (2WD got 36/31, respectively). More space than a Prius and 4WD for those in snow-belt areas.

3) Chevy Tahoe/Silverado Hybrid (and GMC equiv.):

The first full-sized hybrid truck…and they can be used as trucks (6100 lb. towing capacity). When not towing, it will return 21/22 mpg. The hybridcenter’s penalty for the large engine is a bit misplaced here.

The 6.0L has active-fuel-management (i.e. displacement on demand) so, with the help of the electric engine, it will be in 4-cyl mode and be essentially a 3.0L if you’re easy on the pedal. My guess is that it would return 25 mpg to a trained driver on the highway.

Honorable mention goes to the original Honda Insight for being the ultra-mpg machine (I’ve heard of people getting 100+ mpg with manual transmission). Unfortunately, the market for high-priced non-sports-car two seaters is very limited.