With high gas prices and a challenging economy still rattling people’s nerves, many in need of a car are considering buying used. However, to save more money, it’s worth getting a used car that is also fuel efficient, so you not only pay less to purchase the vehicle, but also to operate it.
We’ve put together a list of the most fuel-efficient cars we’ve tested over the last 10 years (2001-2010). Many are hybrids, which give you the best option for paying less at the pump. Also, a manual transmission vehicle will generally get you better gas mileage than an automatic.
While it seems as if fuel economy is a deal maker or deal breaker these days, we encourage shoppers to dig deeper, looking at cars that are also reliable, safe, and perform well in our tests. Most models below meet these criteria to be recommended, but not all. For example, the ultra-efficient first-generation Honda Insight returned incredible fuel economy numbers in our tests, but with its stiff, choppy ride and ever-present road noise, it wasn’t a particularly good car to drive. Still, this list focuses on fuel economy.