2011 Chevrolet Volt, $40,280: This new vehicle is not all-electric, it can actually go 35 miles on a charge. This would get most American drivers through their daily routines without needing to recharge. Some of the benefits are the nice interior, low monthly cost with regular driving, nice standard features, and an annual cost of $601-$1,302. The small back seat that seats only two people, the touchy brakes, lack of front power seats and needing a home charger are some of this vehicle's cons.
2011 Nissan LEAF, $32,780: This new exciting fuel efficient car has some great pros: no more gas stations, quiet cabin, quick acceleration, spacious cabin, and a great navigation system. The price to charge is only $561 a year, with 99 MPG fuel equivalent. It takes around 8 hours to fully charge and only 30 minutes for it to be 80% charged. Some of negative issues are: limited cruising range, lack of recharge stations, and the need for a special charger at home.
2011 Toyota Prius, $21,600: This family size sedan is one of the most popular fuel efficient cars. Even the low price beats the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt. The annual cost is $888 with 50 MPG. It's a quite and comfortable ride, with a surprisingly large interior and great fuel economy. However this vehicle takes twice as much gas to get around than its electric competitors, features uncomfortable seats, disappointing interior material, and the iPod adaptor is only available if you purchase the navigation system.
2011 Lexus CT 200h, $29,120: This new vehicle with great mpg has one of the best gas saving systems with a reasonable price, getting 42 MPG. It has a nice cabin and superb ergonomics. Unfortunately, it's on the dark side of bettering the environment. More downsides of this vehicle: slow acceleration, little storage space, and outdated look of the controls.
2011 Honda Civic Hybrid, $23,950: This gas saving green car gets 41 MPG with an annual cost of $1,083. There's a wide range of power trains and a comfortable interior. Some of the disadvantages are the fancier models include more of the safety features, road noise, higher price to competitors, and slow acceleration.
For those of us stuck with an older car there are solutions you can do to help your MPG. For many buying a new car is out of the price range. However there are more affordable solutions out there such as Fuel Doctor's FD-47. The device is easy to use (it plugs into your cigarette lighter socket) and can improve older vehicles' fuel economy by up to 25%, by letting the engine run better, using less fuel, providing more power, and reducing exhaust emissions.
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