The best fuel economy cars nowadays are hybrid cars, exemplified by Toyota Prius or the smaller Honda Civic. These are followed by the smaller foreign vehicles like the (non-hybrid) Honda Civic, the Mini Cooper, Toyota Corolla, Nissan's Altima and even the swank Mercedes E320 Bluetec diesel passenger car.

Toyota's Prius rates an EPA mileage rating of 48/45. That's 48 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 45 mpg out on the freeway. I'd be pleased with that. Wouldn't you? The Prius combines a normal 1.5 liter, 4-cylinder gasoline powered engine with battery technology and an electric motor. When you press the brake pedal in traffic, the power that is normally neutralized in brake drums is used to charge up the storage batteries on the vehicle.

The Honda Civic (hybrid version) wins an EPA mpg score of 40/45 mpg and is powered by a 1.3 liter, 4-cylinder gasoline engine and the hi-tech electric motor. It looks the same as the ordinary gasoline model Civic except for a badge which says Hybrid.

The Honda Civic (standard version) clocks an EPA rating of 26/34 miles per gallon (manual gearbox) or 25/36 (auto). The Honda is compact yet stylish and luxurious, and Honda really do know how to make the vehicle squeeze every inch of travel from every molecule of gasoline that the car burns.

The quick little Mini Cooper boasts an EPA mileage score of 28/37 mpg (manual transmission) or 26/34 mpg (auto transmission). The first number is for driving in the city. The second is on the freeways. This re-design of the world-renowned 1960s British "Mini" car is actually built by BMW these days. It is a tiny car with an amazing amount of space once you sit inside it. And like the famed Mini Cooper S-model of yesteryear, this tiny powerhouse vehicle can accelerate and corner like a real sports car. That makes it a bit of overkill with all the speed cameras we have out there nowadays!

The Toyota Corolla just keeps on going as a reliable cheap-to-run favorite car. It does 26 mpg city driving, and 35 mpg highway (manual) - And it does 27 mpg in city traffic and 35 mpg on the highway (automatic) according to EPA testing. That's truly excellent fuel economy. Toyota's 2009 Corolla motor car is affordable, roomy and comfortable. And its reliability is legendary.

The Nissan Altima manages an EPA 23/32 mpg (manual transmission), 23/31 (auto). Like the hybrid cars mentioned earlier, it has got a CVT - that's a continuously-variable transmission which has you won't feel any gear changes - since it is making infinitely-small gearing changes all the time. The Altima is a mid-sized vehicle with a 2.5 liter engine, and it squeezes every bit of power out of it while giving you great fuel economy.

The Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec does a pretty good 23/32 mpg on the EPA tests, and manages this with luxurious style inside and out, powered by a 3 liter V6 engine which makes you think you are driving an 8-cylinder vehicle.

Rising and falling gasoline prices and the worldwide money crisis are causing US commuters to think again about their big uneconomical cars. And while Japanese and Korean-made imports were cheap in looks and quality some years ago, that is not true today. The quality of these cars is excellent and the money and fuel savings are too good to ignore.

So now is the time to go and examine the best fuel economy cars available. At present, the main ones are almost all made in Japan, but American car makers are gearing themselves to meet the challenge.