volatile gas prices may have you considering a more fuelefficient model even if you’re not looking for an electric car several hybrid and plugin models offer spectacular fuel efficiency without the range anxiety of a full ev and don’t write off a nonhybrid model just yet either some of the most frugal gasonly cars on the market return great numbers without a hybrid’s complexity or upfront cost let’s look at the most fuelefficient hybrids and the most ecofriendly nonhybrid models on the market rated by their combined mpg figure from the environmental protection agency note when more than one car has the same combined fuel economy rating we use the city mpg as the tiebreaker the least expensive of the hyundai 005380 ioniq is the current champ among hybrids starting a little under 25000 the base ioniq blue rides on special low rollingresistance tires wrapped around unique wheels designed to cheat the wind those tweaks and a few others behind the scenes are enough to merit a 4mpg combined improvement over the costlier ioniq se no longer the fueleconomy champ the toyota tm prius takes second place to its hyundai rival still there are many great reasons to choose the prius especially in eco trim as in the ioniq this trim level is the gateway to the lineup forget about flashy big wheels however since the prius eco uses special aero hubcaps and tires that delicately dance over the road to save fuel also see us newcar sales seen slightly higher in april but tight inventories and rising prices will keep a lid on any big jumps want a hybrid that doesn’t look like one the hyundai elantra blue is for you this sharply styled compact sedan shares its bold lines spacious cabin and terrific infotainment system with the rest of the elantra lineup at just over 25000 it’s only slightly thirstier than the ioniq but it makes a different statement if you want to get in on honda’s rival to the prius and ioniq you’d better act fast this sleek hybrid is an appealing underrated choice honda hmc is cutting after 2022 as the company once again shifts toward an upcoming hybrid version of its civic its fuel economy is 55 mpg in the city and 49 on the highway this year toyota is offering just a single trim level of its corolla hybrid the reasonably equipped le trim it nets 53 mpg city52 mpg highway with standard adaptive cruise control proximity key and dualzone automatic climate control it’s better equipped than its sub25000 price tag might suggest with a big 4cylinder engine a spacious cabin and plenty of standard convenience and safety tech the toyota camry hybrid is a top choice among midsize sedans with terrific fuel economy numbers the le version is thriftier than other trims with 51 city53 highway mpg so you may be willing to overlook its dull hubcaps for a 6mpg improvement take everything we like about the hyundai elantra and stretch it into a midsize sedan nearly as frugal and you’ll get the hyundai sonata hybrid blue netting 50 mpg in the city and 54 on the highway be careful about which version of the sonata hybrid you shop for since the entrylevel blue model offers an improvement of five mpg combined over other versions related 10 top hybrids for less than 30000 the addition of an electric motor that assists when cruising and accelerating makes hybrid models more frugal than their gasonly counterparts it also makes them more expensive though so you may have to do some math to decide whether a hybrid is worth it here’s a look at the five most frugal nonhybrid gaspowered cars with its ittybitty 3cylinder engine rated at just 78 horsepower the mitsubishi mmtof mirage is an inexpensive subcompact hatchback that will not win any impromptu stoplight drag races it will however save you money any way you look at it starting at under 16000 it comes reasonably wellequipped with features and it sips fuel at a rate of just 39 mpg combined versions of the elantra sedan with the 20liter inline4 and the continuously variable automatic transmission cvt are tops among compact cars in fuel economy the epa says the typical driver will spend about 1650 on fuel annually versus 1150 for the elantra hybrid blue hyundai charges 3200 more for an elantra hybrid blue than it does a similar elantra sel though they have slightly different equipment the hybrid has heated front seats for instance that works out to a little over six years to break even you might like why a plugin hybrid might be your best choice the sedan version of the latest honda civic delivers an impressive 36 mpg combined when it’s fitted with a cvt and optional turbocharged powertrain that turbo enables more power from a smaller engine which combines with the cvt’s ability to keep engine revs low when cruising to sip down fuel at a slow rate the epa rates the civic’s fuel economy as 33 mpg city42 highway the kia rio 000270 and hyundai accent are models that share engines transmissions and platforms that’s also why they have identical fuel economy 33 city 41 highway and 36 combined but the rio has a lower starting price so it earns the higher spot and with the rio you take the accent and spice it up with kia’s somewhat racier styling inside and out hyundai’s smallest car doesn’t offer a lot of power but its 36 mpg combined means it also doesn’t use much fuel this small sedan costs just a little more than the mitsubishi mirage and while it’s not quite as thrifty the hyundai has a far more spacious interior and a more refined feel