Non-Hybrid Gas Savers – Cars That Get 40 MPG Or More

With the price of gas remaining high, all of us are looking for ways to save on fuel costs. If your solution is a fuel efficient vehicle, there are a lot of choices out there. The popular hybrids run on a combination of battery/electric power and gasoline. These cars are now well tested and the technology is reliable. Hybrids can however be more expensive than a conventional, combustion engine vehicle.

There are several gasoline powered cars that are rated at 40 miles per gallon or more on the highway. And unlike in the past, you can get a decent level of comfort and amenities along with the good gas mileage.

I owned a 1989 Honda CR-X for about eight years. I loved the car not only for the gas mileage, but also for reliability and handling. I could consistently get 42 mpg in that car on the highway, and around 35 mpg in town. Since then, there seem to be less and less vehicles able to achieve these figures, unless you buy hybrid. But now modern technology has advanced to the point where gas mileage is on the way up, due to aerodynamic design and efficient engines. Here are five cars that hit the numbers:

2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco - 28 mpg city / 42 mpg highway ($18,425)

2011 Ford Fiesta SFE - 29 mpg city / 41 mpg highway ($14,520)

2012 Honda Civic HF - 29 mpg city / 41 mpg highway ($19,455)

2012 Hyudai Elantra - 29 mpg city / 40 mpg highway ($14,945)

2011 Smart Fortwo - 33 mpg city / 41 mpg highway ($12,490)

For a detailed profile of all of these vehicles, including photos, options, pros, and cons - go to my source for this story at editorial.autos.msn.com.