1) Ford Escape Hybrid

The Ford Escape hybrid is a good gas mileage SUV with fuel economy numbers that check in at a mind-boggling 34 city and 31 highway MPG!  And the Escape Hybrid has been the top dog since its release in 2004.  Now don’t freak out because yes, the Mercury Mariner and the Mazda Tribure are both pretty much the same car.  The reaseon why the Ford Escape is such a good gas mileage SUV is because the Hybrid can use electricty alone to acelerate to 30 MPH per wikipedia.  An electric motor helps boost the 133 HP inline 4-cylinder.  Also an Atkinson Cycle engine is much better for hybrids as the power produced is less but the efficiency is better which is more important in a good gas mileage SUV.  The loss in power is made up with the electric motor.  Which is recharged by regenerative braking. Price for the Escape hybrid is about $30k.

2) Lexus RX 450h

Yes luxury companies car produce a good gas mileage SUV.  And Lexus has been doing so for more than 5 years!  Ok here’s the goods: MSRP is around $43k and MPG is 32 city and 28 highway.  The 297 HP V-6 engine is helped via a power inverter and 2 electric motors.  The engine also runs on the atkinson Cycle.  And believe it or not the RX 450h is 20% more efficient than the previous generation 400h.

3) Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain

Hey here is a good gas mileage suv that is not powered by a hybrid motor.  The Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain only get 22 MPG in the city, which is nothing special.  But if you do alot of highway driving and need a good gas mileage SUV, than the Equinox should be on your list.  Getting 32 MPG on the highway without the aid of any electric motors, the Equinox is a real surprise.  You can get a very base model for $23k which is the perfect range for many consumers.  The motor is a 182 HP 4 cylinder.

4) Jeep Patriot

What a Jeep is also on the list of good gas mileage SUVs?  Yes its true, Both the Jeep Patriot and the Compass are excellent fuel sippers.  The Jeeps both get 23 MPG in the city and 29 MPG on the highway.  So if you are a Jeep lover like my buddy Wendy, you should upgrade to one of these bad boys.  These figures are of course for the base model 2.0L 172 HP Patriot.  And with an MSRP of $15,300 there is no denying that the Patriot should be on this list!

5)  Toyota Highlander Hybrid

The Toyota Highlander Hybrid is an odd fellow.  You would think that the Highlander would kill in the MPG department since is has the Prius as its little brother.   What kills the fuel economy of the Highlander is its heavy and energy wasting 4-wheel drive.  The Highlander does make the good gas mileage SUV list due to it still good numbers at 27 in the city and 25 on the highway.  On more ding against the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is the $35k price tag.

Honorable Mention

Cadillac Escalade Hybrid

The Escalade Hybrid gets 22 MPG ok.  You may say: “WTF”!  But when you find out this is a 40% improvement over the non-hybrid version it hits you that the Escalades are a big waste.  And you have to fork over $62k for the base model and $73k for the hybrid ouch.

BMW Active Hybrid

The Active Hybrid BMW X6 costs $89k but it has a 400-HP twin-turbo V-8 powering it!  Totally worth the 18 MPG figure it returns.  For comparison the non-hybrid SUV gets 14 MPG.

Source: Fuel Economy.gov check the stats for yourself

The Focus EV is still in the development stage although they have launched a prototype “mule”. The prototype version is a product of Ford supplier Magna. Magna will also be responsible for the production version that will be in dealerships. Development vehicles are known to have certain faults, but the EV has no thuds or bumps and is solidly constructed.  Refinement and noise-vibration-harshness (NVH) have been particularly focused in the Focus EV to ensure no ambient sounds. The braking system switches between regenerative (for battery) and regular braking.

The EV Focus will have an auxiliary engine. The battery system will charge completely in 6 hours with a 220Volt setup or 12 hours with a 110Volt supply. A fully charged battery allows a driving range of about 100 miles.  The gauge system in the EV exchanges the battery meter in place of a tachometer and a small charge meter, although changes in the gauge system might change as production goes through. Although the Ford Focus EV is still a few years away, the prototype version looks pretty developed and almost as if it could hit the streets today.

Adding an electric version of the Focus to the New Ford Vehicle line-up will only add to Ford’s sales and give Ford their first compact electric vehicle in the states.

Despite the Fiesta ECOnetic’s definite potential to compete with the other US manufactures, Ford has only sold the recent generations of the Fiesta in Europe. The America Ford President reportedly stated that there were business reasons as to why they can’t sell it to the US and left it at that.

The main reason for the selective selling is that the Fiesta runs on diesel fuel and the US remains to detest the fuel. America’s opposition to diesel fuel is because it still often reminds us of a loud and stinky truck or trailer pouring out black junk, smog, and smoke into our environment.

Diesel fueled cars are now introduced in the market with pollution fighting technology that is as clean as or even cleaner than gasoline with 30% more fuel efficiency. So why can’t the US have this 65mpg car on our market? Ford doesn’t think that North and South America would buy any diesel cars. The Fiesta ECOnetic is comparable to European diesels but Ford can’t make a business case for bringing the car to the US.

In addition, the Fiesta is made in Britain and importing the car to the US would cost too much money without a profit and Ford doesn’t believe they can charge enough to make any money.  With that said, the main question is: will the US ever embrace diesel fuel to allow automakers and manufactures to achieve sufficient scale to make money on those vehicles? All Ford needs to do it look towards Volkswagen and their TDi Jetta.  The Jetta costs about what the Fiesta would cost, gets only 41 MPG on the highway as compared to the Fiesta’s 65 MPG, and finally the Jetta has received numerous accolades for being an ultra green car.  Ford is missing out on all this publicity the Jetta is enjoying.

But wait!  It seems that ford will bring the Fiesta over tho the US sor the model year 2011.  Wonder what this car will consist of.  Stay tuned for more information.

Ford officially released the Fusion Hybrid recently at the Los Angeles Auto Show late in 2008.  The new Ford Fusion receives some of the best in-town gas mileage, that only a hybrid can get.  Beating out the Toyota Camry by a large margin, and the economical Civic Hybrid by a hair; the Fusion Hybrid is ranked at 41 MPG in town driving.  Thanks to an electric motor, the Ford can go up to 47 miles per hour.  A bunch of Car Publications have used this method to get greater fuel economy than the EPA estimates.

The Fusion can help teach the driver which style of driving gets the best fuel economy.  They have created an ingenious system which is built into the instrument cluster called the SmartGauge.  A couple of different info categories are displayed on two screens next to the gauge cluster.  The first monitor will indicate just how much gas is left and also how much energy is left in the battery pack.  The second gauge tells which mode the car is in; electric or hybrid, and it also shows the RPM’s.  This third gauge displays the output energy of the batteries and the engine.  Additional power consumption and power to the wheels are shown in the last data screen.   All data screens show fuel economy, fuel consumption history, an odometer, trip data, and coolant temperatures.  Best fuel economy can be gauged through real time MPG information showing the driver which driving style is most efficient.

The nav screen shows the Hybrid Energy Flow data.  This display will track the 5 modes of the Fusion’s Hybrid Powertrain which are the; electric drive, hybrid drive, electric boost, idle charging, and regenerative breaking.

Ford not only equipped the Fusion with an environmentally friendly drivetrain; they also used post-industrial yarns which are recycled into the seats of the Fusion Hybrid.  The Prius and the Civic Hybrid are two of the most popular cars out today, its about time Ford designed a hybrid car.