"The question we started this exercise with was, "Is there actually a '40-mpg' car that you'd want to own?" Indeed, there is.
"The select six we've summoned to our investigation are the Chevrolet Cruze Eco (28/42), Ford Focus SFE (28/40), Honda Civic HF (29/41), Hyundai Elantra (29/40), Mazda3 (28/40), and Volkswagen Jetta TDI (30/42). A diesel, but no hybrids? Unlike the public's uneasiness with battery-aided driving (hybrid sales have been stuck around the 2.5-percent range), diesels are hydrocarbon kissing-cousins to their gasoline brethren. We know them. We're comfortable with them. And we were also curious to see how the Jetta TDI stacks-up against its high-tech gasoline alternatives.
1st Place: Mazda3
Mazda3's compressed intake charge is cooled by 3000psi, six-hole,
direct fuel injection. The next heat countermeasure is that the ensuing
combustion is contained by a small cavity at its top to the piston,
and finally, long exhaust headers help prevent exhaust heat
back-washing into other cylinders. As a kicker, friction has been
reduced by 30 percent. Mazda has done its homework, and it showed on
the road as the '3 returned better mileage than the both the Elantra
and Focus.
That said,
it was also the car that most caused us to glance around the room
during our deliberations and silently concur that it was the one we
could most enjoy driving every day. Let's listen in on the
conversation: Evans: "Great-handling car, very tossable with quick
steering and very good feedback. The Mazda3 is easily the most fun
vehicle to drive at the Proving Ground. Digging the big seat bolsters."
Martinez: "A few hundred feet into the heart of downtown Tehachapi, I
could already tell it was a solid car."
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1208_40_mpg_compact_sedan_comparison/viewall.html#ixzz1y9ylPiug
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