Most Economical Car

Most Economical SUV's

Here are the top 10 most economical SUV's arranged by combined MPG.

In the last few years hybrid SUV's have been appearing very quickly. They've raised the bar for SUV fuel efficiency and now all 10 cars in our list are hybrids. The best SUV's are now 7 MPG more efficient than the best large cars which is quite an achievement (due to the fact that there are almost no hybrid large cars).

Two wheel drive SUV's tend to have better fuel economy than four wheel drive SUV's since they are much lighter. The downside being they have extremely limited off-road capabilities.

Economical Car	Engine	City MPG	Hwy MPG	Combined
Ford Escape Hybrid 2WD	2.5L hybrid	34	31	32
Mazda Tribute Hybrid 2WD	2.5L hybrid	34	31	32
Mercury Mariner Hybrid 2WD	2.5L hybrid	34	31	32
Lexus RX 450h 2WD	3.5L hybrid	32	28	30
Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD	2.5L hybrid	30	27	29
Mazda Tribute Hybrid 4WD	2.5L hybrid	30	27	29
Mercury Mariner Hybrid 4WD	2.5L hybrid	30	27	29
Lexus RX 450h 4WD	3.5L hybrid	30	28	29
Toyota Highlander Hybrid 4WD	3.3L hybrid	27	25	26
Saturn Vue Hybrid 2WD	2.4L hybrid	25	32	28

Ford Escape Hybrid

The Ford Escape Hybrid is both the most economical 2WD and 4WD SUV. It was the first ever hybrid SUV to be released. The Mercury Mariner Hybrid and Mazda Tribute Hybrid are based on the hybrid Escape.

The Escape is a full hybrid - it can switch automatically between pure electric power, pure gasoline power, or a combination of both, depending on speed and performance requirements. Its possible to drive solely on electric motors to 40 mph.

Toyota hold many hybrid technology patents. Before making the hybrid Escape, Ford were able to strike a deal with Toyota to use some of their hybrid technology in exchange for Toyota's use of Ford's diesel and direct-injection technology.