Ford Fiesta

Ford Fiesta

Just about anybody can make a car fuel efficient with the aid of an electric motor, a generator or two and a few hundred lithium batteries. But it takes some real skill to achieve up to 40 mpg—and a 400-mile range—from a good ol'-fashioned internal combustion engine. Not that the Ford Fiesta is exactly old-fashioned. After all, it comes with a dual-clutch transmission and electric power-assisted steering, and its 1.6-liter 16-valve four-cylinder Duratec generates 120 hp with the help of variable-cam timing. In the interest of full disclosure, however, the really remarkable mileage figure is achieved when customers elect to ditch the five-speed manual transmission and spend another $1070 to pair the engine to the optional PowerShift, a six-speed dual-clutch automatic that boosts the car's EPA mileage ratings to 29 mpg city/40 mpg highway.