Thinking About Downsizing? Here Are 5 Fuel-Efficient Compact Cars

When gas prices are sky high, it doesn’t help when everything else is also getting more expensive. No doubt many folks are thinking it might be time to find a new daily driver that costs less and can go farther on a tank of gas. We’re here to help. Here are the five best compact cars you can buy today that get great gas mileage, and none of them are hybrids (the most efficient hybrids can be found here). Note that the mileage numbers are city/highway/combined figures as rated by the EPA, and that we’ve ordered the cars by their combined figures.

Not only does the Civic rank as the best compact car at MotorTrend, it’s also one of the most fuel-efficient nonhybrids in the class. Its standard 2.0-liter I-4 and CVT combo ekes out 32 mpg in the city and up to 41 mpg on the highway. Drive it with a light foot, and you can stretch its 12.4-gallon tank full of regular to 446 miles while spending around $140 per month on gas. The Civic also offers two body styles and a sportier 1.5-liter turbocharged engine, but both come with a fuel-economy penalty.

Read Our Experts’ Full Honda Civic Review

While it’s not the top vehicle in our Ultimate Car Rankings of compact sedans, the Toyota Corolla delivers when it comes to fuel economy. The standard 2.0-liter engine and CVT return an impressive 32/41/35 mpg, and the 13.2-gallon tank of regular fuel can take you up to 462 miles on a single fill-up. Much like the Civic, the Corolla comes in two body styles: a four-door sedan and a five-door hatchback for buyers who want extra cargo space or simply don’t want a sedan. Impressively, unlike the Civic, the Corolla sedan and hatchback return the same fuel economy despite the extra sheetmetal out back.

Read Our Experts’ Full Toyota Corolla Review

It sits at No. 2 in the MotorTrend rankings of small cars, but the sedan-only Hyundai Elantra places third here in fuel economy. Still, 31/40/35 mpg from its 2.0-liter I-4 and CVT is nothing to sneeze at. That powertrain is good enough for 434 miles from 12.4 gallons of regular fuel, putting monthly fuel costs at around $142. Despite that slight shortfall in efficiency, the Elantra offers strong value and excellent safety ratings if those matter just as much to you as fuel economy. Just don’t expect luxury in the base trims, where the materials feel cheap and plasticky. The base engine and transmission don’t inspire much excitement, either, with 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque getting it to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds. Still, that’s quicker than the base Civic sedan’s 9.2-second run.

Read Our Experts’ Full Hyundai Elantra Review

It ranks fourth in fuel economy and seventh overall in our rankings, but the Jetta is the only European car on this list. Like the Hyundai Elantra, it comes only as a sedan, and its base trim doesn’t feel as upscale as you might hope. But you do get the only turbocharged, non-CVT powertrain in this group: a 1.5-liter turbo I-4 paired with an eight-speed automatic. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it especially quick. Its 158 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque produce an 8.5-second 0–60-mph run, 0.9 second slower than the 2025 model. It also doesn’t feel especially smooth, with strained acceleration off the line followed by turbo surge. The good news is it still returns solid mileage that should work out to around $146 per month in fuel costs given a normal number of miles.

Read Our Experts’ Full Volkswagen Jetta Review

Although the Nissan Sentra sits at the bottom of this fuel-economy ranking, it’s the third-best compact car in our MotorTrend standings. Its biggest advantage is that it’s technically the cheapest car on this list, though only by $25. The 149 hp and 146 lb-ft of torque from its 2.0-liter I-4 still don’t make it much of a performer, and the CVT doesn’t help. As long as you’re not trying to drive it like the sporty SE-R of decades past, you should be able to return 30/38/33 mpg and go up to 409 miles on a full 12.4-gallon tank.

Read Our Experts’ Full Nissan Sentra Review