Finding the Best Fuel-Efficient SUV Crossover

With even Porsche getting into the hybrid SUV crossover game, there are more and more options (many of them affordable) for buyers looking for fuel-efficiency in an SUV.

February 24, 2010 at 8:35AM by Jim Motavalli | comment

There is a basic contradiction in the phrase "green SUV." That hasn’t changed, but SUVs have nonetheless evolved along more environmentally friendly lines, especially as they've hopped off truck platforms and become much more car-based. And it certainly helps that many are now available as hybrids. Soon, we’re likely to see plug-in hybrid SUVs — with 40 to 50 miles of all-electric range.

The new SUVs are called "crossovers," and they've been skyrocketing in popularity as consumers become more interested in fuel economy. According to Edmunds.com, price spikes in 2008 sent crossover sales soaring 50 percent over 2007 levels. Compact cars also saw a jump, as large SUVs plunged 20 percent in the first five months of 2008.

2010 porsche cayenne hybrid suv crossover

The most popular small SUVs today combine utility with sedan ride and handling, and near-30-mpg mileage. In many cases, minivans are a good alternative to SUVs, and provide better fuel economy and space utilization, but the "soccer mom" tag is death to many consumers. Believe it or not, Porsche will introduce a hybrid SUV in 2010, a version of its performance-oriented Cayenne with a 150-mph top speed and a rumored 27 mpg. Would Porsche make a minivan?

Check out five more of the

best fuel-efficient SUV crossovers

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Jim Motavalli

Jim Motavalli is a senior writer at E/The Environmental Magazine, a regular contributor to the New York Times and author most recently of Naked in the Woods: Joseph Knowles and the Legacy of Frontier Fakery.
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