To help introduce you to the world of eco friendly cars and the wide range of offerings available, we’ve put together the following list of Top 10 Best Eco Friendly Cars.
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Best Eco Friendly Cars FAQ
Image by Thanks for your Like • donations welcome from Pixabay
Before we get into our list of the Top 10 Best Eco Friendly Cars, here are some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) we get about this automobile type.
1. What Are Eco Friendly Cars?
2. Do Eco Friendly Cars All Require Plug-In Charging?
3. How Do These Cars Benefit The Environment?
4. Will An Eco Friendly Car Save Me Money?
How We Reviewed
Image by Marilyn Murphy from Pixabay
While we compared these vehicles based on the usual parameters (size, space, features, reliability, and performance), given that this list focuses on eco friendly cars, we gave particular weight to features like fuel efficiency.
Overall Price Range
The vehicles that made our list of best eco friendly cars range in price from around $19,000 up to about $40,000.
What We Reviewed
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Features
At 195.9 inches (over 16 feet) in length, the Toyota Avalon Hybrid is one of the larger vehicles to make our list of best eco friendly cars. The Toyota Avalon Hybrid achieves 43 mpg in the city, 44 mpg on the highway, and 44 mpg combined, which is impressive for a vehicle of its size.
The added length makes for a more spacious feel with more legroom in the backseat and a larger trunk. Whether it is a benefit will depend on your personal situation and preferences. Those who live in urban areas and frequently need to parallel park may find the added length to be a detriment whereas families with kids in the backseat on long road trips may consider it a must-have.
PROS
CONS
Warranty
The Toyota Avalon Hybrid comes with the following warranties:
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Features
Small and sporty, the 2018 Volkswagen Jetta gets hybrid-like mileage from a standard gas-powered engine. Its small size translates into better performance than some larger vehicles on our list, like the Toyota Avalon Hybrid.
PROS
CONS
Price
The Volkswagen Jetta starts at around $19,000, making it one of the most affordable eco friendly cars to appear on our list.
Warranty
Volkswagen provides a 6-year/72,000-mile transferable warranty, meaning that if you sell your Jetta, the warranty automatically transfers to the new owner at no additional cost. This adds value to your used VW. The Jetta’s battery (3 years/36,000 miles), brake pads and shoes (1 year/12,000 miles), halogen/xenon bulbs (3 years/36,000 miles), other bulbs (1 year/12,000 miles), paint (3 years/36,000 miles), and wiper blades (1 year/ 12,000 miles) are all covered under separate warranties.
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Features
The sexiest, most powerful performer to make our list of best eco friendly cars, the all-electric Tesla Model 3 features available dual-motor all-wheel drive that propels you from 0 to 60 mph in a mind-blowing 3.3 seconds. You better have access to an electric-car charger because, despite its 310-mile range, the Tesla won’t take gas.
The Tesla Model 3, though more expensive than some other cars on our list, starts at about $5,000 less than the Toyota Avalon Hybrid.
PROS
CONS
Price
The Tesla Model 3 starts at $33,450 for the rear-wheel-drive version with a mid-range battery. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive model with a long-range battery starts at $40,450.
Warranty
Tesla provides a 4-year, 50,000-mile warranty on the vehicle itself and an 8-year, 120,000-mile warranty on the battery and drive unit.
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Features
The 2019 Honda Accord Hybrid delivers everything you would expect from a Honda: quality, thoughtful features, great reliability, low operating and maintenance costs and an affordable price. Impressively, the Honda Accord Hybrid achieves the highest maximum horsepower on our list while also maintaining some of the best fuel-efficiency ratings. This makes the Honda Accord Hybrid one of our “Best of the Best” selections for eco friendly cars.
PROS
CONS
Price
The 2019 Honda Accord Hybrid starts at around $25,000.
Warranty
The 2019 Honda Accord Hybrid comes with the following limited warranties: 3-year/36,000 mile new vehicle warranty; 5-year/60,000-mile Powertrain warranty; 8-year/100,000-mile warranty for greater-than-expected degradation of the high-voltage battery capacity.
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Features
Chevy claims that the Bolt EV is “the first affordable all-electric car to offer an EPA-estimated 238 miles of range on a single charge.” However, for about the same price, the Tesla Model 3 offers about a 310-mile range.
Despite this misleading assertion, the Chevy Bolt EV still makes our list of best eco friendly cars because it offers a great deal of versatility, somehow squeezing 56.6 cubic feet of cargo space into a compact, city-friendly wheelbase. For urban dwellers with limited space but easy access to electric-vehicle charging stations, the Chevy Bolt EV is worth a look.
PROS
CONS
Price
The Chevrolet Bolt EV starts at around $37,000.
Warranty
The Chevrolet Bolt EV comes with the following warranties: 8-year/100,000-mile warranty on battery and electric components; 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty; 3-year/36,000-mile warranty against corrosion; 6-year/100,000-mile warranty against rust-through; plus a 5-year/60,000-mile roadside assistance plan.
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Features
Starting at around $22,000, the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid is a fraction of the price of some other hybrids on our list. Plus its 58 mpg combined rating puts it among the most fuel-efficient models on our list.
The Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid’s 139-horsepower engine is smaller than the Honda Accord Hybrid’s 212 horsepower. However, the Hyundai gets nearly 10 mile-per-gallon better fuel efficiency than the Honda (57/59/58 mpg for the Hyundai compared to 48/48/48 for the Honda).
PROS
CONS
Price
The Chevrolet Bolt EV starts at around $37,000.
Warranty
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Features
The only crossover to make our Top 10 Best Eco Friendly Cars list, the Kia Niro Hybrid delivers impressive fuel economy despite its crossover design.
However, this is another hybrid where one really makes the trade-off between horsepower and miles per gallon, as the Niro’s relatively paltry 139 horsepower is especially noticeable in a crossover vehicle. By comparison, the Honda Accord Hybrid gets similar gas mileage to the Kia Niro but with a maximum horsepower of 212.
PROS
CONS
Price
The Kia Niro Hybrid Crossover starts at around $23,500.
Warranty
Kia provides the following warranties and roadside-assistance plan:
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Features
The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is the most SUV-like of our best eco friendly cars, so if you need the extra interior space or the increased ground clearance but don’t want an increase in emissions, the RAV4 Hybrid might be the way to go. While the RAV4 delivers a respectable 176 horsepower, it also, disappointingly, achieves some of the lowest fuel efficiency of any vehicle on our list.
In fact, while the RAV4 Hybrid achieves fuel efficiency ratings of 34/30/32 mpg (city/highway/combined), the gas-only RAV4 comes in at 26/35/30 mpg (city/highway/combined). If you like the RAV4 and do the bulk of your driving at highway speeds, the gas-only RAV4 might deserve a look. Especially since the gas-only engine maxes out at 203 horsepower compared to the hybrid’s 176.
PROS
CONS
Price
The Toyota RAV4 hybrid starts at around $27,400.
Warranty
Toyota offers the following warranties:
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Features
Smaller and less expensive than the Toyota Avalon Hybrid, the Toyota Camry Hybrid brings the Camry’s legendary reliability and longevity into the hybrid era. It delivers excellent fuel efficiency and an impressive net power of 208 horsepower.
In fact, the Camry Hybrid is among both the most powerful and the most fuel-efficient hybrids on our list. We think the Toyota Camry Hybrid definitely gives the Honda Accord Hybrid a run for its money in all areas including fuel efficiency, power, reliability, and overall value.
PROS
CONS
Price
The Toyota Camry Hybrid starts at around $28,000.
Warranty
Toyota offers the following warranties:
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Features
The Ford Fusion Hybrid SE achieves respectable fuel efficiency ratings of 43/41/42 (city/highway/combined) while delivering a maximum horsepower of 141. While the Ford Fusion is absolutely a solid offering that belongs among our list of best eco friendly cars, it is comparable in price and size to both the Honda Accord Hybrid and the Toyota Camry Hybrid.
However, both the Honda and Toyota hybrid models significantly outrank the Fusion in fuel efficiency and horsepower, a serious problem for the Ford Fusion to overcome.
PROS
CONS
Price
The Ford Fusion Hybrid SE starts at around $27,500.
Warranty
Ford offers the following warranties and roadside-assistance plan on the Fusion Hybrid:
The Verdict
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
While each of the eco friendly cars to make our list has its own unique advantages, for our money, when it came to selecting the best of the best eco friendly cars available on the market today, we had to rule it a tie between the Honda Accord Hybrid and the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Both vehicles boast long, multi-decade track records of exceptional reliability. Not just that — both hybrid models are among the most fuel-efficient and the highest-horsepower vehicles on our list, all at a mid-range price. As auto reviewers have been saying for decades, you can’t go wrong with the Accord or the Camry.
