A funny thing happened on the way to an all-electric car future. More American drivers are instead embracing less-costly and fussy – but still energy efficient and more environmentally friendly – hybrid models in earnest these days.
According to the statisticians at Kelley Blue Book, new-vehicle shoppers bought 41% more conventional gas/electric hybrid-powered cars, trucks and SUVs over the first half of 2024 than in the same period a year earlier.
The most efficient hybrids for 2024 boast 50 or more mpg, says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with estimated average annual fuel costs as low as $900; that represents a $4,750 savings over five years compared to the average new vehicle.
For the uninitiated, hybrid-powered vehicles use a conventional gasoline engine as the primary source of power, with one or more electric motors augmenting the gas engine as needed to maximize acceleration or fuel economy. A hybrid’s battery pack is self-charging, recovering energy that would otherwise be lost via braking and decelerating by a process called regenerative braking, which means it never has to be plugged in to operate, with its range only limited by the amount of gas in the tank.
There are also plug-in hybrids that come with a larger battery that enable them to drive for a certain number of miles solely on electric power, but they’re costlier to purchase and afford little added benefit for the money if their owners neglect to tether them to the power grid every night for charging.
While fuel economy is definitely an important issue among hybrid-vehicle buyers, safety – specifically how well a given model protects its occupants in a collision and is able to prevent getting into a crash in the first place – is inarguably another critical consideration. To that end, we combed both the EPA’s official fuel economy ratings and the lists of models the industry-supported Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has deemed to be either a Top Safety Pick or a Top Safety Pick+ for the 2024 model year.
To earn top marks here, a given model must earn top marks in in all of the IIHS’ crashworthiness tests, including front and side-impact crash tests, and both driver- and passenger-side small overlap frontal crash tests that replicate hitting a tree or light pole. Of note, the IIHS recently updated its side-impact test to underscore how well a vehicle protects rear-seat passengers in T-bone-type crashes.
Award recipients must also include highly-rated forward emergency automatic braking systems that can help avoid collisions with both other vehicles and pedestrians in both daytime and nighttime driving.
What’s more, top-ranked vehicles must offer Acceptable or Good-performing headlights as standard equipment. Illuminating the road ahead is an often overlooked, but critical element of vehicle safety, as about half of traffic deaths occur in the dark, and a quarter of them on unlit roads. Many inferior systems don’t provide enough illumination to enable a driver going 55 mph on a straight road to stop in time after spotting an obstacle in the vehicle’s path.
Top Safety Picks without the “+” designation are those which received Good marks in most of the above criteria, but receive a second-best Acceptable mark for the recently upgraded side-impact test.
To help steer shoppers toward what are among the safest and most fuel efficient rides on the road, we’ve identified the most fuel-efficient hybrid cars and SUVs for 2024 that the IIHS says are also the safest. We’re also noting the best EPA fuel economy ratings in each line, along with the estimated cost to drive an annual 15,000 miles in combined city/highway driving, with regular-grade gas at an average $3.44 per gallon.
But be advised that the IIHS tends to concentrates its testing efforts on the industry’s best-selling vehicles, which often leaves out big-ticket luxury models at the upper end of the price spectrum and low-production sports cars. What’s more, some new or fully redesigned vehicles may not have yet been put through their paces; ratings are updated on an ongoing basis.
Safety ratings for all vehicle types, both current and from past model years, can be found at www.IIHS.org, with fuel economy numbers dating back to 1984 listed at www.fueleconomy.gov.
The 18 Safest And Most Fuel-Efficient Cars, Trucks and SUVs For 2024
These are the gas/electric hybrid-powered models that both achieved the IIHS’ Top Safety Award and Top Safety Award+ status for 2024, and are EPA-rated to achieve at least 35 mpg in combined city/highway driving, with annual fuel cost estimates noted.
- Toyota Prius: Top Safety Pick; 57 mpg; $900 annual fuel cost
- Hyundai Elantra Hybrid: Top Safety Pick; 54 mpg; $950 annual fuel cost
- Toyota Camry Hybrid: Top Safety Pick; 52 mpg; $1,000 annual fuel cost
- Toyota Corolla Hybrid: Top Safety Pick; 50 mpg; $1,050 annual fuel cost
- Honda Accord Hybrid: Top Safety Pick+; 48 mpg; $1,100 annual fuel cost
- Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: Top Safety Pick: 47 mpg; $1,100 annual fuel cost
- Kia Sportage Hybrid: Top Safety Pick+; 43 mpg; $1,200 annual fuel cost
- Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid: Top Safety Pick; 42 mpg; $1,250 annual fuel cost
- Lexus UX 250h: Top Safety Pick; 42 mpg; $1,250 annual fuel cost
- Toyota Crown: Top Safety Pick; 41 mpg; $1,250 annual fuel cost
- Honda CR-V Hybrid: Top Safety Pick; 40 mpg; $1,300 annual fuel cost
- Lexus UX 250h: Top Safety Pick; 39 mpg; $1,300 annual fuel cost
- Lexus NX 350h: Top Safety Pick; 39 mpg; $1,650 annual fuel cost (premium fuel)
- Toyota Venza: Top Safety Pick; 39 mpg; $1,300 annual fuel cost
- Hyundai Tucson Hybrid: Top Safety Pick+; 38 mpg; $1,350 annual fuel cost
- Kia Sorento Hybrid: Top Safety Pick; 37 mpg; $1,400 annual fuel cost
- Toyota Sienna: Top Safety Pick; 36 mpg; $1,450 annual fuel cost
- Toyota Highlander Hybrid: Top Safety Pick; 36 mpg; $1,450 annual fuel cost
Sources: IIHS, EPA.
