Off Duty, Automotive - Marine Corps Times

The 40+ club

The good news is that small “econocars” no longer suck. At least not gas, anyway. And these types of cars are becoming more available.

Hybrid vehicles have 30 percent to 40 percent more power under the hoods than their 1980s counterparts, they can easily clock 70 mph on the freeway, they can reach 60 in about 10 seconds and they’ve got way more creature comforts than they used to — namely, “luxury car” offerings such as climate control, GPS and high-end stereos.

The best part: They get in the neighborhood of 40 miles per gallon on the highway.

Here’s a look at five efficient and stylish hybrids.

• 2010 Honda Insight ($19,800)

This five-door hatchback hybrid is a great leap forward in practicality. Instead of seating just two, it can take five — or two and a mountain bike. The Insight’s second-row seats fold flat to create a 32-cubic-foot cargo space. Even with the second row in place, there’s still almost 16 cubic feet of “trunk” space behind them — comparable to a current large sedan.

But the Insight’s strongest hand is its hybrid gas-electric powertrain, which can return 40 mpg in city driving and 43 on the highway.

Like the Toyota Prius, the Insight is a full hybrid capable of operating on electric/battery power alone up to 30 mph. In city-type driving, the gas engine may run only intermittently to maximize efficiency.

People who haven’t driven a modern hybrid may be leery about signing up for a car with a bad case of the slows. But the Insight can hit triple-digit speeds, if need be — a feat no econo-box of the ’80s could do without a JATO rocket strapped to the roof. There’s plenty of power to merge with traffic and maintain highway speeds of 70 mph without straining.

The Insight has one other card to play, too. It comes nicely equipped with AC, power windows and locks, and a decent stereo at a price that’s thousands of dollars less than the cost of its archrival, the Toyota Prius.

• 2010 Toyota Prius ($23,500)

The Prius has been in service for more than 10 years now, proving the viability of hybrid gas-electric powertrains. If problems were going to happen, they would have cropped up by now. It’s the most fuel-efficient hybrid on the road, capable of 51 mpg in city driving and 48 on the highway.

The Prius is also powerful, as hybrids go. Its tandem gas-electric drivetrain boasts a fairly large 1.8-liter gas engine that produces 134 horsepower. This is boosted when necessary by an electric battery pack and drive motors. Its acceleration is a bit sharper than the Insight’s — which makes do with a smaller 1.3-liter, 98-hp engine.

Like the Insight, the Prius is high-tech, both functionally and in its futuristic dash layout, which includes touch-screen displays and an unusual toggle-style shifter for the automatic transmission.

It takes a little getting used to but once you get the hang of it, you’ll feel like you’re driving a car from 20 years in the future. Which, in a sense, you are.

• 2009 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI ($23,789)

Diesel power is everywhere — on base. But it is just beginning to appear in the civilian passenger car market — and just in time. For openers, modern direct-injection diesels like the VW Sportwagen are capable of hybridlike economy: 41 mpg on the highway, 30 mpg in the city. Second, diesels can last for more than 300,000 miles. (A hybrid would require new battery packs and other work to reach that mark.) Third, modern diesel engines are “no compromise” engines with excellent acceleration as well as excellent mileage. In the case of the Jetta Sportwagen, zero to 60 in just over eight seconds is possible, which is two or three seconds quicker than the Insight or Prius. A six-speed manual transmission is also available to put the “sport” in Sportwagen. The hybrids are automatic-only.

Finally, modern diesels like the Sportwagen are quiet and free of noxious black exhaust soot — sort of the opposite of a Humvee.

Today, the only negatives to diesel ownership are the fuel — which can be pricey — and the pumps — which can be grimy. The first is offset by the superior mileage and down-the-road longevity. As for the second, just keep an old glove in the trunk.

• 2009 BMW Mini Cooper ($18,550)

This spunky little thing is unlike any new car on the road. That it’s also affordable and happens to be one of the most fuel-efficient cars you can buy (37 mpg on the highway) seems almost too good to be true.

The Mini comes in three body styles — two-door hatchback, convertible and a wagonlike thing called the Clubman.

Base versions come with a 1.6-liter, 118-hp four-cyinder with either six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. The “S” models add a turbocharger to boost the output to 172 hp. At the top is an even further tweaked version of the turbo 1.6-liter engine that delivers 208 hp.

Even with the base engine, performance is kicking, in part because the Mini is, well, mini. It weighs only about 2,500 pounds, which is why you get zero to 60 in about eight seconds and close to 40 mpg on the highway.

The turbocharged S is a quick little beastie: zero to 60 in just over six seconds. It still manages economy-car efficiency (26 mpg city, 34 mpg highway). As Mini says, let’s motor!

• 2010 BMW 335d ($43,900)

“Luxury” and “economy” have traditionally been a one-or-the-other deal. Getting both in the same package is what the new diesel-powered BMW 335d is all about.

The 335d is a 3 Series luxury-sport sedan powered by a twin-turbocharged and direct-injected 3-liter diesel engine that produces 265 hp and a stupendous 425 foot-pounds of torque — comparable to the biggest big-block gasoline V-8s of the muscle-car era but without the single-digit gas mileage. The 335d’s engine returns 36 mpg on the highway (23 in city driving) or about the same mileage you’d get in a conventional front-wheel-drive subcompact economy car like the Toyota Yaris or Honda Civic — except you get to drive a luxury rear-wheel-drive sport sedan instead.

One that can nail 60 mph in 5.9 seconds, too.

The chief negative here is the 335d’s price tag, which is $10,300 higher than the price of a standard 328i. However, the diesel is much more powerful, quicker and gets mileage.

Bottom line, the diesel lets you have your luxury car cake and decent fuel economy, too.

CAR BUYING: Take your time to find the best bargains

Eric Peters is a Military Times contributing writer and an automotive expert.