Top 14 Wagons and Hatchbacks with the Best Highway Fuel Economy for 2014

Drivers with long freeway commutes understand the importance of choosing a vehicle that gets great mileage on the highway. If you're in the market for a new wagon or hatchback and expect to log lots of miles in freeway travel, you might want to make highway fuel economy one of the attributes you consider when evaluating candidates. Doing so could save you money in fuel expenses over the long haul.

The 14 picks that follow (our list is longer than the usual 10 due to ties) are the wagons and hatchbacks with the best highway fuel economy for 2014. As one might expect, there are lots of hybrids on the list. Even though hybrids tend to get better mileage in city driving, the current crop is also quite frugal on the highway, and our lineup includes picks like the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius. Diesel models are known for being champs in highway mileage and our list includes diesel versions of models like the Volkswagen Golf and Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen. Gas-only choices like theFiat 500, Mazda 3, Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Versa Note also make the cut.

While plug-in hybrids are rated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for combined mileage, highway fuel economy ratings for these vehicles aren't available, and as such, these models have not been included in our list. Still, given each model's strong combined mileage, it's safe to assume that plug-ins would be very thrifty on the highway. The plug-in hybrids in this segment are the Ford C-Max Energi, the Chevrolet Volt and the Toyota Prius Plug-In. Initially, each these plug-ins travels solely on electric power for a distance that ranges from roughly 10-40 miles, depending on the model. After that, these cars function like regular hybrids, with fuel-efficiency ratings of 43 mpg combined (Ford C-Max Energi), 37 mpg combined (Chevrolet Volt) and 50 mpg combined (Toyota Prius Plug-In).

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Note that electric cars are excluded since their limited range makes them impractical choices for many shoppers. Our rankings are based on the EPA's miles-per-gallon ratings for highway travel.

1. Toyota Prius — 48 mpg highway

2. Toyota Prius c — 46 mpg highway

3. Honda Insight — 44 mpg highway (tie)

Mitsubishi Mirage — 44 mpg highway (tie)

4. BMW 3 Series Wagon Diesel — 43 mpg highway

5. Volkswagen Golf Diesel — 42 mpg highway (tie)

Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen Diesel — 42 mpg highway (tie)

6. Volkswagen Beetle Diesel — 41 mpg highway

7. Ford C-Max Hybrid — 40 mpg highway (tie)

Toyota Prius v — 40 mpg highway (tie)

Lexus CT 200h — 40 mpg highway (tie)

Fiat 500 — 40 mpg highway (tie)

Nissan Versa Note — 40 mpg highway (tie)

Mazda 3 — 40 mpg highway (tie)

Top 14 Wagons and Hatchbacks with the Best Highway Fuel Economy for 2014

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