Most fuel-efficient used cars under $10,000

Mileage: 30 mpg combined (27 mpg city/34 mpg highway)
Price: $7,500 to $10,000

Scion offered the xA only from 2004 to 2006. It's a 4-door hatch that shares the same 1.5-liter VVTi powertrain as the Yaris, but looks decidedly better doing so. It has a unique center-dash gauge pod and exceptional reliability.

Check listings: Find a used Scion xA in your area

Mileage: 30 mpg combined (26 mpg city/36 mpg highway)
Price: $8,500 to $10,000

Rolling the first year of the eighth generation of Honda's top seller delivers a more aesthetically pleasing vehicle than most on this list. The Civic is offered in 2- and 4-door body styles with a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine under the hood.

Check listings: Find a used Honda Civic in your area

Mileage: 31 mpg combined (28 mpg city/37 mpg highway)
Price: $8,500 to $10,000

The 2008 edition is the last of the ninth-generation Corollas, and it screams "commuter car with little personality." It also has a short standard-equipment list. Available only as a 4-door sedan, the Corolla features a 1.8-liter 126-horsepower 4-cylinder engine. Jumping up to the improved, redesigned 2009 version still nets respectable mileage at 30 mpg combined, but it may be challenging to find one for less than $10,000.

Check listings: Find a used Toyota Corolla in your area

Mileage: 32 mpg combined (28 mpg city/37 mpg highway)
Price: $7,500 to $10,000

Easily the most fun and tossable car on our list, the MINI is the polar opposite of the soulless, point-A-to-point-B appliances normally lumped in with fuel misers. Retro Euro styling, a throwback interior, BMW mechanicals and a sporty suspension make the Cooper a real adrenalin pump. Be wary of early models equipped with the continuously variable transmission, because the gearboxes can fail and are costly to replace.

Check listings: Find a used MINI Cooper in your area

Mileage: 32 mpg combined (29 mpg city/36 mpg highway)
Price: $9,000 to $10,000

The Yaris replaced Toyota's subcompact Echo in 2007 and is better than its predecessor in many regards, but it still lives a bit on the quirky side of the design curve. Yaris buyers got an all-new car, four years of technological evolution and the choice between 4-door sedan and 2-door hatch. Scoring well in the reliability department, the Yaris personifies practical and economical motoring.

Check listings: Find a used Toyota Yaris in your area

Mileage: 33 mpg combined (30 mpg city/38 mpg highway)
Price: $4,000 to $6,000

Go ahead and break the speed limit — heck, you could break the sound barrier in this nondescript 2-door coupe and not get the attention of local authorities. The Echo has big taillights, big headlights and a strange sedan shape. Inside, an odd, center-mounted gauge pod awaits. If style takes a back seat to fuel economy, this appliancelike Toyota delivers the goods: 33 mpg combined.

Check listings: Find a used Toyota Echo in your area

Mileage: 34 mpg combined (31 mpg city/38 mpg highway)
Price: $3,000 to $5,000

A close relative of the classic mileage champ the Metro, the Suzuki Swift uses the same 1.3-liter drivetrain. The Swift is a continuation of the Suzuki Cultus and is still in production overseas. Swifts are not nearly as plentiful as Metros but are worth the search if you want to hit the mileage home run.

Check listings: Find a used Suzuki Swift in your area

Mileage: 36 mpg combined (34 mpg city/41 mpg highway)
Price: $2,000 to $4,000

A classic among hypermilers, the Metro is the miser among misers, belting out the big mpgs since the '80s. Based on the Suzuki Cultus, the Metro has used 1.0-liter 3-cylinder and 1.3-liter 4-cylinder engines. Our list showcases the last model years of the Metro, its third generation, which spans 1998 to 2001 and features the bigger engine. These cars put the "base" in "basic" with bare-bones interiors, but they sure know how to stretch the fuel dollar.

Check listings: Find a used Chevrolet Metro in your area

Mileage: 36 mpg combined (32 mpg city/42 mpg highway)
Price: $8,000 to $10,000

Pick your poison: Golf, Jetta or Beetle — and think hatch, sedan or coupe, because all three feature Volkswagen's 1.9-liter diesel engine and identical mileage performance. Model year 2004 featured a new version of VW's TDI diesel that uses high-pressure direct injection and improved engine-management computers to increase efficiency, emissions and mileage.

Check listings: Find a used Volkswagen Jetta in your area

Mileage: 36 mpg combined (33 mpg city/41 mpg highway)
Price: $9,000 to $10,000

The smart fortwo delivers the goods by going small. The fortwo is a scant foot longer than the typical golf cart and can park nose first on a city street, but seats only two. Power comes from a Mitsubishi-sourced, rear-mounted 1.0-liter 3-cylinder engine that generates 70 horsepower and requires premium fuel. Zero-to-60 acceleration checks in at a leisurely 14.2 seconds. Around town, its handling is nimble, and the fortwo gets good safety marks thanks to its Tridion safety cell design.

Check listings: Find a used smart fortwo in your area

Mileage: 41 mpg combined (39 mpg city/42 mpg highway)
Price: $8,500 to $10,000

The Civic Hybrid takes the third step on the winners' podium. The hybrid, which debuted in the U.S. in 2003 and is based on the seventh-generation Civic, offers many technological improvements over the first Honda Insight, particularly the second-generation Integrated Motor Assist system with improved computer control, improved torque and smaller batteries. It also has a hybrid-specific, lean-burn 1.3-liter i-DSI 4-cylinder engine featuring a VTEC-controlled cylinder idling system. It has seating for five and all the amenities of a conventional sedan.

Check listings: Find a used Honda Civic Hybrid in your area

Mileage: 47 mpg combined (48 mpg city/45 mpg highway)
Price: $6,500 to $10,000

Coming in second, the Prius offered seating for five and more storage than the first hybrid on the U.S. market, from a rival automaker, when it came to the U.S. in 2001. It is, however, the second-generation Prius that makes our list because of its more efficient Hybrid Synergy Drive system, added refinement and an abundant supply of used cars on the market.

Check listings: Find a used Toyota Prius in your area

Mileage: 53 mpg combined (48 mpg city/60 mpg highway)
Price: $4,000 to $7,700

Taking first place at 53 mpg combined is the Insight, the first mass-produced hybrid available in America. The first-generation Insight can be distinguished by its funky, skirted rear wheels and unique silhouette. The aluminum-bodied, 2-seat coupe is powered by a 1.0-liter 67-horsepower 3-cylinder gasoline engine and Honda's 144-volt 13-horsepower electric motor. Although the Insight originally was not sold in big numbers, Honda and a variety of aftermarket sources offer replacement batteries to keep this groundbreaking hybrid on the road for years to come.

Check listings: Find a used Honda Insights in your area

Evan Griffey served as an editor of Turbo & High Tech Performance, a pioneering publication about sport-compact tuning. Today Griffey freelances for Import Tuner, Sport Compact Car, Car Audio and Siphon.