Vehicles don’t have to be small to be fuel efficient. With today’s progressive technology, the auto industry is incorporating hybrid technology and lighter building materials into SUVs allowing them to get excellent fuel economy. So if you want to be environmentally friendly by owning a vehicle that is fuel efficient that can comfortably carry your family, you can always choose an SUV.

Best Gas Mileage SUVs: Top 10 List:

1. Ford Escape Hybrid: 34 City/31 Hwy (32 avg), Base Price: $30,110. 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine with 177 hp. Reaching 0-60 mph in 9.5 secs. The Ford Escape Hybrid is sure to turn heads with the progressive styling of an SUV. Scoring high on safety tests and obtaining the best gas mileage for an SUV makes this vehicle a great buy.

2. Lexus RX 450h: 32 City/28 Hwy (30 avg), Base Price: $43,935. 3.5-liter V6 engine with 295 hp. Goes from 0-60 mph in 7.8 secs. The stylish and luxurious Lexus RX 450h is the second most fuel efficient SUV. Improving on the looks and overall driving performance of this model brings Lexus to the forefront of the Hybrid SUV category. The vehicle is considered a Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle meaning that it is 90 percent cleaner than the current average year's models.

3. Nissan Juke: 27 City/32 Hwy (29 avg), Base Price: $19,340. 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine with 188 hp. Accelerating from 0-60 mph in 7.3 secs. Fast, fuel efficient and affordable sports like SUV. If you prefer a crossover between a sports car and an SUV, go with the Nissan Juke unique design.

4. Toyota Highlander Hybrid: 28 City/28 Hwy (28 avg), Base Price: $37,490. 3.5-liter V6 engine with 280 hp. Reaching 0-60 mph in 7.4 secs. Toyota has always produced great vehicles and the Highlander Hybrid is no exception. If you are willing to spend more than $37k, you will love this SUV due to its great gas mileage, great cargo space and a powerful engine.

5. Mitsubishi Outlander Sport: 25 City/31 Hwy (27 avg), Base Price: $18,895. 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine with 148 hp. Reaching 0-60 mph in 8.4 secs. Costing less than $19k, the Outlander Sport is a great bargain with amazing fuel efficiency that will top many competitions.

6. Hyundai Tucson GL: 23 City/31 Hwy (26 avg), Base Price: $19,995. 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine with 165 hp. Accelerating from 0-60 mph in 10.2 secs. A smaller SUV, the Hyundai Tucson is sometimes considered a CUV (Crossover) and is a lot easier to maneuver and park in tight situations. Even though small, the cabin has been designed in a way that provides plenty of room for passengers and cargo. So, for the combination of having a rugged SUV that drives like a compact car, the Hyundai Tuscon might be just the vehicle for you.

7. Chevrolet Equinox & Chevrolet HHR

Chevrolet Equinox: 22 City/32 Hwy (26 Combined), Base Price: $22,995. 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine with 182 hp. Reaching 0-60 mph in 9.3 secs. With five passenger seating, a stylish design, and excellent performance makes the Chevy Equinox very appealing for those looking for an SUV with great gas mileage.

Chevrolet HHR: 22 City/32 Hwy (26 Combined), Base Price: $18,720. 2.2-liter 4-cylinder with 155 hp. Attaining 60 mph in 9.4 secs. The Chevy HHR handles like an SUV and at the same time, has the fuel efficiency and price tag of a compact wagon.

8. GMC Terrain: 22 City/32 Hwy (26 avg), Base Price: $24,500. 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine with 182 hp. Able to reach from 0-60 mph in 9.2 secs. The GMC Terrain is a quality built SUV offering excellent mileage and clean emissions. The Terrain is a full SUV with a decent price tag and you won't have to sacrifice space or a smaller engine for the 26 mpg combined fuel efficiency.

9. Jeep Patriot: 23 City/29 Hwy (25 avg), Base Price: $15,995. 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine with 158 hp. Reaching 0-60 mph in 10.1 secs. Starting at only $15,995, the Patriot is an SUV you might want to consider to save you money. Resembling the Jeep Cherokee, the Patriot is a great vehicle for doing some off-roading or light towing. Scoring high on NHTSA Crash Tests, the Patriot makes a great all around vehicle bringing out the adventurer in you.

10. Jeep Compass: 23 City/29 Hwy (25 Combined), Base Price: $19,295. 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine with 158 hp. Reach from 0 to 60 mph in 10.4 secs. The Compass rides and handles more like a car than an SUV. It offers plenty of safety features and is built using a strong steel structure and a well-planned subframe. Side-curtain airbags and electronic stability control with anti-rollover sensors are standard.

Safest Cars on the Market

Safety is one of the major features most people want in a car. It provides a sense of relief knowing that you have purchased a car that an organization like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has performed a variety of tests on to provide some information about how the car handles different crash situations. This list provides ten individual vehicles that have ranked high with these tests to give you an idea of what is out there in terms of safety conditions.

1) Scion xB: A relatively small sedan is the Scion xB starting at around $15,000 that ranks high with safety features. According to the NHTSA Crash-Test Results, the Scion gets five stars for Frontal Driver, Frontal Passenger, Side Driver, and Side Rear Passenger collision tests, all conducted at around 35miles per hour.

2) Honda Accord: Honda places heavy emphasis on safety and the Accord is no exception. With Honda’s Advanced Compatibility Engineering structure, six air-bags, and electronic stability control, this car consistently ranks high on all the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests. Honda is a very safe sedan with an average price of $20,000 - $30, 0000.

3) Toyota Tacoma: For a mid-sized truck, the Toyota Tacoma scores the highest in this category on all the governmental safety tests. The truck scored five out of five stars for driver and front passenger protection in both frontal and front-side crash tests, as well as a rollover rating of four stars. The Tacoma comes standard with anti-lock brakes, front, side and side-curtain airbags as well as stability and traction control.

4) Toyota Camry: Starting at $20,000 is the Toyota Camry scoring very high on the federal government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration side and front impact testing. The 2010 version features seven airbags that totally surround the driver and passengers with complete protection in the event of a collision. With the acceleration problems the 2011 version has been completely redesigned and so far have had no problems.

5) Volvo XC60: Receiving top scores from the insurance industry for frontal offset, side impact and rear crash protection tests, the Volvo XC60 expertly uses technology to create one of the safest cars on the road. Utilizing a new safety feature called City Safety; this Volvo will reduce low-speed impacts by automatically braking if it senses an imminent collision at speeds less than 18mph. There are many other safety amenities that will also help keep you and your passengers as safe as possible in the event of a collision.

6) Honda Fit: According to government tests, the Honda Fit performs very well on both driver and passenger safety in a front-end crash as well as for driver safety in a side collision. The possibility of the car rolling over in a collision is only a 12 percent chance. Standard features of the Fit are anti-lock brakes, six airbags and active front head restraints.

7) Mazda CX-7 Sport: When it comes to safety, the Mazda CX-7 Sport is a very well rounded vehicle. The car gets five stars from government crash tests in all seating positions in frontal and side crash tests, as well as a four-star rollover score, helping keep all the passengers within the vehicle safe.

8 ) Toyota Highlander: A mid-sized SUV, the Toyota Highlander is one of the safest vehicles in this class. Starting at $25,000, the Highlander makes a great family vehicle with many features like three-row roll-sensing side curtain airbags and a driver's knee airbag to keep everyone safe. Other features include Electronic Brake-force Distribution, Enhanced Vehicle Stability Control, Traction Control, Brake Assist and Hill Start Assist Control. A backup camera is standard on Sport and Limited models.

9) Honda Odyssey (Minivan): Out of the seven mini vans on the market today, the Honda Odyssey is considered to be the safest. The smooth driving van feels like a car when traveling down the highway with its 3.5-liter V6 engine that creates 244 horsepower.

10) Subaru Impreza: For the affordable small car class, the Subaru Impeza ranks 13 out of 30. One stand-out safety feature this car offers is standard All-Wheel Drive, making it a great choice for people who live in areas where winter weather can make roads slick. Others features include Vehicle Dynamic Control and a Traction Control System, making it better equipped than most of the cars in this class.

Audi has just released its latest concept design. It is known as the A9 concept and it is unlike anything we have seen in any production car to date. Audi plans to project its A9 concept at a higher standing than its current top dog, the A8. Audi predicts that this concept will be advanced enough to overwhelm first-class luxury models from competitors such as the Porsche Panamera, and the Lamborghini Estoque if ever it will be put into production.

The form and features of the 2010 Audi A9 Concept were motivated in part by the magnificent structural design of Santiago Calatrava’s architecture in The City of Arts and Sciences located in Valencia. Such inspiration can be seen in the smooth, sleek and flowing contours of the vehicle along with its futuristic structure. Calatrava’s constructions seem as if they were taken from centuries in the future, and Audi’s concept emulates the same ideals.

The windshield of this concept car is fully integrated into the roof, and is composed of material using nanotechnology. Note that this technology does not exist at this time, since it is designed to automatically adjust from clear to opaque, change color and repair damage. Changing colors to the preference of the driver is a feature also reserved for the body kit of the A9. This means that at the touch of a button, the car can change from white to black, to red, to blue, etc.

Propulsion for the A9 concept is achieved via a sophisticated fusion between electric-powered motors found in each of the four wheels of the vehicle, working in concurrence with an internal combustion engine using a renewable source of fuel. Once again, such technology does not exist as of yet, but the plans for this vehicle certainly sound fascinating.

Enthusiasts might appreciate the fact that the 2010 BMW Alpina B3 S Bi-Turbo is available as a coupé, convertible, touring or saloon vehicle. Also, rear-wheel and all-wheel drivetrain options are available for the car.

The BMW Alpina B3 S Bi-Turbo relies primarily on its 3-liter inline-6 twin turbocharged engine, which yields 400 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 397 lb-ft (540 Nm) of torque at 4500 rpm. The engine cleverly allocates 133.3 horsepower per liter of gasoline, and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. The engine can go up to 7000 rpm, and the top speed clocks in at 186 mph (300 km/h). Massive power is distributed across the powerband using the Alpina Switch-Tronic; a set of buttons behind the steering wheel that essentially removes the need for a traditional gear handle. Using the Switch-Tronic, the driver can shift between gears with no perceivable loss in acceleration. This innovative feature also allows the driver to make use of the whole revolution range of the engine before shifting between gears, and utilizing the top gear is feasible for any driving circumstance. A heavy-duty cooling mechanism with added radiators preserves favorable temperatures when driving. The engine of the B3 S Bi-Turbo also maintains outstanding fuel economy.

Looking at the exterior, the car’s lively aesthetics are identified through the front spoiler, scooped hood, rear diffuser and a pair of unique double-ended mufflers. Alpina Classic 19 inch light-alloy rims emphasize the entire figure of the vehicle, complete with Michelin tires.

The interior is upholstered with leather sport seats, and a blue Alpina display beneath the dashboard. The display contains a digital speedometer and indicates important information such as engine and oil temperature.

When it comes to performance, the Brabus-tuned T65 RS Mercedes Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series doesn’t disappoint. Brabus boosted the performance of the SL 65 AMG by adding twin turbochargers and four large intercoolers to the engine package. This is further supplemented by twin mufflers raising the horsepower of the vehicle to 800 hp at 5500 rpm. Torque values also increased to 811 lb-ft at 2100 rpm. The car can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.6 seconds and achieves a speed of 200 km/h in 9.8 seconds. The car’s top speed is measured at over 330 km/h, but due to safety standards and regulations, it is limited to 320 km/h or 200 mph.

Brabus also pays special attention to the interior detailing of the SL 65 AMG. The power comfort seats of the vehicle are covered in a unique blend of black leather and Alcantara, making the seats soft and breathable. The same combination of materials is applied on the headliner, dashboard and door panels. Accentuating the interior design of the car are accurately-sewn red seams found all over the interior, perfectly matching the black ambiance of the car.

The BRABUS upholstery shop creates a special sporty and luxurious interior to customers’ exact specifications, down to the last detail. The power comfort seats offer excellent lateral support without constricting the occupants. In this true BRABUS one-off car, made to the specifications of a longtime customer, they are upholstered in an exclusive combination of especially soft and breathable black leather and Alcantara. The same materials are found on door panels, headliner and dashboard. Precision-sewn red seam add striking highlights to all interior elements. Final adjustments to the interior include stainless steel scuff plates with an illuminated logo and a custom-built speedometer.