The best gas mileage cars out there may yet save us from sky-high fuel charges and today's worldwide financial worries. Replacing the old gas-guzzlers are hybrid gasoline/electric powered cars from the Land of the Rising Sun, the Toyota Prius, the smaller Honda Civic, and the Nissan Altima.

Toyota's Prius is a 100 per cent hybrid automobile, designed from the ground up to add its fuel-saving 1.5 litre 4 cylinder petrol engine with batteries and electric motor. This Japanese hybrid gets an EPA fuel consumption figure of 48 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the highway. Impressive, to say the least.

The Honda Civic can be bought as a hybrid or a gasoline car. The hybrid Honda Civic has a 1.3 liter 4-cylinder engine which scores are 40 mpg in the city, and 45 mpg on the open road according to the EPA. The regular Honda Civic petrol model does 26/34 mpg, which is great for a gasoline engine.

Nissan's Altima Hybrid is a 2.5 liter 4-cylinder vehicle which gives you an EPA-tested 35 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the freeways. It has an electric motor like the Honda and Toyota hybrids, but it fails to reach their excellent fuel savings. Instead the Nissan is a lot more powerful. You can feel the difference.

Other non-hybrid best gas mileage cars would have to include the eye-catching Smart Fourtwo, a tiny gas-powered automobile that is often mistaken for an electric vehicle or even a hybrid. The Fourtwo has a 1-liter, 3-cylinder, 71 h.p. gasoline engine that gives you 33 mpg in the city and 41 out on the open road.

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI is a 2 litre 4-cylinder turbo-diesel vehicle which rates 30/41 mpg city/highway with its 6-speed manual transmission. But its automatic transmission still manages to deliver 40 mpg on the freeway, according to the EPA. This is nice VW to drive, very much different from the Beetle.

The hybrid version of the Toyota Camry passenger car manages to get 33 mpg in the city and does a slightly better 34 mpg on the highway. It has a gutsy 2.4 liter 4-cylinder engine, plus the hybrid electrics. The Camry hybrid looks the same as any regular Camry automobile, which keeps your car from standing out from the herd.

The sporty Mini Cooper delivers 28/37 mpg city/highway from the 1.6 liter 4-cylinder gas-powered engine. The Mini accommodates four adults comfortably and is heaps of fun to drive around in.

The tiny little Toyota Yaris does 29 city, 36 highway mpg from its 1.5 liter 4-cylinder engine and a manual transmission. The 4-speed automatic gearbox is nearly as cheap to run as the manual, and returns an estimated 35 mpg on the open road. Like all the good quality small cars, the little Yaris has more space on the inside than you would ever imagine from viewing it from the outside. It certainly deserves to be rated one of the best gas mileage cars.