The top achievers in fuel economy for the 2009 model year are hybrids, nabbing five spots on our Top 10 list. Retaining the throne for 2009 is the Toyota Prius, with EPA mileage estimates of 48/45 mpg city/highway. There are diesel representatives on the list, too, with the Volkswagen Jetta diesel’s manual and automatic versions taking spots seven and eight. New this year is the new-for-2009 Smart ForTwo. See the complete list here.

A large number of 2010 models are already on sale, but many more are not, so we can’t definitively place 2010s in a new list yet. A few 2010 models that will surely gain recognition in the next list are the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Hybrid (41/36 mpg), Honda Insight (40/43 mpg), Lexus RX 450h (32/28 mpg) and Toyota Prius — pictured — (51/48 mpg). All four are currently on sale.

The great survivor of the sports car world – the Porsche 911 – has evolved again. Porsche today unveils the latest in a long line of 911s and the new one heralds the arrival of Porsche’s new twin-clutch transmission (dubbed PDK) and direct-injection. Amazingly, it makes the coupe nearly as fuel efficient as a family car, nudging 30mpg.

Porsche 911: the 2009 model year

There’s no new model designation this time: it remains a 997 at heart and Porsche calls the latest 911 a ‘second-generation 997’, despite a raft of technical changes under the same-again skin. It’s the same pattern as with the 996, which was revised after four years in production.

Two models are available at UK launch on 5 July 2008, both in coupe and cabriolet guise:

• Carrera: 3.6-litre flat six, 345bhp (up 20bhp), 0-62mph 4.7sec
• Carrera S: 3.8-litre flat six, 385bhp (up 30bhp), 0-62mph 4.5sec, 188mph

The Carrera will cost £63,070 for the coupe (£70,360 for the cabriolet), while the Carrera S starts at £70,360 (£77,650 for sun worshippers).

That's the condensed version of the new 911 story. Read on for the full, detailed breakdown of the most significant changes since the 911 ditched air-cooling.

Click ‘Next’ to read about the engineering changes and discover how Porsche has made the 911 more acceptable in the eco age

Click here to read the updated 911 drive review

Click here to see the first drive video of the Porsche 911

We are seeing a growing preference for cars with a sense of openness. In line with this trend, Kia Motors is focusing on developing cars that provide a wide field of vision and openness in the relatively confined space of an automobile. A great way to create a bright and airy interior is to put in a sunroof.


More and more people are opting for sunroofs for added convenience and style.

A sunroof provides increased headroom for the driver and passengers. It also gives you a bigger sense of freedom when driving outside the city. Moreover, driving with an open sunroof will let you enjoy the refreshing outside air.

The Forte Koup development team put much effort into securing openness, which was seen as a crucial element in projecting an airy and spacious feeling and offering a fun driving experience.

In most compact sedans on the market, the motor that operates the sunroof is located in the front, ie, above the driver’s head.

We decided to move the motor towards the back. Although this entailed additional cost, we believed it was more important to get a wider field of vision.

However, shifting the motor to the back of the headliner presented a problem. The motor caused the headliner above the rear seat to protrude and droop.

Because the Forte Koup is a two-door model, the drooping headliner reduced headroom for rear seat passengers.

To resolve this problem, we came up with technology to narrow the gap between the motor and headliner. After numerous CAD design and simulations, we were able to minimize the protrusion and maintain the shape of the headliner.

Countless hours and ideas went into developing the Forte Koup’s sunroof. Providing expansive views of blue sky, this stylish sunroof will give you an experience you’ve never had with other coupes.