As driving increases, gas prices usually rise during the vacation season. The rising of fuel costs could kill someone who owns bad mileage cars. While you can’t control the gas prices why not think twice before buying your dream car? It is not necessary to sacrifice the hobby to own an SUV with the advance technology today. Old days in the market we had only SUVs with bad fuel economy but nowadays it is different. There are many small SUVs are giving good mileage with lots of fun. If you are into small SUV or crossover, the best small SUV listed here is definitely delicious for you.

MINI Cooper Countryman

The 2012 MINI Cooper Countryman gets triple thumbs up when mentioned about mileage. It is the best small SUV with the best mileage in small SUV and crossover segments. It drives like an appropriate MINI Cooper and it delivers the fuel economy that above many people’s imagination. The MINI Cooper Countryman did not get thirsty easily because it only drinks a gallon of gas every 27 miles for city drive; 35 miles for highway drive and 30 miles for combined. With no surprise, the handling is as sharp as the Cooper hatchback and the ride is firm. As for interior, it fits four adults comfortably including the driver. Well, this could be controversial but it is pretty much depends on you needs. If you are in need of a small SUV with best mileage and your family is only four persons, why not?

With an adjustable back seats, large items like golf equipment is no longer an issue that happens to MINI Cooper hatchback owner all the time. Power wise, the Countryman is powered by a 1.6-liter inline-4 engine that pumps 121 horsepower and 114 pound-feet of torque. This power is adequate to push the car from 0 to 60 mph in 9.8 seconds on the six-speed manual version and 10.9 seconds on the six-speed automatic version. One thing that some SUV fans expected aren’t found in the car is four-wheel drive option. The Countryman is only available with front-wheel drive. A list of active and passive safety features come along with the car include ABS, stability control, airbags, adjustable traction control, and the optional rear parking sensors.

Price? The MSRP is started from $22,450. Love this car but feel it is too expensive? Would like to go for a cheaper alternative that has the same or similar gas mileage? Here it is, the Kia Soul Base!

Kia Soul Base

The Korean car manufacturer always provides the automobile market with a much cheaper price tag. With MSRP $14,650, you can get a brand new front-wheel-drive Kia Soul Base that delivers 27 city/35 highway/30 combined fuel economy. This rating is exactly the same with the Countryman but it is 35% cheaper. What is more surprise is the Eco package that offers a great fuel economy of 29/36/32. It is obvious that Kia has put in a lot of efforts to target on budget-minded small SUV buyers.

The base Kia Soul is powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that delivers 138 hp and 123 pound-feet of torque. It is slightly higher than the Countryman. Transmission wise, a six-speed manual is standard but it is optional for a six-speed automatic.

Let’s move the camera to interior. It isn’t as luxury as what we had in the Countryman but it did not short on practicality. All buttons are located at where it should be. Gauges and dials are nicely design too. The boxy design helps to create extra headroom and legroom. It has no problem for tall passengers.

Conclusion

The MINI Cooper Countryman and Kia Soul is rated the best small SUV with highest mileage in 2012. If both of these small SUV doesn’t suit your taste, you may consider some of their competitors including Scion xB, Honda CR-V, Nissan JUKE SL FWD, Dodge Journey, Nissan Rogue, and Kia Sportage.