2009 Honda Fit Sport, 2010 Ford Fiesta, 2010 Honda Insight, 20

We know. Gas is $2.50 a gallon, which means you're not interested in fuel economy. But you will be. As our job market recovers, it's almost a given that oil prices will too. Perhaps more importantly, the newly boosted CAFE requirements virtually guarantee that automakers will be trying to sell you smaller, more efficient cars.

Perfect evidence of the latter point has been our car board as of late. Editors recently had a choice of no fewer than four ultra-efficient small cars representing three different approaches to saving fuel. There was the Honda Insight, the most affordable purveyor yet of hybrid technology, along with the similarly priced and nearly-as-parsimonious Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Then we had the recently redesigned Honda Fit and yet-to-be-released Ford Fiesta, both of which get the most out of their fuel tanks the old fashion way, via small four-cylinder engines and low curb weights. Which approach and which car is the best way to prepare for this brave new world? Read on for our impressions.