As Toyota executives sort through U.S. congressional committee hearings and an 8-million-vehicle recall, the 1.8 million Americans who bought Toyotas last year are undoubtedly doing some serious thinking about just how safe their daily commutes are. They have good reason for concern.  "Quite frankly I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick," Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor, told the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last week. "Toyota's priority has traditionally been the following: first, safety; second, quality; and third, volume. These priorities became confused."  In Depth: Best Cars For Commuters  Those who bought the $26,400 Toyota Camry Hybrid, however, probably needn't worry. While the Camrys made between 2007 and 2010 have been recalled for sticky accelerator pedals, most of the hybrid versions were not. Toyota says 22 specific Camry Hybrid vehicles were equipped with the faulty CTS accelerator pedal and should be fixed. But all other Camry Hybrids have a differently designed accelerator pedal produced by a different supplier--and are not involved in the recall.  Toyota's hybrids aren't the only ones offering exceptional quality to daily drivers. The Ford Fusion Hybrid and twin Mercury Milan Hybrid also made the cut. In fact those cars illustrate the main finding on our commuter list: Low- to mid-priced vehicles using hybrid or diesel power in four-cylinder engines are the best bets for drivers looking simply to get from A to B without a lot of distraction in between.  Behind the Numbers To compile our list of the best cars for commuters, we started with all 2010 new vehicles on sale in the United States, paring down the group by selecting only those labeled by Consumer Reports as "Recommended Picks" this year. Recommended Picks are models that have average or better predicted reliability and that meet Consumer Reports' safety standards; they also had to have performed well in accelerating, braking, handling, comfort and other user-oriented tests. It's worth noting that the recalled Toyotas on our list passed these tests.  Then we combined the highway miles per gallon for each vehicle with their front legroom and front headroom measurements, assigning one point for each mile per gallon and one point for each inch of space, for a total score. Of those finalists, the 10 vehicles with the best combination of highway fuel efficiency, legroom and headroom made our list.  We didn't put any price limit on the automotive contenders, since there are cars at any price point that can be great on a morning commute, but interestingly all of our finalists cost well under $30,000, and all the cars on the list without the added price of hybrid technology cost under $23,000.  The reason for that skew toward lower retail pricing is likely the emphasis we placed on fuel efficiency--most luxury sedans and crossovers weigh more than their less-glamorous counterparts, which decreases their average mpg. The hybrids, though heavier and more expensive than their conventional brethren, still achieved good enough gas mileage and reliability scores to make the list.
Need something efficient and reliable to get from point A to point B? These no-hassle vehicles will get the job done comfortably.