Prius, Insight, Fusion hybrids top Kelley Blue Book’s 'green car' list

Kelley Blue Book is out with this year’s list of the Top 10 “green cars.” The list factors in more than gas mileage and carbon emissions.

To compile their list of the best “green cars,” Kelley Blue Book looked at how people live – and how automakers are tackling the dual problem of fuel economy and pollution.

That’s why the big Chevy Tahoe hybrid is on the list. It gets 22 miles to the gallon and it hauls a lot of people or cargo doing it.

The BMW 335d is also on the “green car” list. It features power and acceleration, and a “clean diesel” engine that gets 36 mpg on the highway. The VW Golf’s “clean diesel” does better: 42 mpg on the highway.

At the top of the “green car” list are the same three cars that topped the 2009 list: The Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight and the Ford Fusion hybrid. They all get 40 mpg or better, with the Prius near 50.

But those three hybrids could drop a notch when Kelley Blue Book’s “green car” list comes out next year.

By then, Nissan’s all-electric Leaf will be on the road. The Japanese carmaker began taking on the battery-powered four-seat car today, but only from the 115,000 customers signed up for Leaf e-mails. Next month, it’ll start taking deposits from anyone who wants to put down $99 toward the purchase of a $32,000 Leaf.

Here’s the 2010 Kelley Blue Book Top 10 “green car” list.

1. Toyota Prius (51 miles per gallon city, 48 highway – and #1 on the Kelley Blue Book 2009 and 2008 “green car” lists)
2. Honda Insight (40 city, 43 highway)
3. Ford Fusion Hybrid (41 city, 36 highway)
4. Volkswagen Golf TDI (30 city, 42 highway)
5. MINI Cooper (28 city, 37 highway)
6. Ford Escape hybrid (34 city, 31 highway)
7. Honda Fit (28 city, 35 highway)
8. BMW 335d (23 city, 36 highway)
9. Toyota Highlander hybrid (27 city, 25 highway)
10. Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid (21 city, 22 highway)