10 Top Road-Trip Cars

If you're looking for luxury or economy, roominess or sport, here's an exclusive from Kelley Blue Book on its best picks for summer driving.

Performance: Audi S5

Base price: $50,500

Mileage: 21 mpg Hwy, 14 mpg City

Kelley Blue Book picked the S5, a performance version of the A5, for its unique combination of top-end performance, comfort and slick European style. It's a recipe that few cars manage to cook up quite as well.

Ultimate luxury: Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermes

Base price: $2,400,000

Mileage: 14 mpg Hwy, 8 mpg City

For those with lots...and lots...and lots of money to spend on a road-trip car (and the gas to fill it) Kelley Blue Book selected the ultra-expensive Hermes-infused version of the Veyron.

Only a dozen or so built-to-order copies of this one will ever be built at a price that's about $1 million higher than the "ordinary" Veyron.

Hermes designers toned down the hard-edged interior, covering everything - including the owner's manual - in bull-calfskin leather. The idea was to make the 16-cylinder, two-seat supercar a more relaxing place to tear down the highway at stomach-squishing speeds.

Family car: Chevrolet Malibu

Base price: $19,645 - $27,095

Mileage: 30 mpg Hwy, 22 mpg City

A year ago, the idea of anyone gushing over a car called the Chevrolet Malibu would have seemed absurd. Then General Motors gave us this. Suddenly, here's a Chevy with looks, performance and genuine refinement.

When Kelley Blue Book tested it against six other mid-size sedans, the Malibu stood out in one area in particular: highway driving. The Malibu is smooth, quiet and roomy, and the interior looks smart, too.

Newly available: the combination of a fuel-efficient four-cylinder engine with a smooth-shifting six-speed transmission for maximum fuel economy.

Big SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid

Base price: $49,590 - $52,395

Mileage: 22 mpg Hwy, 21 mpg City

While the Tahoe's high-tech hybrid system is truly remarkable, a long highway trip may not be the best way to show it off. By a wide margin, the system is most effective in city driving.

Still, the Tahoe is the most efficient full-size SUV you can get, city or highway, and you can use it to tow a boat or haul cargo. And it seats up to eight in reasonable comfort.

But don't expect to just stroll into your Chevy dealer and buy one. Availability is limited.

Van: Dodge Grand Caravan

Base price: $21,290 - $27,140

Mileage: 24 mpg Hwy, 17 mpg City

In Chrysler's typical fashion, the Grand Caravan is loaded to the gills with clever features.

Among the niftiness you won't find in any other minivan: second-row seats that turn around to face the back row, Sirius satellite TV with two video screens, multiple DVD players and interior mood-lighting that makes it feel like a kid-friendly rolling bachelor pad.

Big crossover: Ford Flex

Base price: $28,295

Mileage: 24 mpg Hwy, 17 mpg City*

This one's not quite ready for you yet - the Flex enters dealerships this summer. It's a full-size three-row crossover SUV that, with an optional contrast-colored roof, looks a little like a giant Mini Cooper.

The interior is far more conservative in appearance than the outside, but it's elegant, functional and roomy.

Kelley Blue Book particularly likes some of the novel options. Besides Ford's Sync Bluetooth audio/phone system, you can get a refrigerator to keep your drinks cool on the road.

Sporty crossover: Infiniti EX35

Base price: $31,900 - $36,850

Mileage: 24 mpg Hwy, 17 mpg City

A genuinely fun-to-drive little SUV, the EX35 offers some really remarkable technology. Kelley Blue Book points out the lane departure warning system that doesn't just warn you when you're about to drift into the next lane. It applies a bit of braking on one side to pull you gently into line.

When it's time to park, amaze your friends with the "Around-view camera." It uses four fish-eye lenses and computer magic to create a view of your SUV as if seen from above. It's like having your own helicopter helping you parallel park.

Small car: Mini Cooper Clubman

Base price: $19,950

Mileage: 37 mpg Hwy, 28 mpg City

The standard-length Mini Cooper made Kelley Blue Book's list last year. But while the Mini has always been fun to drive, and it's easy on gas, it lacked a place to put more than a night's worth of luggage.

The Clubman answers that need with about 8 inches of extra storage space behind the back seats, accessed through a barn-door style tailgate.

High mileage: Toyota Prius

Base price: $21,100 - $23,370

Mileage: 45 mpg Hwy, 48 mpg City

With highway fuel economy of 45 miles per gallon - and even more in city driving - the appeal of the Prius would seem obvious. You can get where you're going with fewer stops for gas.

But, besides that, Kelley Blue Book picked the Prius for its commodious interior space. It has as much room for people and luggage as any mid-size sedan.

Convertible: Volkswagen Eos

Base price: $28,990 - $38,100

Mileage: 29 mpg Hwy, 21 mpg City

If you've ever seen an Eos with its top up, you probably didn't know it was a convertible. This sporty little two-door looks equally sharp with its seats exposed or covered.

Kelley Blue Book particularly likes the extra-large sunroof. Yes, it's got a sunroof so you can have the sun on your shoulders while keeping the wind out of your hair.