If upgrading your ride is among your New Year's resolutions, you're sure to find plenty of new choices heating car lots in 2012.

The new year promises to be a year filled with new innovations in automobile features and offerings.

Choose from sleek, sporty models to environmentally friendly vehicles. Fuel prices may be hovering at over $3 a gallon; so many new cars offer excellent fuel-efficiency or alternative fuel options like electric motors.

For families on a budget, there are several choices that offer savings both in the cost of the car and the overall cost to operate the vehicle on a year-to-year basis.

Before you head out to shop for your new car, check out these five suggestions for five cars we're excited for in the new year ...

No. 5: Hyundai Velostar

Although it isn't an alternative fuel vehicle, the Velostar is worth a second look.

For families looking for a slightly larger vehicle that still gets excellent gas mileage, this $20,000 car is reported to get around 40 miles per gallon (mpg). It weighs a mere 2,600 pounds. The engine is a 4-cylinder 1.6-liter.

Hyundai used some pretty innovative design techniques to keep the weight down on this car and increase fuel efficiency. For example, the driver's side has one entry door, but the passenger side has two doors, a front and a rear. By reducing the number of doors, the overall reinforcements in the steel unibody are less and thus the weight of the car is lower.

According the Popular Mechanics, the Velostar should hit the market around November. Prices start at $17,300 and the car comes with a five-year, 60,000-mile warranty.

No. 4: Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid

For those who love Toyota's Prius, but want to move toward even better fuel efficiency, the plug-in hybrid, coming in March 2012, might be just right.

Toyota estimates the fuel/electric hybrid will get as much as 87 mpg and reduce carbon emissions. According to the Toyota website, at first, the plug-in hybrid will be available in 14 states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Toyota then plans to expand availability of the car to the remaining states in 2013.

The car plugs into any standard household electrical outlet, although a minimum of a dedicated 15-amp circuit is recommended.

As an added bonus, the government may offer incentives to purchase a hybrid vehicle. Check the IRS website for details. The new Prius hybrid starts at around $32,000 and features a 36-month, 36,000-mile warranty.

No. 3: Ford Focus

US News & World Report ranked the 2012 Ford Focus an 8.8 out of 10 possible points with a high safety rating of 9.4.

Although the Focus has been around for a while, in 2012 it gets updated with a lot of new features, a new look and amped up gas mileage. Expect to get around 37 mpg out of the typical Focus.

However, in early 2012, the ECOnetic model of the Focus will debut in Europe and is expected to get a whopping 67 mpg. Green car lovers are clamoring for the ECOnetic to come to the United States. Although it isn't likely to happen in 2012, keep an eye on this new version of the Focus for future possibilities for even better fuel efficiency.

The Focus comes with features like the built-in navigation and communication system called Sync. You'll also find safety features like passenger air bags and anti-lock brakes. The Ford Focus starts at $16,500 and features a 3-year, 36,000-mile warranty.

No. 2: Chevrolet Corvette C7