As gas prices hover around $4 per gallon, bigger cars and pickup trucks are on their way out, and small cars are in high demand.

The benefit of small cars is the amount people will spend on gas, compared to larger, less efficient vehicles, is less each year.

For shoppers looking to spend the least on gas, many small cars will cost about the same each year, according to the Department of Energy Web site.

The site, which ranks vehicles based on the cost to fuel them each year, says that most of the small cars will cost the same.

Toyota Corolla, Chevrolet Aveo5, Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 all will cost drivers an estimated $2,053. A car that the Department of Energy has on its list that would be new to American consumers is the Pontiac G3 Wave.

The G3 Wave is Pontiac's version of the Chevrolet Aveo5. GM hasn't said that the Wave would be sold in the United States; the reference on the Department of Energy site is the first that car will be sold in the U.S.

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI gets the best gas mileage of the small car segment, the Web site reported.

The Jetta TDI, Volkswagen's new, 50-state clean diesel offering, gets a combined 34 mpg -- 31 in the city and 40 on the highway. It also costs $2,099 each year in gas and is among the lowest in carbon emissions in the segment. The TDI is due out in showrooms this summer.

The calculation is based on 15,000 miles driven per year, with 45 percent of driving on the highway and 55 percent in the city. Regular gasoline is figured at $4.11 per gallon, while diesel-powered cars are calculated at $4.76.