Mississippi State University's hybrid SUV won several awards, including the overall title, in the second year of the EcoCAR competition.

EcoCAR is a three-year advanced vehicle technology competition aimed to give university students the chance to design and build greener, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

MSU beat 15 other universities to win top honors for their designing and building of an extended-range electric vehicle. An awards ceremony was held Thursday in San Diego.

The competition started May 17 at General Motors' proving grounds in Yuma, Ariz., where the vehicles' performance was tested.

The teams could use a variety of power systems for the vehicle, in this case a converted Saturn SUV donated by GM, one of the event's main sponsors.

MSU's entry used a battery pack which provided an electric range of 60 miles, and a 1.3-liter GM turbodiesel helped the vehicle get 118 miles per gallon gas equivalent.

"This was our most challenging year and stakes were high to have our vehicle ready for inspections," said MSU team project leader Matt Doude in a press release. "To finish a year of hard work and long hours in first place is an incredible honor for me and my teammates. We look forward to the next chapter of the competition - with so much talent among the schools it will not be an easy road to another victory. But it's this rigorous, hands-on process that gives us the valuable experience we'll need in the workplace."

In addition to the overall first-place finish, MSU won first in EcoCAR outreach, best creative promotion, best media relations, best education program, A123, best acceleration, best autocross, best vehicle design review presentation, best controls presentation, best mechanical presentation, best electrical presentation, best petroleum use, best well-to-wheel greenhouse gas, and lowest tailpipe emissions.

The top five

1. Mississippi State

2. Virginia Tech

3. Penn State

4. University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada)

5. Ohio State University