The Best Hybred Auto out there?

Answer 1

You've heard the phrase, "the right tool for the job"? Well, not all hybrids are created with the same "job" in mind. I've owned my Civic hybrid for five years now, and for me, it's the best hybrid. I do a lot of suburban driving with considerable freeway time, and it's the highway mileage that eats into the average hybrid's efficiency. The Civic is simply set up better for longer trips (20 minutes or more) with higher speeds. The Prius, on the other hand, is the best hands-down urban commuter. If you are into short trips, lots of stop-and-go, speeds rarely getting past 50 mph, you will be hard pressed to beat it. If you install the aftermarket plug-in upgrade or get that option when Toyota finally offers it, then you will practically have an electric car.

If you need the larger car, or are not too much into changing your current driving habits, then a car like the Camry might serve you better. The Civic and Prius DO have less power than their similarly-sized counterparts - if you try to keep up with these and larger cars, you'll soon find yourself frittering away all those gas savings. The larger cars are built with much more power - in some cases, they have MORE than their similarly sized counterparts (as is the case with the now-discontinued Accord Hybrid.) As such, they are more forgiving when you are carrying a lot of people, cargo, or driving faster, and will still get better gas mileage than the competition.

If you need a truck or SUV for hauling, then you may be surprised that hybrid SUVs are probably the best use of the technology. In some cases, you can almost DOUBLE the gas mileage for a similarly sized and powered conventional gas-powered SUV. As good as the econocars are, you are usually getting only 25-40% more mpg's. SUVs have the excess room to handle more battery space, and they derive the most benefit from the high torque of electric motors when accelerating, which is when they usually burn the most gas. If I had the need for an SUV and could afford it, I'd get the Toyota Highlander Hybrid.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

That depends on what your criteria are. If you're looking for the most environmentally friendly car, that's the Prius. A Swiss study found that the Prius is the greenest car on the planet:

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL2733658020070727?feedType=RSS

It also gets the best mileage in both city and freeway driving (better than the Honda Civic hybrid in both cases). My Prius gets about 50 mpg in both city and highway driving.

If you feel that you need an SUV, then the Ford Escape hybrid is the best:

http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center-top100/
http://autos.yahoo.com/2007_ford_escape_hybrid_fwd/

There's a reason the Prius is more than 5 times as popular as any other hybrid though. Toyota's been in the hybrid game the longest, and the Prius is the best car on the road right now.

Answer 3

Honda has an excellent line of Hybred's that actually are a good value for the money.

Answer 4

Honda Civic Hybrid, very classy and yet still sporty.
The toyota prius gets a little better gas mileage than the honda but either one is cute and sporty. Def. the Honda Hybrid though...just my opinion.

Answer 5

I think if I had that kind of money, I would go for a Toyota Prius. Like the one leo Dicaprio has, and I would have TWO> One sea green, and one a vibrant purple.

Answer 6

^Smug alert.

There is no "best". It's all subjective. The Prius has the best fuel economy rating, but it also has the worst 0-60,

Answer 7

Here's a chart of some 2007 models: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybrid_sbs_cars.shtml

Answer 8

Air/gas.