Prius Stays Atop List As Best Hybrid
Toyota Places 4 In Top 10 List
POSTED: Thursday, March 13, 2008
UPDATED: 12:03 pm EDT March 13,
2008
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The Toyota Prius ranks as the top hybrid, according to a Cars.com survey.The Prius was one of four Toyota-made vehicles on the Web site's top 10 list, along with the Lexus RX400h, Toyota Highlander and Lexus GS450h.The Cars.com Hybrid Buying Guide was designed, the company said, to help consumers sort through a wide range of options in different body styles, from sedans to SUVs.The picks for the top hybrid vehicles are designed to help consumers get a clear understanding of these vehicles' fuel-efficiency and price differences compared to their non-hybrid counterparts."Hybrid rankings have often been simplistic," Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder said. "Most are little more than lists of the highest-mileage models on the market. Here, we ranked hybrids based on how much fuel savings they get when compared to their non-hybrid version, as well as how much all that saved gas is going to cost you, since hybrid models always command a premium price."The rankings were developed on the premise that most hybrid shoppers are looking for efficiency first, followed closely by price. All hybrids were compared to the lowest-priced, most-efficient gas-only trim level in their model line. The rankings then took into account the hybrid's mileage and price premium, in percent, as well as its suggested retail price."Examinations that compare hybrids to 'comparably equipped' versions miss an important point. Hybrids are almost always among the most expensive trim levels, if not the most costly," Wiesenfelder said. "We know that not all buyers are willing to pay the premium for the sake of driving a hybrid. There needs to be a payoff, so our ranking highlights those hybrids that give buyers the greatest return for their investment."
- Toyota Prius
- Manufacture's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): $21,100
- EPA-estimated mileage (city/highway, mpg): 48/45
- After seven years on the market, the Prius is still the best hybrid for people who just plain want to burn less gas. It's arguably also the best for people who hope to save money in the long run. Built from scratch as a hybrid, it maximizes interior space and offers a roomy cargo hatch, whereas hybrid sedans tend to diminish trunk space and/or eliminate folding back seats. There is no gas-only version, but there doesn't have to be. It's both the most efficient and most affordable hybrid out there.
- Saturn Vue Green Line
- MSRP: $24,170
- EPA-estimated mileage: 25/32
- Dramatic mileage boosts get all the attention, but Saturn is onto something with this mild hybrid approach. The current Vue Green Line's premium over the lowest-priced gas-only version is modest -- only 14 percent. All the same, its city and highway mileage increases are 32 and 23 percent, respectively. What's more, it's priced below the V-6 version, whose mileage it roughly doubles. The only drawback: The Vue is the only hybrid SUV not to offer all-wheel drive. A second Green Line with 2 Mode technology is coming late in 2008 as a 2009 model.
- Honda Civic Hybrid
- MSRP: $22,600
- EPA-estimated mileage: 40/45
- Even though its cost premium over the base Civic is 51 percent, its city and highway mileage are 54 percent and 32 percent higher, respectively, than that already-efficient model, making the payoff quite high. It happens to be an excellent car, too.
- Toyota Camry Hybrid
- MSRP $25,200
- EPA-estimated mileage: 33/34
- Not everyone wants a small, less-refined car like the Prius, which makes the Camry Hybrid the one for the masses. Priced 36 percent higher than the base four-cylinder model, it gets 57 and 10 percent better gas mileage (city and highway), and even more dramatic improvements over the V-6 versions whose prices it rivals.
- Lexus RX 400h
- MSRP: $41,280
- EPA-estimated mileage: 27/24
- Though it's a luxury model, the RX 400h's price premium is a mere 10 percent over the gas-only RX 350. Combined with a 50 percent city mileage improvement and 4 percent highway bump, it's a compelling package overall. The RX is similar to the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which has a lower overall price and 1 mpg higher highway mileage, but that model's higher price premium gives it a lower rank. With optional AWD, the RX 400h (26/24 mpg) is an even better deal, with mileage improvements of 53 percent and 9 percent compared to the all-wheel-drive RX 350.
- Toyota Highlander Hybrid
- MSRP: $33,700
- EPA-estimated mileage: 27/25
- The Highlander Hybrid comes only with AWD. The most efficient gas Highlander has FWD. In comparison, the hybrid costs 23 percent more and delivers 50 percent better city mileage but only a 4 percent highway improvement. If you want AWD, however, the hybrid costs only 17 percent more than the gas-only model and boasts 59 and 9 percent higher mileage in city and highway driving, respectively.
- Ford Escape Hybrid
- MSRP: $26,505
- EPA-estimated mileage: 34/30
- The Escape Hybrid's rank is a little surprising, given its impressive mileage, but it's hard to overcome the fact that it costs 40 percent more than the base, four-cylinder Escape. Because of this, its 55 percent city and 7 percent highway mileage improvement can't compensate.
- Chevrolet Tahoe 2 Mode Hybrid
- MSRP: $49,590
- EPA-estimated mileage: 21/22
- People who want or need a large SUV may have even better reason for cutting back on gas than the owner of an already-efficient car does. The Tahoe Hybrid gives up practically none of the original's capability, including towing, and gets a stunning 50 percent increase in city mileage and 16 percent bump on the highway. It comes in eighth not because of its size, but because of its added cost: 43 percent more than the lowest-priced gas-only Tahoe.
- Saturn Aura Green Line
- MSRP: $22,140
- EPA-estimated mileage: 24/32
- Known as a mild hybrid, the Aura Green Line delivers modest mileage improvements over the four-cylinder Aura -- 9 percent in the city and 7 percent on the highway -- but its price premium is a mere 12 percent. Chevrolet will soon also market a mild hybrid version of its Malibu. Later on, 2-Mode hybrid versions of each are expected to join or replace them, adding efficiency and cost.
- Lexus GS 450h
- MSRP: $54,900
- EPA-estimated mileage: 22/25
- Lexus' GS 450h sedan comes in last because its cost increase outweighs the gains it gets in mileage. The base GS is the GS 350, a relatively efficient and low-priced V-6 model. There's a 24 percent premium between it and the GS 450h, and what you get for it is a 16 percent city mileage improvement and a 7 percent decrease in highway driving.
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