USED CARS - Hybrid Cars Reviews

Although neither Consumer Reports nor Consumer Guide do the performance testing done by car enthusiast magazines or websites, they do evaluate virtually every car made. Consumer Reports is noteworthy for its extensive attention to safety and value, and its main reporting is supplemented this year with an article titled "The dollars & sense of hybrids," which addresses the financial aspects of owning a hybrid car, a topic covered by other reviewers as well. Consumer Guide provides individual ratings in a number of areas and compares those ratings to similar cars. Both provide real-world gas mileage numbers -- something that’s especially relevant when evaluating hybrid cars, trucks and SUVs.

While enthusiast magazines and websites don’t provide extensive multi-vehicle comparisons, they go into much more depth and do lots of head-to-head and individual vehicle reviews. Most noteworthy is Motor Trend’s article on this year’s Car of the Year -- a Toyota Camry that’s available with a hybrid drivetrain (*est. $26,860). Motor Trend has published numerous additional reviews and articles. Car and Driver’s long-term tests are especially helpful in learning how a vehicle performs in real-world use. Edmunds.com has great individual car reviews, and its InsideLine.com offshoot adds some comparison tests to the mix. CNet.com does a good job evaluating hybrid cars from a technological point of view. Kiplinger's Personal Finance and IntelliChoice.com do a good job of detailing a car’s long-term value and cost of ownership.

While hybrids were originally a response to environmental concerns, rising gas prices have certainly spurred things along. However, a number of reports now tell us that the economics of owning a hybrid might not be as favorable as you may think. Fuel savings are real, but more modest than some of the advertising leads people to expect -- and sometimes considerably more modest than many consumers have been led to believe. In response to that last point, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is changing the way it calculates mileage estimates, starting with the 2008 model year. You can read more about this below.

On the other hand, several recent introductions are doing a better job of reducing real-world fuel consumption. Two examples are the Saturn Aura Green Line Hybrid (*est. $22,370) and Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid (*est. $23,495) which get 20 to 25% better fuel economy than gasoline-only models. This is a vast improvement over the earlier GM mild hybrids like the Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra 1500 pickup trucks (*est. $29,000 to $33,365) , which only saw a 10% increase in fuel economy.  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

As the above chart indicates, the mid-sized Toyota Camry and compact Toyota Prius get the lion's share of recommendations. The toughest competition for the Prius comes from the Honda Civic Hybrid, but reviewers usually prefer the Prius for fuel economy reasons, although the Honda scores higher in safety. Among mid-sized hybrids, the Camry easily bests its traditional competitor -- the soon-to-be-discontinued Honda Accord. However the Saturn Aura Green Line is a "mild hybrid" that is simple, fun-to-drive and a good value, even if some don’t feel it goes far enough in reducing fuel consumption. Among small SUV hybrids, the Ford Escape Hybrid is considered, and the Saturn Vue Green Line is earning praise.