A Comparison of Hybrid Cars


The number of hybrid cars for sale has increased dramatically in the last few years. The trend has been away from gas guzzling SUVs and towards smaller, more economical vehicles, though it doesn't have to be an either/or choice, as there are hybrid SUVs on the market too. This article is a comparison of hybrid cars and SUVs from three popular manufacturers.A Comparison of Ford Hybrid CarsFord only makes one hybrid vehicle, the ford Escape Hybrid, as it has preferred to throw its weight behind biofuels as a solution to America's energy crisis, though this may change in future, as biofuels have declined in popularity due to the controversy surrounding the fact that they involve using land to grow fuel that could be used to grow food.The Ford Escape Hybrid was the first hybrid SUV and is still the most fuel efficient. It comes in two versions, a front wheel drive and a 4x4. In terms of features, the two versions are identical, but the 4x4 version carries a price in terms of fuel economy, getting 5 miles less to the gallon in both city and highway settings. It also costs more, so unless you actually need 4-wheel drive for off-road use, you are better off without it. That shouldn't even need saying, but there are some people who appear to regard it as a status symbol. A Comparison of Toyota Hybrid CarsThe Japanese manufacturer Toyota has the widest range of hybrid cars of any marque. The Toyota Prius was the first hybrid car to go into mass production in 1997 (2001 in the US) and remains a market leader today. Since then, Toyota has added hybrid versions of its popular Camry, Corolla and Highlander models and plans to have all its models available as hybrids by next year.The Corolla is a compact sedan, the Camry and Prius are both midsize vehicles and the Highlander is an SUV. The difference between the two midsize vehicles is that the Camry is a sedan while the Prius is a hatchback. The Prius has been evaluated as the most fuel efficient motor vehicle on sale in the US by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).A Comparison of General Motors Hybrid CarsGeneral Motors (GM) offers hybrid versions of several vehicles made by its various subdivisions. These are: the Saturn Vue; Saturn Aura; GMC Yukon/Chevrolet Tahoe; Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac Escalade. Of these vehicles, all but the Aura and Malibu are SUVs or light trucks.GM is committed to providing plug in versions of all these hybrids, allowing them to go much further without gasoline, and is also developing the Chevrolet Volt, a n extended range electric vehicle with a back-up gasoline engine, said to be capable of 100 mpg, though there s some controversy over GM's method of comparison to existing hybrid cars.