Hybrid Cars, Hybrid Trucks, Hybrid Vans and Hybrid Motorcycles

This is a review of the Toyota Prius . The hybrid car reviewer talks about price, fuel economy, and the warranty on the battery. There are also notes on safety.

We hear a lot about hybrids nowadays. But one thing seems to stand in the way of many of us doing more than just reading about them: Price.

A good example is the Toyota Prius Hybrid . With a starting MSRP of $22,000 for a very small car, it is simply out of reach of most car buyers – especially a car buyer like me, with three kids and a wife, who is looking for a family car. Don’t get me wrong – the Prius looks like a very well built car. And with estimated MPG of 48/45, this little guy merely sips gas, saving big bucks at the pump in the long run.

The EPA listed the 2008 Prius as the most fuel efficient car sold in the United States. Pretty impressive stats. I was first leery of battery powered hybrids due to the very expensive cost of replacing batteries when they wear out. And I think that most people who own cell phones, laptops, PDAs, etc. very much understand the frustration of how short-lived batteries can be, so I assumed that the same would be true of the batteries in an automobile.

I am reassured by Toyota’s warranty on their batteries : 8 years or 100,000 miles – even more in some states with more strict emissions laws. Since I rarely own a vehicle for more than 8 years, this is a comforting concession.

The size of this car also had me concerned at first. Perhaps it is my Midwest upbringing, but I always felt that a big car provides a lot of protection in a crash. That is apparently outmoded thinking now that airbags and improved safety caging has made even the smallest of cars even safer. In my mind, I could just picture those extremely heavy batteries becoming lead and acid-filled projectiles in an accident. But apparently, this is something in my head because the Prius has very impressive 5 star driver and 4 star passenger National Highway Traffic Safety Association NHTSA ratings .

I am a gadget freak and it seems that the Toyota designers had me in mind when designing some of the options on this car. I love the idea of the Smart Key System where sensors unlock doors and start the car without needing the traditional car key. I also like it when car manufactures build in things that they know we are going to want in our cars – like Bluetooth, Audio-in jacks for ipods, and satellite radio . But at $22K, Toyota’s tagline "Prius for the People" seems a bit out of context. Perhaps "Prius for the well-heeled People" might be a better tagline.

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