NationStates Jolt Archive

im trying to get my parents to buy one. what do you think of them? which ones the best? isnt the Honda insight ugly as hell? are they reliable? etc. please help :)

The Toyota Prius is meant to be a very good Hybrid, easily matching the non-hybrids in its class. Ford have recently done the Escape hybrid, even though the best 4X4 hybrid is probably the Lexus RX400 hybrid. For small cars, there's the FCX, made by Honda.

dont get a hybrid unless you get a model that also comes in non-hybrid so it doesnt look ugly as hell.
they are good cars and are usually very reliable
depending on the price ur looking for i would get the escape hybrid because it has the good capacity and decent power and size and all that good stuff

I like the look of the Insight, but I'm a sucker for wheel skirts.

The Civic Hybrid is the 'normal' hybrid, the hybrid that is supposed to be as much like a 'regular' car. I think the Prius is the most popular, and now easiest to get. I think it looks a little weird, but oh well. Depending on your family needs-a lot of family driving you'd want the civic or the Escape, not much the Prius. Very very little the Insight...but again, sucker for skirts....

My mom just got the Toyota Prius a couple weeks ago. It's one of the best if not the best hybrid car out there. It doesn't look butt-ugly like many of the other models and it has incredibly good milage--about 55mpg though Toyota says 60. Toyota is far ahead of the other companies when it comes to hybrid technology. Even with a relatively tiny engine, it still has more than enough power for standard city/highway driving. And with ever-increasing gas prices, now is the time to buy a hybrid and I highly recommend the Toyota Prius.

My husband has the Toyota Prius. We've had it for about a year and a half now and have been really pleased with it.

The ride is comfortable, even comfortable enough for long road trips. It's a cute car. The mileage is not as good as the EPA figures (which is what the dealerships display), but it's still quite good. The car has also been problem free, barring one part that was recalled.

I have a friend who has a Honda Insight, which is also a very good hybrid. It actually gets the best mileage of all the hybrids, but keep in mind it's only a 2 seater. It also has that "economy car" ride, meaning you can feel every bump in the pavement. Honda also makes a Civic Hybrid, which looks like a regular Civic.

It looks like the clean fuel tax deduction is still in effect, which I think is a great program. If I remember correctly, we got to deduct $1,500.00 off our tax returns the year we bought the car.

The Prius and Insight are the only two hybrids I'm personally familiar with so I won't offer opinions on the others, but I think the technology is great, and I love that these cars have extremely low emissions.

I would not hesitate to recommend a hybrid vehicle to anyone interested in one.

Prius is the better car for city driving since it will run on electric only, Honda is a better car for Highway driving where the eletric motor does not come into play as much
I think Toyota is going to offer its hybrid drivetrain in nore of its models next year so you might want to wait and see

VW TDI's are also a good option for fuel economy, I drive a TDI New Beetle and get 41 MPG overall without even thinking about it

$2000 is what the websites said