It’s a Prius.  It’s a plug-in.  What could be better?  Well, the Ford C-MAX Energi for one. Toyota has a well deserved reputation for building high quality, practical hybrid vehicles.  The newest addition to their hybrid line-up is the Prius Plug-in.  Ford, while not the leader in the hybrid market that Toyota is, is working […]

If you hate the Chevy Volt the updates for 2013 won’t change your mind.  If you are on the fence, however, Chevy has made some small but important improvements in the Volt. For 2013 Chevy has increased the Volt’s EPA estimated EV range from 35 miles to 38.  Unlike most EPA estimates for hybrids the […]

The Prius v (the v is for versatility) is in reality a Prius station wagon.  New for 2013 the Prius v breaks no new ground, it is simply a taller, wider and longer Prius.  And, as you might expect, since it uses the same engine and drivetrain as the Prius, it is a vehicle so […]

The C-MAX is the newest hybrid from Ford.  It’s just arriving at dealerships in the US but has been available in Europe, in a non-hybrid form, for the last two years.  Built on the Focus chassis the C-MAX is, at heart, a station wagon, in size not unlike a Honda CRV. There are three traits […]

2013 Fusion Hybrids are arriving at Ford dealers now.  The first generation Fusion hybrid was a decent hybrid but has suffered the last couple of years as competitors brought more advanced hybrids to the market.  Now its Ford’s turn to be king of the hybrid hill. At 47 mpg city and 47 mpg highway the […]

The Ford Fusion has been around since 2009 when it was released as a 2010 model.  At the time it was state-of-the-art, getting better mileage than the Camry hybrid at about the same price and with little competition (the Accord hybrid was available but had few takers).  What a difference a couple of years can […]

The 2012 Toyota Camry is dollar for dollar, pound for pound, gallon for gallon the best hybrid money can buy.   The Camry doesn’t match Toyota’s Prius for miles per gallon, but it is roomier, has much better visibility, is much quieter, has better acceleration, and more standard features… all for about the same price as […]

The good:  If you find the Ford Fusion Hybrid or the Camry Hybrid to expensive, the Sonata Hybrid is a cheaper alternative.  Very good acceleration for a Hybrid and a great warranty. The bad: Lackluster MPG for a Hybrid, 35 city, 40 highway.  Ordinary handling, unusual styling. The ugly:  Lots of hard, black plastic suck […]

When Toyota released the third generation Prius in 2010 it was immediately ccompared to the second generation Insight that Honda released in 2009.  In my opinion it was not a fair comparison, since the Prius was generally $3-4000 more expensive. Now that Toyota has released the Prius c, which is in the same price range […]