Hybrid Vehicles Guide

Overview: So it won’t win any awards, and it won’t blow you away with blistering performance or incredible fuel economy, but it will give you a tremendous bang for your dollar. The Vue Green Line, utilizing a simplified hybrid system, can be had for under $25,000 well equipped. With fuel economy right around 30 miles per gallon, which is right about the industry standard for a hybrid SUV, and a bargain basement price, we think that GM has really turned out a winner.
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Overview: We are not the kind of people that get bothered by small, insignificant details. We don’t use a navigation system, and it’s unlikely that we ever will. We don’t see the use of On-Star, or the many clones of On-Star, as we have a cell phone and it does it’s just quite nicely.

So, when we reviewed the 2007 Mercury Mariner hybrid, we didn’t have a lot to complain about. A lot of reviews have slammed the Mariner hybrid for having unacceptable features, such as a small LCD screen for the navigation system (who cares?) or having lackluster acceleration (it’s an SUV, not a sports car). Our drive, however, tells us a story that’s quite different from what the “industry” expects.
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Overview: Nissan is a company that has gone on record stating that hybrid cars are bad business. When you look at it from a purely business point of view, perhaps there is merit. After all, hybrid sales count for a mere 5% of the demand for vehicles, and the cost of producing them are quite high (for now). And, one can experience a similar increase in fuel economy by simply changing their driving habits.
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