What is the most comfortable hybrid car? For commuting, one way: 1 hr drive.
The one that you like best after a test drive .
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Emphatically agree with Volvo.
Comfortable for who? You, me, or your wife? Shaq is reputed to like Buicks… does Buick make a hybrid?
My sis drives alot and likes her Prius. Butt you should rent one for a weekend and see how it suits your butt.
The Lexus LS 600h is a very comfortable car but gets truck like fuel economy. The fuel economy of the Lexus ES 300h is nearly the same as the Camry hybrid and is a quit and comfortable car.
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How about a Toyota Avalon Hybrid . . . ?!
The Fusion and MKZ hybrids are worth a look, too.
Perhaps you should stop at the local bookstore, pick up a Consumer Reports New Car Preview, peruse the offerings, and spend some time test driving those that look interesting to you.
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Even better yet stop at a few dealers and actually drive some of the models. Sorry but I really don’t think anyone here knows what you considerable.
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My wife’s 07 Lexus ES 350 is very comfortable. That car now comes as a hybrid. But can’t comment on how comfortable it is.
Thanks all for your thoughts. I get the message: there’s no magic comfortable universal car solution; clearly my husband needs to actually test drive some cars (he’s the one who commutes and for whom our current car: Prius V 2012 is causing major discomfort.)
But my reason for the general question about what hybrids people overall find comfortable is that we’re not really car people. So while the Prius seemed perfect when we first got it (for all it’s Prius type features) now we are realizing that it is torturous to drive for commuting. Then I did some research and realized it’s infamous for being uncomfortable. The bucket seats and leg room seem to be the main issue.
So I figured I’d at least see if there were cars (types of cars, types and shapes of seats, i.e bucket vs. higher seat) that are just generally known for being more comfortable. I’m assuming larger cars help with comfort but we’d love to go as not large as possible for fuel economy and cause we live in Brooklyn, parking issues.
Much thanks!
The problem is that comfort is so subjective. I might like a car your husband would find terrible. Your husband might look at other high mpg options that aren’t hybrids, to open up his options. I’d give up some mpgs for comfort, that’s for sure.
His experience with the Prius also means that a much longer test drive is needed.
I found my Sisters 2010 Prius quite comfortable on a 240 mile round trip and I’m 6’2 and 190 lbs. So folks can have very different opinions on comfort for the same car.
What cars in the past did your husband find comfortable?
Hmm, I guess this IS quite a bit more complicated than I understood. Thanks
for all the help and thoughts everyone!
We had a honda civic for many years and that seemed to work for him to
commute but we really wanted hybrid cause he commutes long distance.
I have read some articles that state the price difference for a hybrid on some brands is not worth it for highway driving. There are quite a few gas fuel only inexpensive vehicles on the market that driven sensibly can deliver very good fuel mileage. Not all hybrids are equal.
For long distance highway commuting a hybrid may not be the best option. Hybrids get their best mileage in stop and go traffic.
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I’d really look at the new Civic with the turbo 4. It apparently gets pretty good mpgs:
In 2005 I bought a new Corolla LE after countless hours of intellectual consternation and some test drives. And a very long history with comfortable (for me) Toyotas. After only two months, the seats and the hard ride were killing me. I have back problems, and the car was crippling to me. I traded it after only two months for an '05 Scion tC that has been fantastic. I mentally wrote the $2500 loss off as a health expense.
My point? Your hubby needs to take a number of vehicles that interest him for long, numerous test drives, ignoring everything but his comfort. Or he may make the same expensive mistake that I did. Nobody but hubby can select a car that’ll work for him.
There is a way to make your Prius V ride more comfortably. Mow a five acre field with a Farmall F12 tractor with a sickle bar. After riding the tractor for an afternoon, the 1950 Chevrolet one ton pickup seemed like a Cadillac. Comfort is a subjective thing. We had a 1993 Oldsmobile with all the bells and whistles and after only 50 miles behind the wheel, my legs would cramp up no matter how I adjusted the multi-way power seat. My wife and I both disliked driving the Honda Civic Hybrid from our institution’s fleet. Yet, my research partner found the Civic Hybrid very comfortable to drive. Consumer Reports didn’t find the Chevrolet Uplander very comfortable, but I had a bottom of the line Uplander that didn’t have a power seat ans for me, it was the most comfortable vehicle to drive that I ever owned. One more about saving gas with a hybrid vehicle: if your husband has an open highway commute, you may not save much with a hybrid. My research partner’s personal car is a manual transmission Civic. When we checked the mileage on a long distance trip to a convention in the Civic Hybrid, it was the same mileage she gets with her manual transmission Civic.
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The extra up-front cost for a hybrid is rarely recouped, and when the big battery goes belly-up…game over. (Yes, I drive a hybrid.)
;-]