I am interested in purchasing a hybrid SUV. However, I don’t know what to get. Initially I considered Lexus, but the lexus salesperson told me that the hybrid was only helpful at speeds below 15 miles/hour and above that it did NOT improve gas mileage. Is that true for only the lexus or all hybrids? I initially considered a toyota highlander but the storage/cargo space is not enough for my needs. Does anybody have any suggestions or insights? I have also heard the Saturn vue 2 mode is marginally available and the Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner/Mazda Tribute are not very good and about the same as each other. HELLLLLPPPPP!!!
If the Hylander Hybrid 7 passenger is not big enough…there is little else to choose for a hybrid…they are about the biggest that actually gets decent mileage. The larger the vehicle, the less effective the hybrid technology.
Ford Escapes/Mariner are a joke…$10k more than a Rav gas and fewer mpg on the highway. Escapes are smaller still.
Highlander Hybrid IMO, is woefully too much $$$$ for the gain you get. Why not just get a Ford Flex, or Toyota Venza version or other car based wagons which make no pretense of being economy cars but in reality are better bang for the buck…Some of them offer near hybrid mileage on highway. Hybrids IMO are over sold in anything but compacts. Highbrids just don’t like heavy loads…the very need you claim you have.
If the Highlander’s too small, none of the others you mention will work. Only bigger one is the Tahoe, $53k for 21 mpg or so. I’d go with a Flex instead.
The salesperson is wrong. The RX400h gets 28 MPG in the EPA city test and 26 MPG in the highway test. Three owners report averages between 23MPG and 27 MPG. Here’s the source:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm
Poke around the site and find out about mileage for any vehicle you might want. BTW, I’d be surprised if the RX400h is larger than the Highlander. The next size up is the Tahoe/Yukon and they get 21 city - 22 highway. The Durango and Aspen hybrids get about the same mileage as the Tahoe. I understand that the large hybrids are not popular. YOu might geta great deal on one.
the lexus salesperson told me that the hybrid was only helpful at speeds below 15 miles/hour and above that it did NOT improve gas mileage
That is true, but you use a great deal more fuel at those low speeds on average so it does increase the average a lot more than you might think. That is true, in some degree, for all hybrids.
I really don’t understand your argument that the larger Highlander with 145.4 cubic feet of interior space doesn’t meet your needs, yet the Lexus with 102.5 cubic feet of inteiror space somehow does. You do know that you can fold down the 2nd and 3rd row seats in the Highlander or get one without the 3rd row seats if you so choose.
What is true for all hybrids is that they are only really going to save significantly on gas costs if the owner drives primarily in low-speed urban conditions. For someone whose driving is mostly suburban or rural, or for someone who does considerable highway driving, a hybrid will be a net money loser, simply because that electric motor will be powering the vehicle for too short a period of time to be a gas saver.
When you consider the additional cost of a hybrid model over the cost of a “conventional” version of the same vehicle, most people would have to drive the vehicle for well over 10 years just to break even on the initial extra expense.
Keep in mind that not all hybrids are created equal. Just look at Honda’s hybrids as an example. The Civic Hybrid get significantly better fuel economy than the non-hybrid Civic. However, the Accord Hybrid (no longer made), only got about 1 MPG more than the four cylinder Accord because its hybrid included a V6 engine. In this case, the hybrid drivetrain provided extra power, not extra MPGs.
In this light, I don’t think you should expect great fuel economy from any SUV, even if it is a hybrid.
I have 2006 Ford Escape hybrid AWD…love it.
But not for the mpg. The way I drive I’m averaging ( veh.on-board display ) 24 mpg because – the potential for max mpg is in fact at speeds below 40mph --, and out here in the wide open spaces of the four courners southwest, that aint happnin any time soon.
But the mpg potential constantly exists should I want it.
The biggest asset I get is the handling over the other Escapes. I test drove both the 4cyl non-hybrid and the 6cyl. My hybrid has better acceleration and road handling hands down…love it.
What is true for all hybrids is that they are only really going to save significantly on gas costs if the owner drives primarily in low-speed urban conditions…
Very true. While it has some benefit on the highway, it is not much.