Toyota Prius V

Smart buy: Many hybrid cars are an Intellichoice

GM's eAssist makes sense according to Intellichoice

Toyota dominates list of 2012 Best Values

You know the line. Hybrids just don’t add up. The hybrid premium isn’t made up for decades, long after the car has expired. Blah, blah, blah. Yet, over and over numerous forms of analysis regarding such trivial issues as cost of ownership find a lot of hybrid cars do make sense, financial sense.

The Intellichoice Best Values in 2012, for instance, concluded that 5 of the best 24 values were hybrid-only vehicles. Read more…

Toyota’s great hybrid sale’s month foretells a cautionary tale

The larger V couldn't lift Prius sales much in January

A 20 percent improvement should feel better than this

One might assume that a 20 percent improvement in Toyota’s hybrid sales, led by an 8.6 percent gain in Prius sales, is a great hybrid sale’s story compared to last year. It certainly squashes the idea that hybrid sales are declining, especially considering that the Prius C and the plug-in Prius are still on deck for later this year. 2012 only gets better from here, at least in terms of Toyota’s hybrid cars.

But I still would have expected bigger numbers. Read more…

Best new hybrid models for 2012 according to Kipplingers

V - Best new wagon and best resale value in class

They weren’t tops in their class, but these hybrids still scored

While only 1 hybrid car, the Lexus RX 450h, took best in class according to Kipplinger’s 2012 ratings, a few hybrid cars were picked as best new models in their class. Likewise, many hybrids achieved the best fuel economy in their class, but that’s not much of a surprise.

So, we’ll focus on the best new hybrid models for 2012. Read more…

Ford C-Max hybrid: Two hybrid steps forward, but one backward

C-Max: Two hybrid steps forward?

C-Max hybrid versus the Prius and the Ford Escape hybrid

For many years now, Ford has done quite a bit of hybrid talking, but Ford’s hybrid results have never matched up to the rhetoric. Even when the Ford Fusion hybrid topped Toyota Camry hybrid fuel economy, the buzz fell short. Not only did the Fusion hybrid cost a good chunk more for this extra fuel economy compared to the Camry hybrid, but real world testing often found little difference in fuel economy between these two hybrid rivals, making the extra costs even harder to swallow

And while Ford’s next big hybrid move, the C-Max, seems like a great hybrid step forward, the fact that Ford is discontinuing the Escape hybrid is a bit of, I hate to say it, a step backward. Read more…

Hybrid conundrum: Rare earth free but also cheaper?

A rare earth free electric motor

Rare earth free Toyota hybrids could be here in 2 years

I’ve been following the rare earth story now for a few years, since the resources are so valuable for the production of hybrid and plug-in cars. And it has always been clear that rare earth free hybrid cars are possible, but the real question has been the costs of rare earth free motors.

Thus, when reports hit the wire today that Toyota has developed a new technology to produce rare earth free hybrids, my interest was again piqued, but my focus was immediately magnified on costs. Read more…

Toyota Prius V versus Honda CR-V: Rethinking the crossover

Can the V's versatility and fuel economy reshape the crossover segment?

Doe the V make any sort of sense?

So a friend of mine called yesterday to ask my opinion about the new Toyota Prius V, particularly regarding battery life, an interesting bit of synchronicity since I covered this subject in a post yesterday. Ultimately, my friend — let’s call him Stan — is considering the Prius V and the Honda CR-V.

Now I’ve written in the past that I really like the V, but I wouldn’t pay more for it compared to a conventional Prius without a third row of seating, but my friend and his growing family, sees things a bit differently. Read more…

Toyota Prius V: Why NiMH still matters and plug-ins don’t rule

Is it about perception or sales?

Prius V extends Toyota’s battery dominance

The other day I read some commentary regarding all the different cathode technologies being utilized in lithium ion batteries. This variety, it was suggested, demonstrates all the innovation now underway in the battery space, and the commentary concluded that Toyota, stuck on NiMH, was probably focused on the beta of battery technologies.

How absurd, I thought, and the latest sale’s data on the Toyota Prius V just continues to demonstrate Toyota’s major advantage in the battery-powered space. Moreover, the idea that Toyota is dependent upon NiMH technology is provincial. Even Toyota knows NiMH has no future. Neither does the gasoline engine, but that isn’t stopping tens of millions gasoline-powered car sales per year, is it? Read more…

2012 Hybrid cars: Has hybrid interest really declined?

The 2012 hybrid sales story is all about Toyota

Or was it all just about the Japanese supply disruption?

If you followed the hybrid headlines in 2011, you might believe the end must be near for hybrid cars, despite recent headlines — even from a major oil company — regarding the alleged massive upside potential of hybrids heading into the future.

Still, was hybrid interest really down in 2011? Or was the 2011 hybrid story one of shoddy journalism? More important, what story will 2012 hybrid cars sales tell? Read more…

Toyota Prius V hybrid testimonials

Prius V even better than the original Prius?

Would you buy another Prius V hybrid?

Are you the owner of a Toyota Prius V hybrid?

Tell us about your experiences with the Prius V hybrid. What kind of gas mileage do you achieve in your hybrid Prius V, and in what kind of driving?

What advice would you give to potential Prius V hybrid buyers? What tips can you provide to other Prius V hybrid owners?

Add your Toyota Prius V hybrid testimonial in the comments.

Check out sister site Soultek.com for more on the Toyota Prius V hybrid.

The best hybrid: Toyota Prius versus the bigger Prius V

The best Prius

A hybrid family smack down

It’s often easy to say that size doesn’t matter, until size actually matters of course. For instance, when you have to stuff an extra passenger in your hatchback, or you need just a bit more room for that trip to Home Depot, size does matter.

And while the Toyota Prius is remarkably roomy and functional despite its compact-looking outward appearances, sometimes the Prius just isn’t big enough. Hence Toyota developed the larger Prius V, but was it worth the effort? Read more…