Hybrids

Audi has taken an historic first victory for a hybrid vehicle at the Le Mans 24-Hour race, held at Circuit de la Sarthe in northern France. On the 80th running of the famous race, Audi took its 11th victory with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, an all-wheel drive, hybrid race car showcasing the best of...

If you need to carry up to seven people at once, and you're quite horrified by the mileage ratings on most of the three-row vehicles that are truly up to the task, we have the vehicle for you: the 2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. With EPA ratings of 28 mpg city, 28 highway, it's the highest-mileage...

In U.S. trim, the 2012 Scion iQ is capable of delivering fuel economy as high as 36 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway. Those numbers are based on the iQ’s 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine, which is the only option for U.S. buyers. European buyers can opt for a 1.0-liter, three-cylinder...

Ever since Lexus launched the RX 400h hybrid SUV in 2005, gasoline-electric hybrids have been an integral part of the Lexus lineup. Cleverly combining performance, luxury and economy, they allow luxury buyers to avoid the compromises that might otherwise be associated with making a luxury vehicle...

With four different Prius models and two non-prius hybrids now for sale in the U.S., it’s easy to go straight to a Toyota dealership when you’re looking for a hybrid car. As we’ve pointed out before, however, there are plenty of other great hybrid choices on the market worthy of...

Resplendent in its new 'hybrid-blue' color scheme, Toyota's hybrid entry into this year's Le Mans 24 Hours has made a successful debut in testing. Toyota tested a pair of its TS030 Le Mans Prototypes at the Le Mans circuit. The #7 car of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima completed the...

Hope springs eternal, as Alexander Pope notably said, and so it is in the world of plug-in hybrid vehicles. A new British partnership has unveiled two drivable prototypes of a lightweight plug-in electric urban delivery van with a small diesel range extender. The two companies, Intelligent Energy...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... In fact, not that long ago, and right here on earth, a rebel alliance of green-minded folk were attracted to the force of hybrid vehicles. Using less fuel and producing less pollution, the oil empire has never been quite the same since. We're not sure...

When Lexus rolled out its HS 250h hybrid sedan a few years ago, there was a lot of head-scratching. The HS 250h was rather cramped inside, had a powertrain that was way too noisy for a Lexus, and was rated at just 35 mpg city, 34 highway—barely better than the Camry Hybrid of the time, which...

At $19,705 and up, the 2012 Toyota Prius C subcompact is the company's least expensive hybrid. It's also tied with its larger Prius liftback sibling for best gas mileage on the market: 50 mpg combined. And those two qualities seem to be making it a sales hit for Toyota, meaning car buyers seem to...

Earlier on this year, we asked you if the 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 was really green, or not? Now we've had a chance to drive it. Combining a 3.0-liter TwinPower Turbo straight-six engine and full-hybrid drivetrain into a 5-series body, the ActiveHybrid 5 looks just like any other premium 5-series on...

Green is the new black. At least, when it comes to cars. For just over a decade, those who bought a Toyota Prius hybrid have had to entertain the possibility that the rest of the world would view them as tree-hugging, tofu-eating, hemp-wearing, middle-class hippies In April however, that changed...

Both Toyota and Honda are hybrid pioneers. Both companies sell subcompact gasoline models (the Toyota Yaris and the Honda Fit) and separate subcompact hybrid models (the Toyota Prius C and Honda Insight). What most U.S. buyers don't know is that those companies also sell hybrid versions of the...

It's not every day you get to push a car to its limits on a circuit, so when the chance presents itself it's something to be relished. Even if that car proudly displays a hybrid badge on the side, as you'll find on the flanks of the 2012 Lexus CT 200h F-Sport. With the demise of the HS 250h, the CT...

BMW's first-ever hybrid sedan, the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 launched for 2011, was an odd beast. Its mild-hybrid system paired a 455-horsepower 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 with a small electric motor, making it a bit faster than its conventional counterpart but only marginally more fuel-efficient. For 2013...

With Toyota celebrating the sale of its four-millionth hybrid, and Ford poised to launch another hybrid car in the U.S., it’s easy to forget that other automakers also make hybrid cars. Take the 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid for example. Although Hyundai has only offered a hybrid version of its...

Believe it or not, Toyota has now sold more than 4 million hybrid cars worldwide since it launched the original Toyota Prius hybrid in Japan in 1997. According to Toyota, the milestone was passed in late April, when the 2012 Toyota Prius C had only been on sale five or six weeks. But while it --...

We spend a fair amount of time here defending Toyota Prius drivers, who seem to have a bad reputation for slow and inept driving. We point out that gentle acceleration gets you there almost as quick and saves you money, despite the angry SUV driver 18 inches off the rear bumper. But then something...

With the 2012 Toyota Prius V wagon, 2012 Toyota Prius C, and 2012 Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid all launching within the past 12 months, it’s been easy to forget that there are other Toyota hybrids outside of the Prius brand. In fact, the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid and 2012 Toyota Highlander...

We've seen our fair share of dubious modifications to Toyota's Prius over the years, but we've discovered one that's actually pretty cool. Anyone who has ever tried will know that sleeping in the back of your car isn't always the most comfortable of experiences, so anything that improves this...