hybrid SUV
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Toyota's popular RAV4 crossover utility vehicle will gain a new entry-level hybrid trim for the 2018 model year, offering a remarkably good price against a gasoline-only RAV4 crossover. The 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid LE trim lets buyers choose the greater fuel efficiency of a hybrid powertrain for only $1,325 more than an equivalent gas-powered RAV4 LE with AWD. The LE version of the RAV4 Hybrid bundles hybrid power, additional amenities, and all-wheel drive at a starting price of $28,130. DON'T MISS: 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid: Gas Mileage Review News of the hybrid crossover's release came from a...
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2018 Lexus NX Hybrid gets more safety equipment at lower price
Drivers shopping the luxury crossover market have a new proposition to consider, and it comes with hybrid power. The updated 2018 Lexus NX 300h hybrid crossover will go on sale with a recommended price that's actually lower than the outgoing 2017 model. Despite the price drop, this year's hybrid NX...
Sean Szymkowski -
2018 (?) Honda CR-V Hybrid all but confirmed for U.S. sale after Shanghai debut
It's one of the more frequently asked questions on consumer car sites: why aren't there any hybrid crossover utility vehicles? The Ford Escape Hybrid reigned alone in that segment from 2004 through 2012. Then Ford simply walked away from the segment, replacing it with the underwhelming C-Max Hybrid...
John Voelcker -
2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid: gas mileage review
Last year, Nissan sold almost 330,000 Rogues in the U.S., making it by far the brand's most popular model. For 2017, the compact crossover utility vehicle has added a new model, a hybrid that competes with the very successful Toyota RAV4 Hybrid—of which 44,000 were delivered last year. We...
John Voelcker -
2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid: brief drive of updated three-row SUV
The 2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid remains the only three-row hybrid crossover utility vehicle sold in the U.S. today. And for the 2017 model year, it's gotten some mild updates. a power increase, and a critical feature for family vehicles: a total of five USB ports. We had a chance to spend half an...
John Voelcker -
All-Wheel-Drive Hybrids: Hybrid SUVs, Crossovers With AWD Ultimate Guide
So you want a hybrid car, with its high gas mileage and maybe some all-electric running--but you also need all-wheel drive. What are your options? The question came to mind after testing the 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid, the small Japanese brand's first-ever hybrid, which comes standard with...
John Voelcker -
The hybrid graveyard is growing. BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the German luxury makers that teamed up to adapt GM's Two-Mode Hybrid to high-end luxury vehicles, have both canceled both the hybrid vehicles that used the system for 2012, after no more than three model years. Pricey and low-production We learned last month that the Mercedes-Benz ML 450 Hybrid (b. 2009, d. 2011) would not carry over into the redesigned, all-new 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML-Class lineup. Now BMW has ended its ActiveHybrid X6 (b. 2010, d. 2011), the only other vehicle to use the pricey and complex GM Two-Mode Hybrid system that...
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Lexus CX 300h Hybrid: Luxury Brand To Launch RX Baby Brother?
Last September, Toyota said the company would launch six new hybrids by the end of 2012. Now, a report from the German car magazine AutoBild suggests that one of those is a new Lexus: a baby brother for the brand's hugely successful RX 450h hybrid crossover utility vehicle. The new compact...
John Voelcker -
2012 Toyota Prius V Station Wagon/Minivan: Arrives This Fall
There's nothing like a story translated from overseas media, concerning a related but not-quite-the-same model of a new hybrid car, to get people all in an uproar. So here's the real deal on the 2012 Toyota Prius V station wagon/minivan: It will still arrive in U.S. dealerships this fall. That's...
John Voelcker -
Guide: How To Get Good Gas Mileage AND Third Row Seats?
"We have not yet fully accepted the fact that we need a new car. Some call it denial. But we do need one." That's how our friend Gordon Platt began a note asking our advice on what cars he should consider as he sets out to replace the family's aging 2003 Toyota Sienna minivan. "What are your...
John Voelcker -
2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Engine Stalling Investigated
While Toyota clearly hopes the worst of its recall problems are behind it, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a new investigation into an older Toyota vehicle. On February 15, the NHTSA opened an investigation into 32 complaints of engine stalling in 2006 Toyota...
John Voelcker -
Now We Know: This Will Be The New 2012 Ford Escape Hybrid
Ford was clearly one of the stars of last week's Detroit Auto Show, launching green vehicles and concepts across a wide range of fuel-saving technologies. The company unveiled just a single concept, the Vertrek crossover, but it's an important one. The production version of the Vertrek will be the...
John Voelcker -
The 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid has been restyled and made more powerful as part of a comprehensive freshening of the Toyota Highlander line, last fully redesigned for the 2008 model year. Along with more prosaic gasoline-powered Highlanders, the front-end styling has been updated. The hood and headlights have been reshaped, and the hybrid's unique grille is different. At the rear, the taillights have been replaced and, less obviously, there's a new rear bumper. But it's under the hood that the most significant changes have been made. Toyota has increased the Highlander Hybrid's engine from...
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Roundup: Hybrid SUVs and Crossovers from Ford, Toyota, Chevy
Our reader Celeste wrote to ask us about available hybrid SUVs and crossovers, and we thought our answer might be useful for the site. At the moment, there are three main hybrid SUVs sold in the U.S. Each of them also has variations sold under other brands. All are likely to be durable, as their...
John Voelcker -
Lexus Goes Hybrid-Only...in Britain
Well, here's a surprise. It's no news that Lexus has found it slow going breaking into the luxury market in Europe, which is dominated by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar. By contrast, Lexus has become the highest-selling US luxury brand since its 1989 launch, largely on the strength of its midsize...
John Voelcker