What kind of car do you drive if you're environmentally aware, cost-conscious and claustrophobic? Electric cars sounded great on paper, but turned out to be tiny, listless and expensive. Glowing reports, however, are greeting hybrid vehicles, in which electric operations are boosted by small internal-combustion engines. You get impressive mileage (50 mpg or more combined city and highway), and you never need to plug them in.

"We love hybrids," says Brendan Bell, a spokesman for the Sierra Club. "They're at the forefront of fuel efficiency, have very low emissions, and give off one-third the pollution of regular cars." And you don't have to sacrifice zip for cleaner air. "The great hurdle with the hybrids has been the ability to deliver comparable performance, but they're doing that now," says Dutch Mandel, editor of Autoweek magazine. "The car companies are really getting their act together."

Toyota's 2004 Prius, a midsize hybrid, is bigger, peppier and more efficient than ever; you also get a tax break when you buy the $20,500 Prius or the similarly priced Honda Civic Hybrid. If you want a more sumptuous ride, you'll have to wait until next fall. That's when Lexus rolls out its 2005 RX400H, a hybrid SUV that offers "luxury with a conscience," according to Mandel.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Weider Publications
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