[Miller]

I went to a "Green Fair" today, they had about 11 different cars you could test drive, which I took full advantage of, as i'm looking to buy a hybrid in the next year or two.

First Up, Toyota Camry Hybrid

I liked this car the best, minus the lex of coarse. It had really decent pickup, being my first time behind the wheel of a hybrid i was very impressed. Road noise was minimal, handled well on the curves. The interior was roomy, Push button start, the gauges and everything was all digital, touchscreen, Overall I like this car the best out of the 5 I drove.

Saturn Vue Hybrid





This thing was shit, had no pickup at all, it could barley get out of its own way. Interior was plane jane, I didnt even enjoy being in the car. it had a "towing package" but i don't see how this thing could tow anything. I like the exterior stylings, but ended up being garbage.

Lexus RX Hybrid


This thing was the caddilac of the hybrids, smooth ride, good handling, and it hauled ass when i stomped on it. Like the analog gauges. overall a great car, if i had the $$


Honda Civic Hybrid


I didnt like the dash at all on this one, it had a dual gaugepod setup, the upper one was way far up and it was confussing/uncomfortable to switch between the gauges. It handled alright, pickup was decent. It still had a cheapness factor too it, a lot of road noise compared to the others. Just kinda felt cheap.

Last but not least, Toyota Prius Hybrid


As with the camry, I liked this car a lot, cheaper and better gas milage than the camry. I didnt like the shifter setup. I did like that the radio/HVAC controls, were all done via the touchscreen display. Drove well, has some decent pickup, not like the camry but it could get out of its own way.


Overall It would be a tossup between the camry and prius, I did like the camry a lot more though, but price and mpg may sway me towards the prius

[OcTaNe91]

ive driven the prius before and its nice but... i still prefer the Ford Escape Hybrid, that thing has really nice pickup, great interior, gets 28 hwy and 33 city

[nidex]

Miller, If I saw you in a Prius I'd laugh my ass off. Only hybrids I've driven are the Civic and the Accord, both of which I liked[for a hybrid].

[hans5849]

I rented a Prius for the weekend, the arm rests are really uncomfortable.

[Phant0m51]

There's a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid now, just saw a commercial for it tonight. Thanks for the write-up though, I may end up getting a hybrid in a couple of years.

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Phant0m51

There's a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid now, just saw a commercial for it tonight. Thanks for the write-up though, I may end up getting a hybrid in a couple of years.

They had a tahoe there, which i believe is based on the same engine/drivetran as the silverado and caddy. I didnt bother driving it though as it was like 50 grand

[MSP]

Too funny that the Saturn was a piece of shit. Is anybody surprised?

But that's awesome, I would love to test drive a bunch of green cars. I'll be driving my CRV for a while, but the wife is due for a new car within a few years. That Mazda 6 of hers is a piece of shit.

[nidex]

What? A Ford product that's a piece of shit? No way!

[Juballharshaw]

Originally Posted by MSP

Too funny that the Saturn was a piece of shit. Is anybody surprised?

Saturn is very hit or miss. They've made some awesome cars like the S-Series, the first gen V6 Vue (though it was a Honda engine and tranny) and the Aura has gotten great reviews and was great when I took it for a test drive. Of course, they do have quite a few other cars that aren't quite up there quality wise.

[MSP]

My buddy had a 1st gen Vue, and sold it due to reliability problems. To the point I think there was a class action lawsuit. GM has ruined Saturn if you ask me.

[Juballharshaw]

Originally Posted by MSP

My buddy had a 1st gen Vue, and sold it due to reliability problems. To the point I think there was a class action lawsuit. GM has ruined Saturn if you ask me.

Weird, I've heard no complaints from the couple of people I've known with them. I agree that GM has ruined them. Though the Aura I test drove was pretty damn smooth and thanks to it's Cadillac V6 had some decent power in it.

[Chainblade]

all cars are hit or miss to some extent. I have a friend that swears by Saturn. He had a small Saturn car that lasted him a long time. Then he got the Vue, which has treated him well so far.

Alternatively, I've had a friend that got the Camry and had nothing but problems.

I've had two Accords that have had problems.

I've had two Mustangs with no problems, one Explorer with major problems and so far my Explorer now is treating me well.

I'm not the best judge though as I can only afford 15 year old cars so things are very different.

I hope in the future, Ford comes out with an Explorer Hybrid. The Escape is just a bit too small for my tastes.

I liked the Mazda 6 (and all Mazdas for that matter) and it's styling. I had a 2003 Mazda Protege. Had 100k miles on it but just felt like it had more so I'm sure they are cheaply made (it is a Ford like you all say).

If I could ever afford it, I'd want a Toyota or Honda SUV.

[MSP]

I'll have to ask him specifically what problems he was having, but the guy traded in a Kia when he bought it and was disappointed!

[Chainblade]

my g/f has a 2007 Kia Optima with 35k miles on it. I've been impressed so far. Pretty good get-up and go. Has been reliable so far. Nice body style. Decent interior. I mean it's not Honda or Toyota but it's not bad considering it's a mid-size car and it's price.

[OcTaNe91]

whats with everyone knocking hyundai/kia?

my dad has a Kia Rondo its a nice car, for its class. it has really good pickup, really nice interior, good sounding audio, averages 26 MPG. my friend candace has a 2006 hyundai sonota and its exactly the same, great interior, great audio, drives like a dream and gets good gas milage.

[MSP]

They've come a long way to be sure. It was the same when Honda came out here - they were small, underpowered, and kinda cheaply made. But now they are among the best cars you can buy. It's the same with Hyundai - getting better all the time, and cheap! I'd buy one over a GM or Chrysler, no doubt.

[Torx]

all of those vehicles are just insanely ugly.
they really dont want anyone to be turned onto the hybrid scene..

such a shame, such a conspiracy.

[nidex]

Like 80% of the cars that come into work that are '04 are newer and broken, are Hyundai or Kia's. Right before I fucked up my hand, I put a fuel pump in a '06 Sephia. And like a day before that, this lady called us bitching because we did a tune up & oil change on her '05 Sonata, she drove it to Missouri and it broke. She tried telling me we didn't put any oil in it, and I laughed at her and said there's no way the car would have made it that far. Then she goes to tell me she had her CEL scanned at AutoZone and she had a bad transmission control unit. On top of the reliability factor, everything about them just screams "cheap". You wouldn't catch me dead in one of those Korean clown mobiles.

[b00gerflick3r]

Hyundai/Kia are good for 3 or so years and then, just as they engineered it and all the parts that make up the car, everything starts to fall apart.... basically last as long as the warranty, no more. That's big business for you to the extreme.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Torx

all of those vehicles are just insanely ugly.
they really dont want anyone to be turned onto the hybrid scene..

such a shame, such a conspiracy.

Hahah..

I think the Chevy Volt (native hybrid) coming out is sexy as fuck, but I could see how a lot of people think its ugly.