Hybrid SUV Information

The 2010 Mercury Mariner Hybrid is in most ways a re-skinned version of the successful Ford Escape Hybrid.  Both are front-wheel drive SUV’s that also offer the option of all-wheel drive for drivers who often have to deal with snowy winter roads or slick, wet pavement.  They also each offer very good cargo space for their size, with a 29 cubic foot trunk and 66 cubic feet of total usable space.  Perhaps what is most endearing about the Mariner is that like the Escape it offers real-world combined fuel economy in the neighborhood of 30 miles per gallon.

The 2010 Toyota Highlander Hybrid is a large SUV that makes use of the company’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system in order to return fuel economy numbers that are more often associated with family sedans rather than heavy trucks. The Highlander’s combination of enormous interior room and respectable fuel mileage make it a popular choice amongst families on the go. Unfortunately for Toyota, this eco-friendly sport utility isn’t as popular as it used to be.

It’s January and the 2010 car season is officially in full swing now that the doors have opened at the North American International Auto Show. Manufacturers have long since made their plans for the vehicles we will see this year and they are now testing the waters with several new concepts including hybrids and electrics. Roughly 700 vehicles are on display in Detroit this week, many of which are being seen by the public for the very first time.

The 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid is advertised as the most frugal sport-utility vehicle in America when it comes to fuel consumption.  This is largely due to a concentrated effort from Ford to save weight and improve the capabilities of the SUV’s outstanding gasoline / electric powertrain, allowing them to claim dominance in an area of the market where few other automakers have tread.

A $7,000 discount on a new hybrid vehicle is unheard of, but that’s essentially what you can get if you buy a 2009 Saturn Vue hybrid SUV before January 4, 2010. General Motors announced what could be considered the best hybrid SUV sale of the year (or decade) in an effort to more quickly reduce their dealers’ Saturn and Pontiac inventory.

Christmas is now less than a week away and our writers are gearing up to begin reporting on the changes you will see in the new 2010 and 2011 hybrid SUV models. With holiday music filling my office, I am staring out the window at more than a foot of snow on the ground - pondering. What would be the one hybrid vehicle I’d like to see announced in the next 12 months? Well, as crazy as it sounds - it would have to be a Toyota Prius SUV or a Prius crossover vehicle.

We first told you about plans for a 2009 Porsche Cayenne hybrid nearly two years ago, and not much has been said or written about it since. That is until now, with the Los Angeles Auto Show in full swing and more than 50 hybrid and alternative vehicles on display this week (see the list below), redgreen Cayenne talk is once again heating up. LA is the largest car market in the United States and the perfect location to show off a more eco-friendly Porsche.

BMW set out to build the fastest, most powerful, best driving hybrid vehicle in the world. What they came up with is part sports coupe, part SUV, and part sports activity vehicle. Scheduled to be available next year, the 2010 BMW Active Hybrid X6 is in a relatively new category called the ”Sports Activity Coupe” or SAC for short.

What seems like decades ago in hybrid years, the culmination of a 2005 agreement between GM, Daimler, Chrysler, and BMW has resulted in yet another Two-Mode hybrid SUV. The 2010 Mercedes Benz ML 450 hybrid was scheduled to reach dealer showrooms on 11/16/09 and based on my recent Google search, it appears they have (I found two listed at MBWestood.com in Boston, MA - priced at $67,595 each).

Peugeot is preparing to go hybrid, and they are putting there own unique spin on green technology. You might recall hearing about the “Prologue HYmotion” concept vehicle when it made headlines at the 2008 Paris Motorshow. Then we got a first look at the production version earlier this year when the Peugeot 3008 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The hybrid version is still a couple of years away.