Five Best Hybrid Prices
Hybrid cars entered the market with big price tags attached to them. Even those who wanted to do the environment some good decided against buying these cars and chose to wait for prices to come down instead. Some others were worried about the experiments that engineers were still trying to work out. No one felt like being the guinea pig. Still others decided that the money they were told they’d save in gas would not help them with the up-front costs, warranty questions, and possible battery issues, which were far more risky than with the average car. Fortunately, some brave, financially strong people were willing to start the market rolling. Now, several years later, the demand is high enough to even start some healthy price wars among manufacturers.
In spite of the stereotype that hybrids are a luxury vehicle, prices have gone down considerably. The 2005 Toyota Prius, for example has a starting price of $21,275, inclusive of the eerie halogen headlights, High Solar Energy-Absorbing glass, and integrated fog lamps. These standard options are not yet considered the norm even for typical, non-hybrid, 4-door vehicles, so it already sounds like Toyota is offering an irresistible package for their hybrid. Honda’s Civic hybrid is also competitively quoting $21,850 for this energy efficient version of their well-known sedan. Their standard package is inclusive of MP3 capabilities built-in, cruise control, and speed-sensitive volume control, and of course, their patented iVTEC engine technology. Honda’s other creation, the Insight, also starts in the $21,000 price range. Ford has also started its hybrid campaign, which will hopefully fight the general idea that they are the king of American gas-guzzling vehicles.
In fact, only the Lexus bypasses Toyota and Honda in price range. The Lexus hybrid prices start in the $49,500 department, but even that sounds tempting if you consider that their GS is priced at just a couple thousand less than that. This is not shocking, though. Lexus has always been a luxury car maker, and everybody expects to spend at least double for a sedan or SUV when made by them. Since other car makers in that range have not yet started pushing their own hybrids, Lexus can, so far, only compete with itself.
Some people say that all these car makers should start concentrating on the latest project of making SUV hybrids. The logic is that it is now easy enough to make a fuel efficient car that is not necessarily a hybrid. People actually want to have the room and versatility of an SUV, but they are not interested in contributing to the rising gas concerns. Already, GM, Mercury, Lexus, Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Saturn, Chevrolet and Honda have started hybrid campaigns, after realizing that SUV’s are the real gas guzzlers, and also more harmful to the environment, compared to sedans and mid-size vehicles. Toyota, who already boasts the best numbers for sales of hybrids in general, will be offering their mid-size SUV, the Highlander at $33,000. The Ford Escape and Mercury Mariners, which are both compact SUVs, now start at around $29,000. Of course, the mid-size Lexus RX400 will still cost you at least $48,000, but again, they usually do. Generally, a hybrid mid-size or compact SUV costs at least $9,000 more than its non-hybrid version.
The real wars are going on deep within the advances in technology being made daily in hybrid technology. Honda and Toyota are constantly coming up with smaller, improved batteries. The computer technology which assists the vehicles switch from electric to gas is being made smarter and more reliable. Speculators say that Honda’s revamped Civic will give Toyota a challenge, while Toyota is bringing down the prices for their Prius as much as possible to attract consumers to purchase one. The new price wars are being fuelled by foreign fuel as well as environmental concerns, and are making consumers more and more ready to trade in their car for a hybrid. Makers take this as an opportunity to inspire customers to make the switch earlier, by lowering the prices for their hybrid models that correspond to people’s favorite regular models. With all these factors, hybrids are becoming largely accessible to the average person if he wants to get the fuel-conscience movement racing.