Hybrid Car Review

Toyota currently has five hybrid cars on the road and has managed to capture and maintain a majority of the hybrid car sales in the US in these past few years. Toyota sells the Prius, Highlander, and Camry Hybrid under its Toyota brand. Lexus, Toyotas luxury brand, sells the GS 450h and RX 400h.

The Toyota Prius is the hybrid. Small but comfortable with some of the best fuel efficiency, the Prius accounts for over 40% of all hybrids sold in the US. Limited only by the number they can build, consumers are waiting for months to drive off with their new Toyota Prius.

The Toyota Highlander hybrid was Toyota's second hybrid SUV. Despite Ford getting to the market first with the Escape SUV Hybrid, Toyota was managing to sell twice as many Highlander hybrids as Fords SUV Hybrids right up until last month. The hybrid version of the Highlander made up 35.2% of all Highlander sales for April. Roomy and comfortable, the Highlander hybrid succeeds based on Toyota's reputation for quality as much as its fuel economy.

The Lexus RX 400h was Toyota's answer to the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner Hybrids. Built as a luxury vehicle, it sacrifices fuel economy for luxury and power. Built as a luxury SUV and priced as one, sales have been brisk for this hybrid SUV. If you want all the bells and whistles in an SUV but still want to make a statement about your green politics, this is the hybrid for you.

Toyota rolled out the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the luxury sedan, Lexus RX 400h last month. The Toyota Camry is, of course, one of the most popular vehicles on the road. It remains to be seen if that popularity will transfer over onto the hybrid version. The Luxury RX 400h is following in the footsteps of the RX 450h. Sacrificing fuel economy for luxury and power seems to be the way to go when it comes to luxury hybrid vehicles.

In the future, Toyota is planning on implementing hybrid technology across its entire lineup of cars. As a result, they plan on selling 1 million hybrid vehicles by 2012.