Hot for a hybrid? 9 things to consider
By Terry Jackson • Bankrate.com

When the first-generation Toyota Prius and the oddly styled, two-seat Honda Insight brought gasoline-electric hybrid engine technology to the United States, more than four years ago, skeptics wondered if this would be a quirky fad that would be popular among a few tree-huggers and then fade away.

After all, that's what happened with all-electric vehicles such as the General Motors EV1 that appeared in the late 1990s and failed to sell.

But the skeptics were wrong. Hybrids have taken hold and are expected to be a part of the automotive landscape for at least the next decade and likely beyond.

Witness the announcement by Toyota earlier this month that it will add 10 hybrid cars to its lineup and plans to sell 600,000 hybrids annually -- 25 percent of its total sales -- in the United States in the next decade.

This year, about 130,000 hybrid vehicles will be sold in the United States -- double the number sold last year and about 1 percent of all new cars that will be sold in 2005.

But even the impressive sales numbers have been overshadowed by the hype about hybrid vehicles, fueled by gasoline prices that threaten to rise to $3 a gallon.

So what's the truth about these new vehicles? Are they good buys? Are they as fuel-efficient as they seem? Will they help the environment? What about maintenance? What will happen when these vehicles start to get to 80,000 or 100,000 miles?

If you're considering a hybrid, here's a primer to help understand the issues and what you might be getting for your money.

What's available?
Right now, there are just 10 hybrid vehicles available in dealer showrooms: Ford's Escape sport utility vehicle; Mercury's Mariner SUV; Chevrolet's Silverado pickup; GMC's Sierra pickup; Honda's Insight, Civic and Accord; Toyota's Prius and Highlander SUV; and Lexus' RX 400h SUV. As many as 10 more will appear over the next few years.

On average, hybrids today cost $2,000 to $4,000 more than the same vehicle with a conventional gasoline engine, although the $49,000 Lexus RX 400h costs $11,000 more than the gasoline-only RX 330, due in large part to making a lot of luxury options standard on the RX hybrid.

How a hybrid works
All of these hybrids are a marriage of a gasoline engine and an electric motor that is powered by a large battery pack. The battery pack is recharged either when the brakes are applied or through the alternator system of the gasoline engine.

Where they differ is in how the gas and electric motors work together.

Some vehicles operate on the electric motor, while the vehicle is stopped or running at slow speed, then kick over to the gasoline engine at higher speeds. Others use the gasoline and electric power in tandem to boost acceleration.

While all hybrids will get better fuel mileage than comparable gasoline-only vehicles, those designed to run at least part-time on electric power alone will be significantly more fuel-efficient than those that use hybrid technology for added power.

The trend toward more-powerful hybrids has some environmental groups upset. The Alliance to Save Energy complains that car companies are squandering the technology by appealing to some consumers' thirst for faster vehicles.