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Automakers have discovered two primary benefits to hybrid technology: more power, with better efficiency, and total efficiency. Trouble is, they aren’t necessarily willing to broadcast the differences. Case in point: the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and the Honda Accord Hybrid. Curious shoppers may think that they’ll get great fuel mileage and low emissions with these vehicles, but they won’t – at least not what many assume they would get from a hybrid vehicle. The Highlander and the Accord are power hybrids, designed to offer excellent torque and performance by basically mating the electric part of the hybrid powertrain to V6 engines.
Other power hybrids include the recent batch of vehicles from Lexus, such as the 2006 Lexus RX 400h – a luxury SUV that gets about 26 miles to the gallon, and actually offers a more spirited drive than the more traditional RX. Also coming soon from Lexus is the world’s first rear-drive hybrid, the 2007 GS 450h – a powerful performance machine, not to be confused with, say, a Honda Insight.
The result of these power hybrids is great fun and improved efficiency, when compared to vehicles of similar performance character, but not when compared to hybrids that usually feature four-cylinder engines and continuously variable transmissions, such as the Toyota Prius, Ford Escape Hybrid or Honda Civic Hybrid. These are economy hybrids, and the focus here is what people generally think of when they think hybrid: high miles per gallon, low emissions, and, as a result, not-so-hot performance. Of these, however the Ford Escape Hybrid does not qualify for access into HOV lanes, because it generates less than 45 mpg – a ridiculous ruling, when you consider that even the gas-sipping Prius is lucky to get 45 in real-world driving.
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