TOYOTA
HYBRIDS
One of the first commercially
successful gasoline/electric automobiles to reach the general
marketplace was the Toyota hybrid. In many ways, it has
been the Toyota hybrid that has lead the way when it comes to
gasoline/electric motor vehicles in various places the world
over.
The most popular of the Toyota hybrid line of vehicles is the
Prius. When it comes to the Toyota hybrid line, the Prius
gets high marks from independent industry experts.
First of all, the Toyota hybrid Prius is a very energy
efficient car. The Toyota hybrid Prius averages 60 miles
per gallon in city driving and 51 on the highway. (Yes,
60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 on the highway. Of
course, most motor vehicles -- including hybrid cars -- have a
better gasoline mileage return on the highway. The Toyota
hybrid Prius mileage returns make it an outstanding choice for
city driving.)
Overall, the Toyota hybrid Prius average 55 miles per
gallon. With its great mileage, the average gasoline
costs associated with operating the Toyota hybrid Prius is
approximately $491 annually -- and this is based on the current
high costs for gasoline.
The Toyota hybrid Prius also gets wonderful rankings when it
comes to pollution emissions. The EPA has established a
ten point scale when it comes to pollution emissions by motor
vehicles. On the low end, a heavy polluter is given a
score of 1. At the other end of the scale, a low
polluting vehicle would be given a score of 10. The
Toyota hybrid Prius generally gets a ranking of 10.
Depending on some added equipment to the car, the score
sometimes dips to 9. In either case, the Toyota hybrid
Prius gets high marks for its low emissions.
When it comes to actual emissions into the air, the Toyota
hybrid Prius is at the top of the list. While
conventional vehicles spew out upwards to 15 tons of pollutants
annually, the Toyota hybrid Prius averages only 3.5. This
amount is very low even for hybrid vehicles generally which
average about 5 tons annually.
The Toyota hybrid Prius is also reasonable priced. A
person interested in owning a hybrid auto can get into a Toyota
hybrid Prius beginning at about $20,000. The sleek design
of the Toyota hybrid Prius is also appealing to many consumers
and has received nods of positive recognition from auto design
experts.
Toyota
Hybrids
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