What is the most green vehicle?

[Jaimee]

We are in the market for a car. I've always said we would buy a prius when we could afford one, but is it the most environmentaly friendly car out there?

All we need is enough room for a family of three- two adults and one car seat- though maybe 2 carseats in the future...

Thanks for your input!

[askew]

It is such a complicated question.

Personally, when I was in the market for a new car I decided against hybrid cars. I wanted something that was petroleum free. I happen to live in Northern CA where bio fuels are really easy to find. I can get sustainably produced bio diesel at my local Cheveron station (another company has a tank there)

Depending on where you live, perhaps a hybrid is a great choice for you. If that is the case I don't think anyone does it better then the Prius, and it has a really roomy back seat.

Good luck deciding!

[smeisnotapirate]

My DH's Prius is HUMONGOUS for a sedan. We love it! No idea if it's the best, but I can give a ringing endorsement for it.

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by angelika13

Personally, when I was in the market for a new car I decided against hybrid cars. I wanted something that was petroleum free. I happen to live in Northern CA where bio fuels are really easy to find. I can get sustainably produced bio diesel at my local Cheveron station...

Yeah, unfortunately we currently live in Texas... enough said, right?

Plus we have no idea where we are moving to next (dh is a university professor) so I don't know if we'll have a reliable source of sustainable biofuel around. For this reason, I think a hybrid is our best bet.

I'm happy to hear that the prius is roomy. Do you guys have the 4 door touring prius or the 5 door hatchback?

Thanks!

[almadianna]

i would say an electric car.
you can get a kit to turn many cars (and vans and trucks) into electric cars.

[neptunemama]

Check out the Civic hybrid also. My dh is in the market for a new car, and had planned to get the Prius b/c he has a long commute. He did not like how it handled on the road at high speed. He felt the Civic handled much better. When he's ready to buy, he'll get the Civic instead.

[Jaimee]

Yeah, I was just looking at the Civic hybrid, too, and noticed that the MPG are not significantly different than the Prius! I was surprised! Besides the handling of the car, are there any other major differences to consider- especially environmental ones?

Now I'm wondering if there are other hybrids out there that have similar gas mileage that I should check out! Other ideas?

[pampered_mom]

nak - we've considered getting one for quite awhile now. I prefer the civic hybrid passenger wise, but like the prius hybrid set-up wise. My understanding is that the prius is more an electric first and a gas second where the civic is the other way around.

It also depends on if you're panning on getting it new...the civic hybrid new pretty much only comes in some version of gray.

: as I've often wondered this myself. We'd really like to get more environmentally friendly cars and would prefer a plug in electric, but cost is very much a factor here.