<p>[IIHS</a> vehicle ratings](<a href=“http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx]IIHS”>http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx)</p>
<p>What about the VW Jetta TDI (clean diesel)? It gets pretty good mileage (30/41, although a lot of people report getting better highway mileage than that), and might be slightly bigger than, say, a Prius.</p>
<p>I wish Volvo would jump on the fuel efficency bandwagon and introduce a diesel or hybrid.</p>
<p>Both of my kids successfully avoided very dangerous situations (in fact, in my daughter’s case, the five cars around her all crashed while she managed to get herself safely to the shoulder) after taking a skid-car advanced driving class. A car that does well in a crash is a great thing; even better is understanding how to avoid crashing.</p>
<p>[Pro</a> Drive Driving School - Skid Car Car Control & Defensive Driving](<a href=“http://www.prodrive.net/driving_school.shtml#1]Pro”>http://www.prodrive.net/driving_school.shtml#1) is the course they took.</p>
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<p>Hmmm . . . interesting choice. Good gas mileage (30 city, 41 highway)—better highway than city, inverse of the Fusion. Solid crash-test rating but not quite as good as others in this class. Interior space a little smaller than most.</p>
<p>I think if you did more highway than city driving, the VW Jetta TDI might be a better choice than the Ford Fusion. If you do more city driving, the Fusion beats it hands-down: better mileage, better crash tests, better interior space.</p>
<p>In my part of the country, diesels tend to be problematic as they’re difficult to start and take a long time to warm up in cold weather. In warmer climates, not a problem. If you do a lot of highway driving, the VW is worth investigating.</p>
<p>Side-by-side comparisons:</p>
<p>[2010</a> Ford Fusion Hybrid vs. 2009 Volvo S40 vs. 2009 Honda CR-V vs. 2009 Volkswagen Jetta](<a href=“http://www.cars.com/go/compare/trimCompare.jsp?acodes=USC00FOC271A0,USB90VOC121C0,USB90HOS021A0,USB90VWC033F0]2010”>http://www.cars.com/go/compare/trimCompare.jsp?acodes=USC00FOC271A0,USB90VOC121C0,USB90HOS021A0,USB90VWC033F0)</p>
<p>This is all great information which I really appreciate. The Fusion and Camry suggestions sounded like exactly the types of options that I was seeking; unfortunately, unlike the Prius and Insight, they also come in non-hybrid configurations so you can see exactly how much extra you’re paying for the hybrid model. For about $7-8,000 extra, you can appear to get 10-12 extra miles per gallon.</p>
<p>At that rate, an average driver putting 12-15,000 miles per year on a car can expect to save about $500 a year in fuel costs. It would appear that one would have to drive the hybrid for 15 years to break even, but in fact, after 15 years the value of the original investment would have doubled had it not been spent, so there’s no way to ever catch up. The $3,400 federal hybrid tax credit was nice, but was reduced to $1,700 in April. I’d like to try to be part of the environmental solution, but like most Americans, I can’t afford to pay that kind of financial penalty to do so.</p>
<p>Just throwing another option out there. I purchased a year old Saturn Vue Hybrid and I love it! It’s a mild hybrid - I’m getting about 27ish in the city and around 34 Highway. The car looks much like the Honda CRV so is not too smallish. The Hybrid model has the spoiler in the back that really spiffs up the look. Mine has the safety package and has received very good ratings that I have seen. </p>
<p>Just thought that might be an option that was not quite as pricey, but still gave you the “green” and safe requirements. As I said, bought it a year old with about 10,000 miles and it is a certified vehicle so we have loads of additional warranty on it.</p>
<p>I get LOTS of compliments on it!</p>
<p>gadad,</p>
<p>I have to dispute your figures a little. The Fusion Hybrid is about $8,000 more than the stripped-down base model Fusion S. But a comparably equipped conventional-engine Fusion SEL is only about $3,000 less than the Hybrid. You need to decide how much the additional features–power everything, satellite radio, better sound system, etc, etc—are worth to you, but you’re only paying about $3,000 more for the hybrid engine. Throw in the $1,700 federal tax credit for the hybrid, and the difference is $1,300.</p>
<p>The conventional engine (4 cylinders) gets 22 mpg city/31 highway. Let’s say you do half city, half highway driving, so your average mileage comes out to 38.5 in the hybrid and 26.5 in the conventional model, a difference of 12 mpg. </p>
<p>Now let’s say you drive 15,000 miles/year. The Hybrid would take 390 gallons of gas, the Conventional would take 566 gallons, a difference of 176 gallons. If gasoline averages $2.84/gal, that’s a saving of $500/year in fuel costs. At that rate, you pay back the $1,300 difference in purchase price in less than 3 years, or possibly less if gas prices go higher or if you do a lot of city driving. Plus you’ve presumably got a car with a higher resale value to sell or trade. </p>
<p>Yes, there’s a higher initial cash outlay if you pay for it all upfront, but Ford is offering very low financing rates right now, 0% on the remaining 2009 models, a little higher (2.9% for 36 months) for the 2010s (including the Fusion Hybrid). That’s pretty cheap money, so you don’t need to put down the entire difference upfront. I just don’t see the price difference as being a huge obstacle, certainly not the no-brainer you suggest.</p>
<p>Of course, you have to cost it out for yourself, and decide what the extra features and eco-friendliness are worth to you. It’s unfortunate the hybrid comes only in a luxury-trim model and not in a more stripped-down version. I suspect Ford calculated they could sell the hybrid only to a niche high-end market—a lot like the Prius. They may have been mistaken. Unfortunately, we may never know because when they package it that way, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as some green-but-economy-minded folks may be priced out of the market. Still and all, the Fusion Hybrid is selling well and generating rave reviews.</p>
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<p>Nissan Altima Hybrid is essentially a Camry Hybrid with the Nissan emblem.<br>
It’s about 20k + tax in CA now.<br>
The added features are superior to a base Camry.</p>
<p>bck - Thanks for the info; that helps to know that an apples vs. apples comparison isn’t $8,000. Still, a reasonably-equipped Fusion Hybrid pushes $30K. I agree - it’d be nice to see it in a less-loaded version.</p>