What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago gas was cheap, the SUV was king, and fuel efficiency was one of the last things car buyers were concerned about. Surprisingly, it was also ten years ago that Honda and Toyota introduced a seemingly radical technology that involved strapping batteries and an electric motor to a gas engined car, creating the first hybrids.

Fast forward ten years and the traditional SUV has all but died out, gas is $3 per gallon, and hybrids are as common as apple pie. More importantly, awareness of global warming and our dependence on foreign oil, along with a depressed economy, has made fuel efficiency a far more important criteria for car buyers. This, in turn,  has spurred the automotive industry to pursue smaller, cleaner and more efficient designs. The result is a plethora of choices for buyers seeking a more fuel efficient, greener set of wheels.

Although hybrid cars are perhaps the most effective way to significantly increase fuel efficiency, with 9 out of the top ten most fuel efficient cars featuring a gas electric drivetrain, not everyone will be happy with the increased cost and performance sacrifice that often comes with hybrid ownership. Luckily we now also have a new generation of clean diesels that are nothing like the noisy, smoke belching diesels of the past, instead providing excellent performance along with hybrid worthy fuel efficiency. And for those who are wary of all of this alternative technology, there are finally plenty of efficient, well made small cars available in America.

To come up with our top 5 green cars of 2010, we looked for cars that not only achieve excellent fuel efficiency, especially when compared to other cars in the same segment, but also deliver when it comes to performance, build quality, and value. Although arguments could be made for including other models and there are definitely other excellent choices out there, we feel that the 5 cars listed below represent the best green cars for 2010.

]]> http://reviews.carreview.com/best-hybrid-and-green-cars-of-2010/feed 4 http://reviews.carreview.com/2010-mercury-milan-hybrid-review http://reviews.carreview.com/2010-mercury-milan-hybrid-review#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:01:57 +0000 2010 mercury milan ford fusion hybrid mpg car reviews 2010 mercury milan ford fusion hybrid mpg car reviews 2010 mercury milan ford fusion hybrid mpg car reviews http://reviews.carreview.com/?p=12499 Mercury Milan Hybrid
Consumer Reviews Mercury Milan Hybrid
Expert Reviews Mercury Milan Hybrid Photo Gallery 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid Sedan Specs

Review by Alex Kramer

Pros:

• Outstanding gas mileage
• Good balance between performance and fuel economy
• Excellent suspension tuning
• Plush & roomy interior

Cons:

• Cautious exterior styling
• Sketchy tire selection
• Somewhat steep sticker price

After a decade of reliable service and strong sales, hybrid cars are no longer just a novelty and will likely become more common and mainstream in the future. Although Ford has the distinction of being the first American manufacturer to offer a hybrid car (in the form of the Escape Hybrid SUV, launched in 2005), the blue oval has lagged a bit in spreading this fuel saving technology to other models in its lineup, which is a shame given the increasingly strong demand for more fuel efficient, environmentally friendly cars.

Fortunately, Ford has weathered the storm of the economic recession and is renewing its commitment to gasoline-electric hybrids and increased fuel efficiency in general. With the new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid sedans, Ford not only challenges the Japanese hybrid hegemony, but has also succeeded in producing one of the most well rounded hybrid cars on the road today.

Performance

Our Mercury Milan Hybrid test car arrived looking quite inconspicuous, with only a few hybrid badges on the sides and trunk to giveaway that this is not just an ordinary gasoline powered sedan. Get behind the wheel and the Milan hybrid continues the sleight-of-hand, with road manners that are very similar to the conventionally powered Ford Fusion we recently tested. Anyone expecting major concessions to performance or handling due to the hybrid-electric drivetrain will come away pleasantly surprised.

To turn the Milan sedan into a hybrid, Ford takes its 2.5 liter 4-cylinder engine and tunes it to run on the Atkinson cycle, and then adds all of the usual hybrid goodies (battery pack, electric motor, etc.). Although this is essentially the same setup used in the current Escape Hybrid, Ford has tweaked things a bit to make it work in the new platform, including a new cooling system for the battery pack that draws in cold air through the rear seats. Unlike mild hybrids that only use electric power to boost acceleration, but can’t run on electricity alone, Ford’s system allows the Milan Hybrid to propel itself on electric power for a limited duration at speeds up to 47 mph, which is faster than any other hybrid currently available.

Altogether, this system works very well, with smooth transitions between electric and engine power, and equally impressive integration of the regenerative and conventional braking systems. Although not sports sedan fast, acceleration is quite strong and should help dispel the assumption that all hybrids are slow. Combined output from the ICE and electric motor is 191 hp, which is more than adequate for merging on the freeway or passing that errant 18-wheeler. The CVT is especially noteworthy for not constantly hunting around to find the right gear, which helps the Milan Hybrid stay nice and quiet when cruising at speed.

To top it off, fuel efficiency is the real deal. Over several hundred miles of mixed driving we averaged between 38 and 39 mpg, and with a little bit of hypermiling 40+ mpg is easily achievable. To encourage frugal driving, Ford offers its SmartGuage cluster with EcoGuide, which consists of LCD displays on each side of the speedometer that display such things as battery charge/discharge levels, instant fuel economy, fuel economy history, etc. The driver can choose from four different settings – Inform, Enlighten, Engage, or Empower – which offer increasingly detailed information to assist the driver in driving more efficiency. The most creative and amusing encouragement comes in the form of a vine-like plant, displayed on the right hand side, which grows more leaves when you drive more conservatively and sheds leaves if you dip into the gas a bit much.

(Continued on page 2)

By Greg Gaillard

Hybrids Come of Age

Just 10 years ago Honda released the Insight as the first US mass market hybrid combustion/electric car.  Its two seat aerodynamic teardrop shape, light weight and focused engineering delivered spectacular fuel economy that generated quite a bit of media attention.  In the real world however, the Insight represented significant compromises in terms of utility, performance and perceived safety.  Launched at the height of the SUV boom alongside inexpensive gasoline, sales weren’t significant and to many people the Insight was another Honda engineering experiment; a car that Honda’s Asimo robot might drive, but not something American families would put in their garage.

What a difference a decade makes.  Last week the EPA released its annual Fuel Economy Guide for 2010 and hybrids swept the podium with 9 out of the top 10 MPG scores.  At least in terms of EPA ratings, hybrids are the drivetrain technology of the moment.  Perhaps more important than MPG is how the technology has evolved into a variety of solutions that can be used across a range of body styles without many of the original Insight’s compromises.

Thus, many car shoppers are now faced with yet another question to consider — ‘Should I get the hybrid?’  It looms large amongst the usual shopping factors of size, price, performance and features.  The information below should help demystify at least part of the hybrid question. We provide general information about the technology and list the hybrids currently available with direct links to manufacturer information. Once you read beyond the technical details there are harder questions that deserve consideration.  Finally, no guide to hybrids is complete without attempting to identify some ‘best’ choices and then posing the more important question of whether hybrids are in fact good choices at all.

Technology First

When setting out to buy a car, recognize that the hybrid powertrain option is just one choice among many and it shouldn’t be perceived as magical or a starting point.  In simple terms it is a technology that helps reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions.  That said, the technology is not simple, nor is it cheap.  Knowing a bit about the different types of hybrid technologies may help explain the cost/value difference of one particular hybrid over its combustion counterpart or competitor.

Currently the two major types of hybrid solutions are referred to as mild and full.  True electric vehicles (EVs) are beyond the scope of this article, but deserve mention because they are a natural evolution of hybrid technologies.  There are a couple of true EVs on the market today such as the Hollywood darling Tesla and many refer to the next generation of ‘plug-in’ hybrids as EVs, but the lithium ion battery technology underneath them isn’t quite ready for the mass market.  That will change very soon, but buyers should feel comfortable knowing that today’s hybrids are based on mature, cost effective, nickel-metal hydride battery packs.

Mild hybrids are combustion/electric motor combinations with a relatively small electric motor/battery pack which provides assistance to a gasoline engine in a way that helps the combustion motor be as fuel efficient as possible and still provide acceptable performance.  Currently Honda and GM are the major purveyors of this solution and its major advantage over full hybrids is relative simplicity and cost.  Mild hybrids may not provide the spectacular fuel economy numbers of full hybrids, but with careful engineering they can come close with much more manageable manufacturing costs.  They also tend to offer more flexibility in packaging which allows mild solutions to be easily fitted to a broader range of vehicles.  Finally, the weight of a mild hybrid tends to be less than a full hybrid because of the smaller battery packs.  Lower weight improves drivability and makes the experience more transparent.

Full hybrids have a larger electric motor/battery back combination which enables them to run solely on battery power at urban stop-and-go speeds.  They only engage the combustion motor when more performance is needed or the batteries need recharging.  Full hybrids are more complex than their mild counterparts and there are a variety of interpretations of what ‘full’ means; from the classic Toyota blend in the Prius, to the combustion motor as ‘range extender’ working in series with the electric motor that we will see in the upcoming Chevrolet Volt.  Regardless of the subtype, full hybrids still combine combustion and electric motors with more emphasis on the electric side of the equation to maximize efficiency.  The upside is typically class leading mileage with the downside being complexity, weight and cost.

]]> http://reviews.carreview.com/carreviews-2009-2010-hybrid-buyers-guide/feed 0 http://reviews.carreview.com/2009-mercury-mariner-hybrid-review-frugal-and-comfy http://reviews.carreview.com/2009-mercury-mariner-hybrid-review-frugal-and-comfy#comments Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:00:51 +0000 2009 mercury mariner hybrid mpg car reviews http://reviews.carreview.com/?p=2042 Mariner Hybrid
Consumer Reviews Mercury Mariner Hybrid Overview Mercury Mariner Hybrid Photo Gallery Mercury Mariner Hybrid Specs

Review by Gary Chan | Photos by Derek Mau

Pros

• Gas mileage (better than most small CUV’s)
• Intuitive touch screen
• Ride quality

Cons

• Braking
• Electric-only mode limited to very slow starts
• Noisy engine when pushed

Ruling
I’ve driven both the last generation Prius, and did a road trip/review in the 2008 Civic Hybrid, but both left me longing for one thing: more space. The Mariner answered this question in abundance, and was a pleasant surprise to drive as well as sipping gas (for a vehicle in this class).

Driving Impressions
Driving around in the city was a pleasurable. One of the highest complements to the ride quality was from my girlfriend who’s ridden in most of the cars I’ve tested: “This has a really comfortable ride. I can’t believe it’s “American’.” Maybe it was the soft suspension, but I have to agree with her subjective evaluation. Acceleration is okay, but I think the weight of the vehicle and the 2.5 liter engine are not well matched. Flooring the accelerator around town produces a lackluster response. The overall driving dynamics of the Mariner are quite good as the steering has very little slack, and provides good feedback to the driver.

Build
Ford has come a long way in making structurally sound vehicles, and the Mariner is no exception. The body feels rigid allowing the suspension to absorb road irregularities along with enough insulation to mute road and wind noise. Doors and windows close easily, and all of the interior and exterior panels mate together with no obvious defects. I appreciated the quality and feel of the HVAC rotary knobs and switchgear making it easy to adjust the temperature. I guess for safety reasons, engineering put the temperature display in the LED display on top of the dash … but didn’t notice that until I started looking around for the actual temperature. Oh well, once I figured it out, I could easily dial in the exact temp. The manual rear lift gate closes easily, and I never had to do it a second time.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
The interior is spacious and welcoming with a dash design that’s rather plain. Ours had the navigation screen which incorporated many of the controls of the radio, nav, phone and vehicle/hybrid information. At night, the light-blue backlighting of the instrumentation is both pleasing to the eyes as well as easy to read. There are storage pockets on each door with the passenger side having the ability to store a larger plastic bottle which my girlfriend thought was a “great idea” (she tends to drink lots of water from large bottles). The power-driver’s seat provided all of the necessary adjustments, and the HVAC system worked well while driving around San Jose during a heat wave.

The navigation system worked wonderfully if not too well. It was easy to enter addresses and route to my destination, but I became annoyed by the frequent notification of the approaching destination. It felt like within the last mile, I got updates every 1/10 of a mile over the speaker system. Unfortunately, we were attempting to listen to a talk on CD and ended missing significant parts having to replay the section we missed after stopping the car. It would be nice to limit the amount of reminders or be able to configure the reminder frequency based on distance from the destination.

One other nitpick is the location of the steering wheel-mounted cruise control buttons. At the lower-left of the wheel, the buttons felt too far up and in for me to reach and adjust easily. Instead of simply sliding my hand along the perimeter of the steering wheel, and pushing the appropriate button, I had to lift my hand off of the wheel to hit the correct button with my thumb. Moving the buttons to one of the spokes rather than putting it between two spokes would make them more ergonomically available.

Performance
Weighing almost 3,400 pounds, the Mariner is no lightweight. With only 153 hp on tap, it accelerates slowly with the CVT spooling down to find the right ratio. At highway speeds, I had to prepare for passing, and overall it seemed to struggle at higher speeds (I did get it to 90mph). Engine speeds above 2,000-rpm’s elicit loud straining sounds from the engine compartment, sounds that are absent at slower speeds.

Handling
As mentioned above, the steering system is quite good for a small crossover. Driving and tracking (on the both city and highway) was easy and straight, respectively. Panic braking performance from high speed produced just that: panic! I was coming off of Hwy 85 at about 85mph, and slammed on the brakes as hard as I could (I do this for all cars that I test on the exact same off ramp), and the confident feelings I had at driving at lower speeds disappeared. The vehicle felt loose and shuddered under hard braking forcing me to let up on brake for my safety. Yikes. No other car has left me with this impression.

Styling
Both interior and exterior styling is rather simple and muted especially with the tan interior and silver exterior. The plastic dash is cleanly laid out, but the textured-dash surfaces look a bit out of place with too many vertical lines. Speaking of, the vertical slats in combination with single horizontal slat on the front grill look cute and remind me of the early Neon’s smiley fascia (but then again that was styling from years ago). From the Mercury upscale brand, I expected a little more differentiation from the Escape. I do like the rear seating area with the two-tone door panels which look a bit retro. Perhaps the available darker two-toned dash interior would have been more appealing.

Value
This 2-wd Mercury was loaded, and at over $34k, was pretty expensive compared to others in the class like the RAV4 and CRV whose sticker prices for 4-cylinder engines start at about $10-grand less. The Ford Escape Hybrid sticker price starts a little lower than its cousin, and, in my opinion, looks a lot better. Is it worth the extra money for the Hybrid and associated gas savings? You’ll have to do the calculations, but if you own the vehicle for less than 5-years, I don’t think you’ll break even.

Conclusion
Tooling around town and transporting things are two strong points of this Mariner. Add to that the great city gas mileage (EPA of 34/31) allows it to beat most other crossover vehicles. I never saw those mileage figures, but came close to the highway figure when going to work cruising at 65mph. Its smooth ride and functional interior make it an appealing choice. The engine is nothing to boast about, but have a look and see if you like the styling.

Mercury Photo Mariner Hybrid Gallery	Mercury Mariner Hybrid Specs
Official website for Mercury cars and SUVs – www.mercuryvehicles.com

]]> http://reviews.carreview.com/2009-mercury-mariner-hybrid-review-frugal-and-comfy/feed 0 http://reviews.carreview.com/2009-mercury-mariner-hybrid-suv http://reviews.carreview.com/2009-mercury-mariner-hybrid-suv#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:00:42 +0000 2009 mercury mariner hybrid mpg mileage car reviews http://reviews.carreview.com/?p=1756 Mercury Mariner Hybrid Consumer Reviews Mercury Mariner Hybrid Overview Mercury Mariner Hybrid  Photo Gallery Mercury Mariner Hybrid Specs

Review by Holly R. | Photos by Derek Mau

Pros:

• Really impressive (and decent) acceleration at speed
• Mileage, mileage, mileage
• Didn’t have to open the entire tailgate to get into the back of the vehicle
• Continuously variable transmission
• XM Satellite Radio and built-in Bluetooth

Cons:

• Ack, the grill – not my thing
• Engine takes an inordinate amount of time to reach “idle” after starting the car
• The seats were pretty flimsy

Introduction:
I’ve been impressed with the Mariner Hybrid. An SUV that’s a Hybrid, and drives like a dream. My mileage has been increasing each time I drive it. The switch from battery to gas engine and back to battery is SEAMLESS. I’ve been looking forward to driving this all month, and it’s really not letting me down!

Fuel Economy:
Advertised: 34 in the city, and 31 highway (or 32 combined).
Actual: 28.4. Honestly, I’m pretty impressed with an SUV Hybrid getting this good of mileage. If I were to drive it longer, I’ll bet I could improve on the mileage, as I really only got to drive it long enough to almost get used to it. I really wish I could have had it for a full tank of gas (I only went through 1/2 a tank)!

Driving Impressions:
One of the major takeaways from driving the Mariner (other than the seamless battery switch, the mileage, etc.) was the quietness of the cabin. It was a nice, quiet, mellow ride, which would help you center yourself, given a stressful job, stressful day, bad traffic, etc.

The Mariner accelerated as well as one would imagine a Hybrid to do. I wasn’t blown away by it’s acceleration, or lack thereof, but I was certainly not disappointed either. I really enjoyed driving it, especially when the price of gas was edging closer to $5.00/gallon. I found it easy to park, easy to see out of, and it had nice “road manners”. For me, the biggest gold star was the switch to battery mode from the gas engine – it was seamless. Just exactly what you’d want in a Hybrid. I didn’t feel as though the Mariner was overweight, so it never felt lop-sided or top-heavy to me. It felt more like a wagon than an SUV, but with all the interior size of the SUV. It does weigh a bit more than it seems (3700 lbs), and the braking isn’t one of the better features of this vehicle. However, I would only ding it for that in an emergency braking scenario. As I never encountered an emergency situation, I felt that the braking was adequate for most driving situations.

Build:
The doors and exterior of the Mariner all felt solid. Given the flimsiness of the seats, nothing else in this vehicle felt cheap or easily breakable. As noted, the Mariner is build solidly enough that the ride inside is QUIET. Even over rough pavement, in traffic and in the city. The Mariner had enough ground clearance that I was able to see well up the road, without having trouble getting in or out of the vehicle. It never felt top-heavy to me. The lift-gate was easy to open, and easy to close and didn’t require slamming. The lift-gate window flipped up separately and was the same as the lift-gate – easily opened and closed. The rear-view side mirrors were nicely sized, and were easy to fold in towards the door, and they snapped back into place firmly. The windows rolled up and down smoothly – no lurching or jerking into action. All of the interior compartments were easy to open, and easy to latch. Both interior and exterior seemed equally solid in both build and quality.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics:

The good:
The navigation system, while not the easiest to figure out, had some really fun features! For instance: you could pull up “points of interest”, and find the closest gas stations AND the price of gas at them. I checked a few out, and they were within a couple of cents of accuracy.

The Microsoft Sync integrated communications system took some getting used to. I was able to pair my cell phone with the system through a complicated maze of voice and button commands. It was NOT intuitive in the least bit, but if you follow the instructions, it sets up nicely.

The center console was genius! It was super deep, and had a movable tray such that you could hide something under it (a wallet) and someone poking around might never know it’s there (unless they read a review!). It was also deep enough for a woman’s purse (an average sized purse, not a duffle bag).

There was a ton of room inside. I cannot emphasize this enough. One of my taller friends got inside and was floored at how much room she had (so it’s not just an average-sized person saying it’s roomy!).

The carpet in the rear cargo area is reversible. If you flip it over, it has a easy-to-clean rubber surface, in case you need to haul around wet or messy items (standard feature).

The bad:
The seats felt really flimsy to me. Not only that, but I wasn’t able to get really comfortable in them, despite endless adjustments.

The Microsoft Sync system really takes some getting used to. It wasn’t intuitive in the least bit. This flowed over into the navigation system, which was pretty difficult to figure out. If it’s your car, you’ll take the time to read the manuals and figure it out. I just happen to like things that are intuitive, so I’m dinging it a bit here.

(Continued on page 2 – Performance | Handling | Styling | Value)