2012 BYD F3DM - review - gas electric plug in hybrid

The Prius came to the USA in 2000 and reports of its demise soon followed. So Toyota is expanding the Prius family with a small and larger versions by 2012. A whole grove of trees have died to carry the claims of Prius skeptics. So I say to those who plan to compete,"Bring it on . . ."

We are past time that a press release, warmed over article, or snarkie comment has any impact.

Bob Wilson

In addition to that, the closest challenger among those mentioned would be Honda (based on their research and past experience with hybrids) and yet their second gen Insight has been a bitter disappointment. Although stiled after Prius, it's nowhere near it in fuel economy (from talking to drivers, people reported real life MPG in only 35 range - you don't need a hybrid car for 35MPG) and not surprisingly the sales figures are nowhere near that of Prius either.

Apparently, it takes a lot (of money, research, time, insert any resource you can think of here) to make a successful hybrid vehicle. Hard to beat Toyota at any of that. I would not be surprised if the first real challenger would not even be a hybrid but a pure electric vehicle instead. And we'll most certainly have to wait a few years for that.

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Meanwhile, enjoy driving your state of the art, green and lean Prius like we all do.:)

The Chevy Volt is over priced and doesn't get very good mpg after the battery is depleated. The Leaf isn't cheap and lacks range, particularly when the heater is used during cold weather. None of the other hybrids get much better mpg than their non-hybrid counterparts.

Whether the plug-in Prius is worth the added cost depends on the type of driving done. Could have stood to have a bigger electric motor and battery. I suspect the next challenger will be Toyota's smaller hybrid soon to be released. The Prius has gotten bigger and more powerful while getting about the same mpg. Some of us would have prefered smaller, less power and more mpg. 80 mpg should be within easy reach with well over 100 when using hypermileing. And it shouldn't look like a clown car.