Hybrid Trucks and SUVs - Take Them or Leave Them?

With rising gas prices, and threats of global warming, SUVs and trucks have become a major inconvenience for consumers. Millions of consumers have traded in their SUVs and trucks for cars. Now, the automakers have found a way to give consumers back their SUVs and trucks. The solution is the hybrid truck and SUV. Hybrid cars have been selling for more than seven years, but hybrid trucks and SUVs have just appeared in the past year. Are consumers willing to look to a new technology for their SUVs and trucks? So, Hybrid trucks and SUVs - take them or leave them?

Many critics of the hybrid SUVs and trucks want to know how the hybrids stack up against the conventional. The most obvious comparison is the look of the hybrid SUV or truck compared with that of a conventional SUV or truck. While most hybrid cars look like something alien, hybrid SUVs and trucks don’t. Most of them are just hybrid models of existing SUVs and trucks. For example, the Ford Escape Hybrid is the hybrid of the pre-existing Ford Escape model, and the Toyota Highlanders’ hybrid that of the original. The normal power of the SUV and truck is maintained in the hybrid models also. The hybrid SUVs and trucks have power, and acceleration comparable to V-6 engines, and the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid uses a V-8 engine. The Lexus RX 400h has 268hp, and goes from zero to 60 in 7.2 seconds.

Hybrid SUVs and trucks emit fewer air pollutants than conventional SUVs and trucks. The hybrid is 90 percent cleaner for smog forming emissions, than the average SUV or truck, and there are no particulate emissions. The Lexus RX 400 hybrid is categorized as “SULEV” vehicle, which is the cleanest standard attainable. The greatest difference between the conventional SUV and truck and the hybrid is fuel economy. Conventional SUVs and trucks average 15 mpg/city, and 20 mpg/highway. On the other hand, hybrid trucks and SUVs average 25 mpg/city, and 28 mpg/highway. This allows drivers to go 400 to 500 miles on one tank of gas. The Mercury Mariner is the most fuel-efficient hybrid SUV, offering 33 mpg/city, and 29 mpg/highway. There is a 10-to15 percent increase in fuel economy when using any hybrid SUV or truck.

The technology used in the hybrid SUV and truck is the same technology used in hybrid cars. Hybrid trucks and SUVs have electric motors with gasoline engines. The electric motors and gasoline engines work together to make them as fuel efficient as possible. The electric motor operates solely at low driving speeds up to 25mph, and when braking, and uses no fossil fuel. The gasoline engine takes over at higher speeds. All hybrid trucks and SUVs have electronically controlled continuously variable transmissions (eCVT), which works like an automatic transmission. The hybrid trucks and SUVs also have a regenerative braking system, which allows the battery to be recharged while braking. The fuel-efficient technology of the hybrid again poses the question; “Hybrid trucks and SUVs- take them or leave them?

Several automakers provide hybrid trucks and SUVs, and others joining them. The first hybrid introduced to consumers was the Ford Escape Hybrid. The Escape hybrid sold 20,000 in it’s first year, and was so successful, that the Mercury Mariner Hybrid was released a year early. There are also the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, the GMC Sierra/Sienna Hybrids, the Saturn Vue Hybrid, and the Lexus RX 400h. The Dodge Ram Hybrid will be the first hybrid truck to have a diesel engine and electric motor. The Chevy Tahoe, and the GMC Yukon will be released in 2007. The Porsche Cayenne will be available in 2008. There will also be a Cadillac Escalade, Dodge Durango, and Kia Rio hybrid available in the next three years. Hybrid SUVs and trucks are priced about $3,500 to 6,000 dollars higher than their conventional counterparts.

So, Hybrid trucks and SUVs - take them or leave them? Why not take them? Sure the prices are higher, but they have all the power, and amenities of the conventional SUVs and trucks, and help save the planet. In addition, consumers save money on gas. It’s not much to think about, but consumers should seriously consider rather hybrid cars and trucks are a grievance or a necessity.

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For more on hybrid SUVs visit Ford.

For more on hybrid trucks and SUVs visit About.com.