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[Sunnyfield]

My brother has been in the car business his entire career and thinks highly of Toyotas (he does not work for that company!) - and I quote...""toyotas...just keep 'em serviced and they'll go forever - you can't kill 'em!""

[AuntG]

I think the Toyota RAV4 is the sharpest looking of all the Toyota models. Of course it isn't as big as the Highlander which you are considering.

[gardenman]

Hybrids are best if you drive in cities more than highways. If most of your driving is in cities then a hybrid is a good option. If you drive mostly on highways, then a hybrid will likely not be worth the investment. There's some talk now that disposing of a hybrid will be costly as the batteries have to be removed and disposed of properly instead of just mashing the whole thing in a car crusher. You could find yourself being assessed a few thousand dollars to dispose of your old hybrid down the road when you're ready to replace it. I'd be hesitant to invest in a hybrid at this time until more of the long-term issues are worked out. You don't want to be in a situation where you go to trade in your old hybrid and instead of getting a few thousand dollars for it, you're billed to dispose of it.

[Tyak]

Toyota just came out with a RAV4 hybrid for 2016.

[BlingQueen022]

On 4/4/2015 gardenman said:

Hybrids are best if you drive in cities more than highways. If most of your driving is in cities then a hybrid is a good option. If you drive mostly on highways, then a hybrid will likely not be worth the investment. There's some talk now that disposing of a hybrid will be costly as the batteries have to be removed and disposed of properly instead of just mashing the whole thing in a car crusher. You could find yourself being assessed a few thousand dollars to dispose of your old hybrid down the road when you're ready to replace it. I'd be hesitant to invest in a hybrid at this time until more of the long-term issues are worked out. You don't want to be in a situation where you go to trade in your old hybrid and instead of getting a few thousand dollars for it, you're billed to dispose of it.

I beg to differ. I have a hybrid Camry and I do most of my driving on the interstate. My car averages 45 mpg. I have a long commute to work and I have saved so much in gas it's not even funny. I never had to dispose of a battery and if you do it's the dealership's responsibility not yours if it needs replaced and so far I've had two hybrid camry's and never had to replace the battery. I did trade in my hybrid and I got top dollar for my car (more then I owed). I don't know where you came up with this comment of yours. Pretty strange to me.

[Marienkaefer2]

On 3/23/2015 nutmeg3 said:

On 3/23/2015 ID2 said:

How about helping our own country and buy an American made vehicle?? I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I drove anything other than American made. Just the way I am.

Most of the cars we buy are made in the USA. You may want to check Consumer Report's April Car issue for the recommended models for 2015.

ITA, and I might add that a lot of US companies (Ford, GM) manufacture and sell cars in other countries. What if those people decided not to buy a US brand of car? If memory serves me, Ford,'s sales in Europe helped keep it afloat during the recession. It's a global economy.

[BlingQueen022]

If you could hold out until the 2016's come out, you'll be better off. I was going to trade in my 2013 hybrid camry but I won't for any of the 2015's because when the 2016's comes out, they will have a full safety package on the car that you can get that will tell when there's a possible collision about to happen, the side mirrors will tell you if anybody is in your blind spot, the cruise control will automatically slow down for a slower driver in front of you and some other safety issues and the entire package will only cost 500 dollars for it. I can't see purchasing any of the 2015's if that package isn't available on those cars until 2016. I would have been upset if I did knowing this information.

[gardenman]

On 4/5/2015 BlingQueen022 said:

On 4/4/2015 gardenman said:

Hybrids are best if you drive in cities more than highways. If most of your driving is in cities then a hybrid is a good option. If you drive mostly on highways, then a hybrid will likely not be worth the investment. There's some talk now that disposing of a hybrid will be costly as the batteries have to be removed and disposed of properly instead of just mashing the whole thing in a car crusher. You could find yourself being assessed a few thousand dollars to dispose of your old hybrid down the road when you're ready to replace it. I'd be hesitant to invest in a hybrid at this time until more of the long-term issues are worked out. You don't want to be in a situation where you go to trade in your old hybrid and instead of getting a few thousand dollars for it, you're billed to dispose of it.

I beg to differ. I have a hybrid Camry and I do most of my driving on the interstate. My car averages 45 mpg. I have a long commute to work and I have saved so much in gas it's not even funny. I never had to dispose of a battery and if you do it's the dealership's responsibility not yours if it needs replaced and so far I've had two hybrid camry's and never had to replace the battery. I did trade in my hybrid and I got top dollar for my car (more then I owed). I don't know where you came up with this comment of yours. Pretty strange to me.

The 2015 Toyota Camry (non-hybrid) has an EPA MPG of 25 city/35 highway. The 2015 Toyota Camry hybrid has an EPA MPG of 43 city and 39 highway. If you're doing most of your driving on the highways you seriously have to ask if it's worth the extra 4 MPG for the cost of the hybrid. That's all you gain in highway driving and if you really want to save, you could just buy a conventional Mercedes Benz E250 diesel which does 42 MPG on highways. That's 3 MPG better than your hybrid Camry.

As for the battery, disposing of any lithium ion battery requires special handling. Disposing of those as large as used in cars will eventually result in a significant cost to whoever is disposing of them. If you always give your car back to the dealership then it shouldn't be an issue, but if your car gets wrecked (declared totaled by your insurer) and you have to dispose of it to a junk yard, you might find yourself facing a considerable expense.

You can check any number of reliable sources (Car and Driver magazine for example) and every source will tell you that for pure highway driving, hybrids don't make good financial sense. You just don't save enough gas using a hybrid on highways to ever offset the cost. For city driving where the electric motor kicks in more frequently (and you're looking at getting 43 MPG instead of 25) then the hybrids make more sense and have a much quicker payback. I'm not making this stuff up. Google "Does a hybrid car make sense for me?" and you'll find tons of people saying exactly what I've said. It's the reality of a hybrid. They're great in cities, but not that much better for highways.

[BlingQueen022]

On 4/5/2015 gardenman said:

On 4/5/2015 BlingQueen022 said:

On 4/4/2015 gardenman said:

Hybrids are best if you drive in cities more than highways. If most of your driving is in cities then a hybrid is a good option. If you drive mostly on highways, then a hybrid will likely not be worth the investment. There's some talk now that disposing of a hybrid will be costly as the batteries have to be removed and disposed of properly instead of just mashing the whole thing in a car crusher. You could find yourself being assessed a few thousand dollars to dispose of your old hybrid down the road when you're ready to replace it. I'd be hesitant to invest in a hybrid at this time until more of the long-term issues are worked out. You don't want to be in a situation where you go to trade in your old hybrid and instead of getting a few thousand dollars for it, you're billed to dispose of it.

I beg to differ. I have a hybrid Camry and I do most of my driving on the interstate. My car averages 45 mpg. I have a long commute to work and I have saved so much in gas it's not even funny. I never had to dispose of a battery and if you do it's the dealership's responsibility not yours if it needs replaced and so far I've had two hybrid camry's and never had to replace the battery. I did trade in my hybrid and I got top dollar for my car (more then I owed). I don't know where you came up with this comment of yours. Pretty strange to me.

The 2015 Toyota Camry (non-hybrid) has an EPA MPG of 25 city/35 highway. The 2015 Toyota Camry hybrid has an EPA MPG of 43 city and 39 highway. If you're doing most of your driving on the highways you seriously have to ask if it's worth the extra 4 MPG for the cost of the hybrid. That's all you gain in highway driving and if you really want to save, you could just buy a conventional Mercedes Benz E250 diesel which does 42 MPG on highways. That's 3 MPG better than your hybrid Camry.

As for the battery, disposing of any lithium ion battery requires special handling. Disposing of those as large as used in cars will eventually result in a significant cost to whoever is disposing of them. If you always give your car back to the dealership then it shouldn't be an issue, but if your car gets wrecked (declared totaled by your insurer) and you have to dispose of it to a junk yard, you might find yourself facing a considerable expense.

You can check any number of reliable sources (Car and Driver magazine for example) and every source will tell you that for pure highway driving, hybrids don't make good financial sense. You just don't save enough gas using a hybrid on highways to ever offset the cost. For city driving where the electric motor kicks in more frequently (and you're looking at getting 43 MPG instead of 25) then the hybrids make more sense and have a much quicker payback. I'm not making this stuff up. Google "Does a hybrid car make sense for me?" and you'll find tons of people saying exactly what I've said. It's the reality of a hybrid. They're great in cities, but not that much better for highways.

I didn't make my stuff up either. I would never purchase another all gas powered car again when I'm getting extremely high gas mileage figures from my hybrid camry compared to my several V6 camrys I've owned. I drive over 100 miles a day to work 4 days a week and I don't even use a half tank of gas in this car. Enough said.

[riley1]

ITA with allegany's suggestions, however, also test drive at night so u can see how headlights look on the road. Also if u can a drive in the rain if u can - this changed my mind on a purchase. You can also look at reviews at institute of highway safety (I think that is the name) good luck!