Top Pick Green Car

Toyota Prius was named the Top Green Car for 2009.  This is no big surprise, since the Prius has taken this award for the last five years.  With more hybrids coming onto the market, you’d think the Prius would have some serious competition, but so far no one has quite measured up.  (Although the Honda Civic Hybrid is pretty close.) The base model Prius gets 44 mpg, while the Touring gets 42 mpg. That’s especially important now that gas prices are on the rise again.

2009 Pruis Hybrid

Most Bang for the Buck

The Prius also got the top award in the new Most Bang for the Buck category.  For the first time, Consumer Reports has combined owner cost over the first five years with performance and reliability ratings to come up with a Bucks per Bang number.  Toyota Prius Touring Hybrid got $325 bucks per bang.  Compare that to $385 for the Mazda3 Hatchback and $455 for the Mitsubishi Outlander.

Owner Satisfaction

With almost 425,000 car owners weighing in, Toyota Prius takes top honors in the “Would You Buy Your Car if You Had it to Do All Over” test. That pretty much says it all.

2009 Toyota Prius

Price Isn’t Everything

The most cost effective cars are not always the cheapest cars. If a car isn’t well made, it’s going to cost you in repairs and down time. If it has a low resale value, it was more expensive in the long run.  The smart car buyer takes all of these costs into consideration before buying a car.

Source: Consumer Reports, April 2009