| When your family is growing and your four-door sedan | | | | It enjoys 60% market share on the total sales of US |
| is becoming too small with the rest of the family (and | | | | hybrid cars. The two most highly publicized and rated |
| the dog) inside, it only means one thing: you should | | | | are Toyota's Sienna hybrid and Estima hybrid. These |
| replace your sedan with a minivan. Moreover, if you | | | | two hybrid minivans are at the top of their class in |
| were someone who simply wants to do some good | | | | terms of design, aerodynamics, fuel-efficiency and |
| with the environment, make that minivan a hybrid | | | | engine performance. The Soccer Moms' Fave Hybrid |
| minivan. The Need for a Hybrid Minivan A hybrid | | | | Minivan Sienna hybrid is a hybrid minivan that soccer |
| minivan's roomy interior is the reason why a lot of | | | | moms would love. In fact, even the machismo image |
| people, mostly with children, have been wanting for | | | | of most males won't be stepped on by this |
| such a car instead of a regular sedan. Also, it has | | | | well-designed hybrid minivan. Sienna resembles the |
| been known that a minivan, hybrid or not, is | | | | design of regular Toyota minivans. The only |
| fuel-efficient as compared to big trucks, SUV's and | | | | differences, of course, is the sleeker and more modern |
| sedans with 6 cylinders. Although a growing family | | | | look and the dual energy mode of hybrids. Sienna's big |
| needs a roomier or bigger car, it doesn't need | | | | brother, Estima hybrid, possesses most of Sienna's |
| something that will add up to the family budget | | | | positive features, and more. More Efficient Than Ever |
| (especially for fuel consumption). Aside from these, a | | | | Some car makers have announced redesigns to |
| hybrid minivan although is spacious, is light to carry | | | | make the minivan even more fuel efficient than it is |
| because of its light exterior and aerodynamics. | | | | now. Although already known to be fuel saver, the |
| "Muscled" Hybrids, Not Minivan Today, there hasn't | | | | redesign allows the hybrid minivan to consume fuel as |
| been any hybrid minivan running the streets of any US | | | | efficient and as slow as a compact four-door sedan. |
| states, although other brands have been marketing | | | | As per estimate, the latest hybrid van could run |
| large SUV's as minivan or an alternative to it. Yet, | | | | efficiently by 35 miles with a single gallon of fuel. The |
| these "muscled" hybrids are not minivans and don't | | | | most interesting and most talked about feature of the |
| have the qualities of a true-blue minivan: fuel saver, | | | | most advanced hybrid minivan is its exhaust heat |
| spacious yet light, and therefore, cannot be labeled as | | | | recovery system. According to the manufacturers, this |
| a "hybrid minivan." On the other side of the coin, | | | | exhaust system allows the recovery of thermal |
| muscled hybrids are good, too, especially if you are the | | | | energy that the engine has produced, and routes such |
| outgoing type. Four-wheel drives, SUVs and trucks can | | | | energy to heat up the engine coolant. This process is |
| run smoothly on rocky, dusty and uneven roads. And in | | | | an effective way to help the engine to warm up even |
| flooded areas, they can move with power, assuring | | | | if the car is idle. This way, the energy that would have |
| you and your passenger of a safe ride. The downside | | | | been wasted (thermal energy from exhaust) has been |
| of muscled or hybrid trucks is that they are more | | | | converted into a positive energy, and thus allows the |
| expensive, consume more fuel and electricity from the | | | | engine of the hybrid van to shut off earlier and turn on |
| battery pack, and are too bulky for city ride. Toyota's | | | | without using up energy from fuel or from the battery |
| Minivan The most anticipated brand of hybrid minivan is | | | | pack. |
| Toyota, a Japanese car manufacturer. Toyota holds | | | | Visit to learn more about Mercury hybrid and hybrid |
| the top spot in terms of sales for hybrid cars in the US. | | | | minivan. |