I always LMAO at automakers that took a government handout during the beginning of the Obama administration (and Big O was a definite proponent of lowering carbon emissions), then turned around and continued building more SUV's than economy cars. The American People Want It!! was the rallying cry.....and cheap gas sure didn't hurt their argument!
In 2018, facing the real possibility that I would be making numerous jaunts halfway across the country, I switched from a 2-door Jeep Wrangler that got 17-18 MPG, to a Hyundai Ioniq hybrid, that got upwards of 60 MPG (summer; ~45 MPG in the winter). I'd still have it, except getting older sucks, and getting in and out of it was getting to be a real PAIN. Literally!!
So I traded it, 2 years ago, for a Hyundai Tucson hybrid, with full time AWD (VERY welcome, in the snow belt!). Sits higher, easily seats 4 (3 + driver), and still gets me ~40 MPG in the summer, ~33 MPG in the winter. I'll never do any heavy duty towing with it, but the normally aspirated version of the Tucson only runs a V6, so it's never really been a heavy duty towing vehicle. The difference in sticker price was $5000 higher than the ICE version, but that one doesn't come stock with AWD, and adding it cost $2500, which effectively cut the price difference in half, so far as I'm concerned.
The best feature? The entertainment I get, watching similar sized SUV's go by, getting 22-23 MPG!
electrek.co
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