[There's joy in helping your fellow man, and z is here for it.]
Donna wants a hybrid and I don't blame her. She also asked for my advice so in that regard I do blame her, at least for this post.
There are two types of hybrids: standard hybrid ("HEV") and plug-in hybrid ("PHEV"). I touted the merits of PHEVs here before and I still think they are a best-of-both-worlds option for people who spend a fair amount of time puttering around town, but they require more effort to extract the maximum return on investment. You need to charge them (hence the "plug-in" aspect of the name) and that means you either need to have a charger installed at home, or you work (or frequently visit) someplace that has charging stations available in the parking lot. So keep that extra effort (and potential cost) in mind when considering between an HEV and a PHEV.
My first reaction to "What hybrid should I get?" is "Get a Mazda Miata because Miata Is Always The Answer" but that's a stupid car-guy joke and my serious reaction it to follow that up with "Have you looked at a Prius?" For the first time in forever the Prius is a good looking car.
It's available with AWD and the trunk holds 23 cubic feet of junk with the seats up, 50 cubic feet with the seats down. That's better than a Mercedes GLA and just a stitch less than an Audi Q5 or a Mazda CX-5. It gets 57 MPG, it hits 60 MPH in 7 seconds, and it's a Toyota so it will run problem-free for 200,000 miles. Here's an AWD build with a roof rack for $31,444. Here's one near me for $32,104. There aren't many cars this practical at this price.
Toyota also makes a PHEV Prius but for some reason the cargo space isn't as impressive. If you look at a regular Prius take a gander at the PHEV Prius and ask the salesperson about the cargo discrepancy.
If you want a car that doesn't appear so blatantly hybrid there are plenty of great options like the Toyota Camry (all Camrys are hybrid now) and Accord Hybrid, or the Toyota RAV4 HEV, Toyota RAV4 PHEV, and Honda CR-V Hybrid. As with the Prius, these cars will run forever.
There are plenty of bad options too. If you want to be a contrarian go get an Alfa Romeo Tonale PHEV. It isn't available in 2026 but no one wants to drive an Alfa (except me) so you can find 69 new 2025 models on dealer lots. All 69 will probably break within minutes after you get them home so I don't suggest you do any of this, but it's a thing you could do.
A more responsible PHEV choice would be a CPO Volvo S60 Recharge. It has AWD, 455 hp, about 35 miles of electric range and about 70 MPG in hybrid mode. Here's one with 32k miles for $32k. If you want something bigger, check out a CPO Volvo S90 Recharge. Here's one with 12k miles for $46k. You can hear Squeaky nodding furiously as he reads this.
If you really want to set hearts ablaze, get a Volvo V60 Polestar. By far the coolest thing in Volvo's lineup, it was discontinued for 2025. You can find CPO options but they are rare and pricey. But worth it!
Donna asked about the VW ID.Buzz. I love that fact that it exists but I can't picture buying one and a lot of people agree with me, so many that VW only sold 4934 through three quarters in 2025 and put the car "on hiatus" for 2026. The base price of the base model is $60k and even with deep dealer discounts they're over $50k. That's a lot for an EV with less than 250 miles of range. You can buy a Honda Odyssey for $10k less and drive it cross country without having to take hour-long breaks to fill it up every 200 miles. But if you just want to drive locally, have lots of stuff to haul, and love the Buzz.ID's looks, head over to VW of Alexandria and fight like hell to get this green CPO gem down to $45k. Be prepared to point to the brand new ones selling for $51k that I linked to above (or do some research for others closer to home) and remind them that they also have an orange CPO one on the lot, then tell them you're doing them a favor taking these unloved and unwanted monstrosities off their hands. Then go over to Lindsay VW of Dulles and run the same game on their two CPO Buzz.IDs and use whatever price you get in Alexandria against them. Go back and forth until you get a number you like. Have fun with it!
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another solid wcsagd post. we recently dumped our behometh, gas-guzzling suv for what will become our middle child's car - a subaru crosstrek that belonged to my mom-in-law. my daughter will learn to drive in this car and on or near her bday it will become hers. my son is driving a real beater....also an old family car from my wife's side (we purchased both cars ftr, and fwiw) - a 2005 hyundai elantra. this is not a long-termer/college car but will tell you one of the best things we've done is put him in the vehicle. zero bells, zero whistles. no cameras, no cruise control. he has had to learn to actually drive. the other day coming home from auburn, i asked my wife if she had the cruise control on. my son asked, "what's cruise control?"
ReplyDeletebut i digress. with our carpooling days largely but not entirely behind us, i'm considering leasing my wife's next whip. anyone here lease?
my youngest has driven her 2013 elantra across the country five times now. it's her daily in boulder. no frills, like yours, just solid.
ReplyDeletewe leased our current honda passport, then bought out the lease. no complaints - first time we'd done it, and first time we ever had a new car.
As luck would have it, I dropped my Alfa off for an oil change and got a ride home in a Tonale PHEV. It was a fine experience from the passenger side and it didn't malfunction. The highlight was the other guy dropping his car off, replete with full Jerzy Italian guy regalia--a black Sergio Tacchini warmup suit and white Gucci sneakers--while animatedly gesticulating with his cup of coffee to punctuated his grievances with his "fuggin tranzmishin."
ReplyDeleteWait, so which car should Donna actually drive?
ReplyDeleteCareful Whit, you’re asking for a pithy comment!
ReplyDeleteLet them all try to take the pith out of me
ReplyDeleteI made a pithy comment to my sometimes UPS driver at the gym today. As soon as I made it, I realized he may not know me that way. I had to tell him later to never assume I'm serious when I say something like 'can you keep it down over there?', and to give it back to me whenever he feels like it.
ReplyDeleteDonna should drive a Prius. They're easy on the eyes, reliable, and good for the planet.
ReplyDeleteunlike dave
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU, Z- ! I appreciate this very much. Here's to hoping for a new car! But truth - we may be receiving an OLD Honda Accord essentially free from my parents, who have finally realized at 90 and 85 they only need one car, and while a 2012, it's been garage-kept, all regular maintenance done, and has 107,000 miles on it, give or take. We may be leaning toward taking it and driving until the wheels fall off. What do ya think? Sure be fun to buy a new Prius!
ReplyDeletei speak for z when i say that accord will last at least another 100k miles and essentially free is a good price.
ReplyDeleteearly flight to orlando for me. who’s bringing the joy tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteI got you
ReplyDeleteDef should not be the guy going to the home of ‘the happiest place on earth’
ReplyDeleteOne of my many truisms is that cars are like beers—never turn down a free one. And Rob knows me too well. An accord with 100k miles is essentially a new accord.
ReplyDelete