Hybrid SUV Roundup

Steer clear of SUVs if you want to save gas, right? Wrong! SUVs are now racking up economical miles due to their uptake of hybrid engines. That's something that's important to motorists, many of whom still embrace a love affair with SUVs but are keen to minimize impacts to the planet and their wallets. In many midsize and large SUVs, the combination of hybrid power with a gas engine adds up to some serious fuel savings, in some cases as much as a 50 percent improvement.

Here's our list of top hybrid SUVs currently on the market, or coming later this year. We compare the manufacturer's recommended price for the standard hybrid model and the base price of a standard model without the hybrid technology. Beware: the super-high demand for hybrid SUVs means you should be prepared (in many cases) to pay a hefty dealer's premium.

Ford Escape

It'll give you 459 miles on a single 15-gallon tank. Ford's trusty 4-cylinder, which runs on the fuel-saving Atkinson cycle, is paired with two electrical motors for the rear and front wheels, giving a combined 155 horsepower. The Escape can also be propelled adequately, and very quietly, on battery power alone.

Mazda Tribute

Its 155 horsepower (combined electric and motor) seems to pack more punch courtesy of an automatic continuously variable transmission that is much smoother than most when accelerating in low gears.A 200hp V6 power train is optional, as is 4WD, both neither will greatly impact its 32 mpg efficiency, the Tribute also has good interior space for its class.

Toyota Highlander

Impressively, you can zoom seamlessly to a mile a minute in 7.5 seconds. Even more impressively, and with a softer touch from the right foot, it'll reach 29 mpg combined. Only an automatic transmission (CVT) is available.

Saturn VUE

New Saturn Vue customers will be comforted by a high projected resale value and a deceptively large cabin that boasts all of Saturn's innovation and unusually refined ergonomics for an erstwhile budget car.

Lexus RX

With its increased options and features including 10-way powered leather seats and power liftgate for 2007, this is as close to luxury as you'll get on today's hybrid SUV market. The 400h is classed as a Zero-Evaporative Emissions vehicle in California and will reach 29 mpg combined.

Mercury Mariner

Mercury's Mariner boasts utilitarian styling and outstanding fuel consumption at 30 mpg combined (40% better city efficiency than the non-hybrid base model) courtesy of its nickel-medal-hydride batteries stores under its rear floor. Cargo space is still good at 66 cubic feet with the seats folded flat. Its 2008 variant is substantially less noisy than its predecessor at freeway speeds. ItÔøΩs also endorsed by the Sierra Club.

Chevrolet Tahoe

Backed by a 2-mode power train jointly developed by BMW, DaimlerChrysler and GM, this one packs a 300-volt battery below the rear second row, two electric motors in the transmission and the same in-city mileage as your typical midsize sedan. Much sought after, buyers can expect to pay a hefty dealer's premium in many parts of the country.

Cadillac Escalade

It also utilizes braking energy and coasts on battery power, while slipping from eight cylinders to four on highway stretches. You'll also get stylish hybrid electro-green badges on the outside that blend with the large SUV's muscled exterior. Other Escalades, outside the hybrid, are E85 compatible, which means they can run on an 85% Ethanol 15% gasoline mix. The hybrid still offers a premium of 25% combined fuel consumption.

Chrysler Aspen

City mileage is estimated at 19 mpg or better, or a near 50% increase in economy over the base model. Fit and finish are great in the Aspen, whose interior will include all the bells and whistles for the hybrid, and its light and airy cabin boasts unrivaled cargo capacity when seating seven or with both rows of rear seats folded flat.