Best-Selling Hybrids of Q1, 2009

Brian Cooley counts down the Top 5 best-selling hybrids of 2009, and none of them is the Toyota Prius.

Best-Selling Hybrids of Q1, 2009 Welcome to CNET Top Five. I'm Brian Cooley stepping in for Dr. Tom Merritt with the car related Top Five because, well, he’s not really a car guy. Now, everyone knows the Prius is the hottest selling hybrid of all time. But take out that obvious choice and then what are top five best selling hybrids. Didn’t see that coming did you? Let's count them down. Number five: the Toyota Kluger Hybrid. Yeah, you know it is the highlander here in the U.S. but due to a trademark dispute with Hyundai in other countries, it carries the flem inspired moniker of Kluger generally. Whatever you call it, it sold about 33 copies a day or 2,977 total units in Q1 of this year, which brings us to number four. And, we stay in the small SUV territory with the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner Hybrid. Those twins sold 3,526 copies in Q1. It’s one of the oldest hybrid models on the market, going back some four years or so and now having sold over 100,000 cars total since launched. By the way, the Escape and Mariner hybrids are the most fuel-efficient SUVs on the market. Number three: we’re still in SUV territory here that gets a guilt thing. It’s the Lexus RX 400H. That’s the most expensive ride on our Top five list, by the way at 43 gran base. In spite of that, 4,223 of these guys rolled off the lot first quarter. Number two: we finally have a car, the Honda Civic hybrid. Now, Civics has always stood for economy and the hybrid version’s 45 MPG highway does nothing to screw with that notion. Result, 5,307 of them sold in Q1. By the way, if you think Honda can do no wrong, think back to the Accord hybrid. One of the biggest market disasters in hybrid history before Honda stuck a fork in it back in summer of ’07. Now before I reveal the number one selling hybrid that isn’t the Prius, let's get a look at the states that love hybrids the most. And, no, California is not number one. In fact, Washington State is where you’ll find the most hybrids per capita followed by Washington D.C. then California, Colorado and the not entirely expected Minnesota. But across all those places, the number one selling hybrid that isn’t the Prius is that paragon of automotive sobriety, the car nobody can ever fault you for buying but which screams to the world, I'm in the car as about as much as Tom Merritt, the Toyota Camry hybrid. Another one from Toyota, the Camry sold a healthy 5,775 units in Q1. By the way, the Prius, the number one hybrid, its sales were off 43% in Q1 and it still sold over 24,000 units in that period. Yeah, nothing really comes close. It’s kind of a one car industry. Well, that’s it for this edition of Top five. Check that all at CNET’s car reviews by the way at Cars.cnet.com. I'm Brian Cooley. Thanks fro watching.