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This 2027 Kia Telluride is the 5 millionth vehicle built by Kia in West Point, GA. Now available as a hybrid, it's popular vehicles like this Telluride that will have many mainstream buyers getting hybrids in 2026.  2027  Kia Telluride is now offered as a hybrid  -Photo by Brian Moody

Updated March, 2026 Looking for an amazing deal on a used car? Get an electric car.  See the full NBC 7 San Diego story  -  Reporter Sergio Flores does an excellent job of explaining it concisely. The prices are incredible. Here are just a few examples: CarGurus - in New Jersey, a 2023 Nissan Leaf with 21,000 miles for $10,000 Capital One Auto Navigator - in Atlanta, a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4Matic Sedan with 46,000 miles - $33,000. This was an $80,000 car when new!!  Cars.com - in Dallas, a 2024 Kia Niro EV with 11,000 miles - $20,000.  All of these cars, and others just like them, will still be under warranty. Mercedes-Benz has a 10-year, 155,000-mile warranty on some EVs. Most electric cars have an 8-year / 100,000-mile warranty on the battery and drive components.

Chevrolet makes a hybrid Tahoe - it gets 21 city / 22 highway. But the company's own non-hybrid SUVs do better than that. The 2010 Chevrolet Traverse gets a combined average of 19 mpg topping out at 24 mpg on the highway. The smaller 2010 Equninox does even better with a 26 mpg combined EPA estimate and 32 mpg on the highway. Although the Toyota Prius does get a real world 50 mpg, many more affordable small cars do nearly as good as other hybrids - Kia Forte EX w/ fuel economy package 36 mpg highway, 2011 Ford Fiesta w/ automatic transmission 29 city / 40 highway, 2010 VW Jetta SportWagen TDI 30 city / 42 highway. Other cars like the Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra Blue, VW Golf TDI and Honda Fit do well too but most are priced at or below $20,000 (the VWs are a little more) So maybe skip the hybrid and save some money.

Somehow, small diesel powered cars are still looked upon as odd by many new car shoppers - how the Prius has earned mainstream acceptance while diesel powered VWs and Benzes have not is beyond me. The 2010 VW Golf TDI is essentially state of the art when it comes to afforable diesels. There's plenty of power, the engine is not annoyingly loud and the car's overall look and feel seems more like a $35,000 sports car rather than a $22,000 commuter car. The Toyota Prius does offer an impressive 50 mpg in all around driving but it's not really a fun car and is best suited for those who simply drive to and from work in a straight line, never thinking or even wishing for more. The Golf TDI's 42 mpg highway estimate is close enough to most hybrids and better than many smaller cars. Cars like the Kia Forte, Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris can do about 36 mpg highway but the Golf TDI tops those cars and is MUCH more rewarding to drive. The turbo diesel provides plenty of power and the...