Pricing for the GS 450h is right up there with a base of $58,950. The test car included a massive package of luxury upgrades and features at $5,645, a navigation package at $1,735, an always-appreciated Mark Levinson premium audio system at $1,380 and sundry other options that brought the bottom line to an exclusive $69,827.

The compact ES 300h runs with a similar hybrid drivetrain as the popular Toyota Prius. (Photo: Lexus)

While the GS is bigger, stronger and more luxurious, the Lexus ES 300h does a better job at being a hybrid. That is, it gets better mileage, which according to the EPA comes out to 40 mpg city, 39 highway and 40 combined. For a well-equipped and not-too-small luxury sedan, that’s not bad.

This is the first year that the ES gets a hybrid version. Power comes from a 2.5-liter four coupled with a high-torque electric motor to produce a combined 200 horsepower, which provides decent if not mighty performance. The transmission is also continuously variable with manual “shifting” controls.

The well-equipped ES 200h starts off at $38,850. The test car was optioned up with the “Ultra Luxury Package” at $2,435, a navigation/premium-audio package at $2,625, plus a few other additional features that brought it to $47,944.

Both of the Lexus models boast the brand’s sharply distinctive new styling language, which has met with mixed reactions. Lexus also has hybrid models across the board from the subcompact CT hatchback to the full-size LS sedan, with base prices ranging from $32,000 to $120,000.

The hybrid version of Volkswagen's compact Jetta churns 170 horsepower combined with its small four-cylinder engine and electric motor. (Photo: Volkswagen)

The newly minted Jetta Hybrid is something of a departure for VW, which has built its environmental reputation based on its mastery of clean-diesel engines with high fuel mileage and low emissions. The hybrid shows the VW can also play well in the gas/electric arena, with an economical sedan that can keep up with the best from hybrid leaders Toyota and Ford.

The Jetta’s system passes all the tests. Toyota is still the champ, but the VW does a pretty great job. A more economical hybrid than the Lexus pair, the Jetta presents a way to get the benefits of hybrid driving without breaking the bank to get there.

Jetta Hybrid packs a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder combined with an electric motor to produce 170 horsepower, which is enough for this compact sedan that favors economy over performance. Although, instead of the slippery-feeling continuously variable transmission found in most hybrids, the Jetta gets a sporty seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

Fuel mileage is way up there for a sedan that’s not too small, at 42 mpg city and 48 highway with a combined mileage of 45 mpg, the EPA says. The VW hybrid system works slightly different than Toyota’s, with a greater gain in highway mileage.

The Jetta Hybrid comes in four levels of features and trim. (Photo: Volkswagen)

Jetta also boasts that it can cruise for more than a mile at up to 44 mpg on electric power only. Creeping through traffic can be done for quite a ways on just the electric motor. The stop-start engine function seems to be more active in the VW than the Lexus cars, shutting down more often at a stop or at slow speeds.

Volkswagen’s usual responsive drivability is evident here, although the latest Jetta model has been compromised somewhat by a softened suspension with a solid-beam rear axle instead of IRS, except in the GT model. Still, I like the solid, sporty feel of these cars, whatever the version.

In VW fashion, the Jetta hybrid comes in four models according to trim and equipment levels, with prices ranging from a base of about $25,000 to just over $31,000 for the loaded SEL Premium, which includes the cool factor of an audio system from the Fender guitar company.

I drove the most-mainstream model, the SE, priced at $26,990. That’s a pretty good deal for those who favor the European driving style along with very-economical gas mileage.

So there we have it, three of the latest possibilities in the hybrid realm at three distinct levels of cost and fuel economy.

Since they all look like regular sedans aside from the small hybrid script on their tails, the only thing that might be missing for some people is the instant environmental bragging rights of the readily recognizable Prius. Though in my book, that’s no big deal. There are now plenty of hybrids out there to choose from.

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. SPEED.com fans can email Bob Golfen at