Why Toyota's Recall Came at an Awkward Time for Hybrids

If you bought a Prius in the last five years, there's a good chance that you were affected by Tuesday's recall of 1.9 Priuses. If you never bought a Prius or a hybrid, the recall may give you one more reason to reconsider buying one.

It's not that the recall itself — a software error that can cause the car to shut off — is particularly onerous. It's because the recall comes at a particularly awkward time for the burgeoning segment in which more fuel-efficient cars with combustion engines are starting to offer similar mileage. For instance, a 2014 Toyota Prius gets 51 miles per gallon on the highway. A BMW 328d diesel gets 45 MPG highway. So does the 3-cylinder Ford Fiesta SFE. The 3-cylinder Mitsubishi Mirage gets 44 MPG Read more...