The RX 400h boasts all the advantages of a hybrid gas-electric vehicle: Emissions are extremely low, reducing your impact on the environment to something in the neighborhood of nil. And it burns about as much gas as a compact car, reducing America's dependence on foreign oil.

But it's also fast and powerful. Stomp on the gas and the RX 400h jumps off the line significantly quicker than the regular RX 330. It can drag race head-to-head with a V8-powered Mercedes ML500. And it's a luxury SUV, loaded with power-hungry features: dual-zone climate control, GPS navigation, power seats, power windows, a power liftgate, rear-seat DVD, a megawatt audio system by Mark Levinson. You can run all that stuff at the same time without any fears of draining the battery.