Thanks for the replies. They confirm what I've heard elsewhere. I drive from sea level, up 1700' and back to sea level again on my Santa Cruz-San Jose commute. I also drive about 240 miles to my Lake Tahoe cabin about every other week, cresting a 7800' mountain pass. The all-wheel drive Ford Escape Hybrid handles everything very well and gives me an average of 30 mpg. I was considering a used Insight to cut the daily wear and tear when AWD was not required.