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Spring preview: Tech cars

This year sees the release of two notable hybrid cars, the updated 2010 Toyota Prius and the all new 2010 Honda Insight. Nissan and Kia are competing in the small box car segment with the Cube and Soul, while Audi has a small luxury SUV.

Wayne Cunningham

Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.

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Wayne Cunningham

March 24, 2009 12:56 p.m. PT

1 of 5 Wayne Cunningham/CNET

2010 Toyota Priuis

Price: TBD

Availability: Spring 2009

The outlook: The Toyota Prius set the standard for hybrid cars, and this update represents the third generation of the car for the U.S. market.

2 of 5 Corinne Schulze/CNET

2010 Honda Insight

Price: $19,800

Availability: March 2009

The outlook: Honda launches the hybrid Insight as the less expensive alternative to the Toyota Prius. With fuel economy 5 mpg less than the Prius, the Insight undercuts the price by thousands.

3 of 5 Corinne Schulze/CNET

2009 Nissan Cube

Price: $13,990

Availability: May 2009

The outlook: The Cube competes directly with the Scion xB, offering a cheap economy car with many practical virtues. Expect good optional cabin tech such as Bluetooth phone support and iPod integration.

4 of 5 Wayne Cunningham/CNET

2010 Kia Soul

Price: $13,300

Availability: Spring 2009

The outlook: Kia rolls out the Soul, another small box car with a sporty look. The base model will be pretty stripped down, but upscale trims will offer satellite radio, USB and iPod connections, and Bluetooth support.

5 of 5 Audi

2009 Audi Q5

Price: $37,200

Availability: February 2009

The outlook: Audi fills a gap in its product lineup with the Q5, a small SUV built for on-road use. A new cabin tech package features hard-drive-based navigation with traffic.