*umi001 - honda has civic, cr-z and insight for hybrids and all 3 are under $30k. SUV hybrids medyo mahal talaga but personally i like the cr-z, very fun little car. for ford naman forget the escape and get the ford edge much better than the escape but it's a couple thousand more. also look at the nissan/infiniti line up they offer great cars and their service is much better compared to honda,toyota and hyundai. if i was your sister i'd get a car that we don't have here in the philippines. and yes dealers give big discounts for cash and loans, i remember when i bought my car there the sales agent directly asked me what he needed to do and how much does he need to sell it to me just so i walk out with the car i want on that day, after that i ended up buying the car i want for msrp price.