My wife and I are soon going to be in the market for a new car. We are seriously considering buying a hybrid. We both like the Ford Fusion. We are also considering a Toyota Camry since it has excellent gas mileage. What are the pros and cons of a hybrid as oppose to a Toyota Camry?
Pros: better gas mileage.
Cons: more cost.
Hybrids are in rental car fleets now. Look at rental sites on line and see who has hybrids. Rent one for the weekend and see if you like it. I’ve seen Prius hybrids on the National lots. Hertz offers the Camry, Altima, and Prius. Check the other rental agencies to see who has the Fusion hybrid. National and Hertz might, but they were not featured at their web site.
If you do a lot of city driving, get the Fusion hybrid. It will run without the gas motor at low speeds, and will improve fuel economy. For highway driving, get a gas only car (like the Camry) or a diesel. Those cars excel on the highway because the engine won’t work as hard as if it was in stop-and-go traffic.
The Fusion’s a great choice for hybrid. There are many alternatives to the Camry to consider. And a hybrid is about breakeven on $$ over its lifetime. I’m considering one as an interesting ‘option’. Folks pay thousands for sunroofs, fancy stereos, etc. I just think of it as an ‘mpg’ option.
Don’t forget that there is a Camry hybrid as well as a Fusion hybrid. And a regular gas Camry and regular gas Fusion. Confused yet? I am. They are all great cars–no bad choices here. Renting for an extended “test drive” is always a good idea, as other posters have mentioned.
Base Fusion: 20k
Base Fusion Hybrid: 28k
Base Camry: 20k
Base Camry hybrid: 27k
But the base hybrid tends to have more standard equipment than the base car in a model line.
I am aware of that, but the cost for either is so close, it just comes down to which one likes best, and that extra $7~8k will buy a LOT of fuel.
A Sport Fusion with the 4cyl, heated leather, navi and BSMS comes to the same price as the base hybrid. Hybrid with Navi comes to $32k.
Camry XLE with 4cyl, leather and navi comes to $29k, hybrid with navi and heated leather comes to $33k
All that money you will save on gas with a hybrid will come in handy when it comes time to replace those very expensive batteries at 50-60,000 miles.
Happy motoring
The hybrid battery packs are designed to last for the lifetime of the vehicle, somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 miles, probably a whole lot longer. Plus, the warranty covers the batteries for between eight and ten years, depending on the carmaker.