The payback I calculated based on $3/gal was actually less then 4 years.
Based strictly on the numbers, that sounds borderline to me. First you have to decide if you plan on keeping the car for 4 years, and if you anticipate any additional maintenance/repair expenses due to the complexity of the hybrid. Then you really have to look into your crystal ball and decide how the resale value will compare with a conventional car (i.e., will this fad be winding down or will there be more demand). If you plan on keeping it for the long term you will have to try to predict the long term maintenance/repair expenses (battery replacement, etc).
If you really want a hybrid, buy one, but I don’t think anyone really knows how the economics will work out in the long term.
As I said, the “low depreciation/high resale value” assumption is dependent on the continuation of this fad. If you buy one today with the intention of selling it in five years, you are betting that there will be a demand in five years. If you buy one today with the intention of keeping it for 10 or 15 years, you are betting that the repair/maintenace costs will not be excessive over the long term. Either way, you are paying a premium for an economy car with some “gee-wiz” technology that may well be obsolete in five years, you are basically taking a flyer. As long as you really understand what you are doing, go for it.
From an economic point of view, buy a 2-3 year old conventional economy car for half the price. Buying a brand new car is always a pretty bad deal, this is even worse. If you really must have a hybrid for some reason, shop for a used one.
Simple Craig. The SUV replaced the station wagon. Some people still need this utility, and even a baby SUV, like a Honda Element or Ford Highlander or Toyota RAV4. And it is these baby SUVs that are getting the hybrid options with good results.
Last time I looked, the station wagon was in the process of replacing the SUV (and the mini-van) again. If someone really needs an SUV, they are going to pay more for fuel, putting up with all the hybrid cost/complexity to get mileage in the mid-20s does not seem like a good deal to me.
Someone (not me) may have good reason to be interested in a 50 mpg hybrid econo-box.
In the case of diesels, I would wait a year or two until there is a little more competition in the market. At the moment, the VW is the only affordable diesel car in the U.S., that will change and prices will come down. I would still buy a diesel before a hybrid though.
First you have to decide if you plan on keeping the car for 4 years, and if you anticipate any additional maintenance/repair expenses due to the complexity of the hybrid.
Actually the hybrid has been proven to be MORE reliable with less mechanical failures then non-hybrid vehicles. A electric motor is far more reliable then a internal combustion engine…on a magnitude of 10 or more. Also the regenerative braking system puts a lot less wear and tear on the brakes…Friend who owns a hybrid Civic has OVER 100k miles on it and the brakes look brand new.
Owning a hybrid is more than buying a new car, it’s a piece of mind. While it does not solve the problem of oil dependence, it helps. My Highlander Hybrid (Limited 4wd) gets 25-28mpg on the average tank (the lower in winter and on the highway). This car, however, has virtually no emissions, unlike a diesel which have what is often deemed the dirtiest emissions with the highest particulates. Plus, car makers still can’t get over the inherent problems associated with diesels, such as noise and pick-up similar to a city bus. The standard Highlander (non-hybrid) limited 4wd gets around 19mpg on the highway, meaning, at $3/gal, you would save $1000 in gas yearly with the hybrid (not to mention the tax incentives). Thus, until plug-in cars make a come-back, the hybrid is definitely a step in the right direction.
My 25 year old 4000 pound diesel car also gets 25-28 mpg, it looks like we’ve really made a lot of progress in two and a half decades. Let me know how your highlander is running when it turns over 400,000 miles.
If buying a hybrid makes you feel better, have a ball.
I suppose if the overpowered oversized luxury SUV with a V8 versus an overpowered oversized luxury SUV with a hybrid system are your only two options, than the hybrid is the “earth friendly” choice. Your Highlander does put out “practically no” particulate emissions, but so does every car made in the past decade, but your CO2 emissions, which are what’s causing global warming pretty much directly correllate with your fuel consumption, which on the highway in your car, stinks.
If you were in a situation in which you did mostly city driving, over rough terrain, while carrying six people, then a Hybrid SUV would make sense. I do respect that in some situations people need SUV’s, but the hybrid system only gives its best results to people who by definition do not need an SUV!
My 25 year old 4000 pound diesel car also gets 25-28 mpg, it looks like we’ve really made a lot of progress in two and a half decades. Let me know how your highlander is running when it turns over 400,000 miles.
Yes and it puts about 10 times the amount of polutants into the air as a Hybrid does.