Do Hybrids Actually Save You Money?
March 10th, 2006 by admin
The high price of hybrids
Hybrid cars have been around for a few years, but they’ve yet catch on because of the high price tag.
Until recently, if you bought a hybrid, you would’ve probably ended up spending more money in five years than you would if you bought the gas-only counterpart. And, that is still the case for some popular hybrid cars and SUVs.
NUMBER CRUNCHING. The new calculations show that owners of the Toyota (TM) Prius will save $406 and owners of the Honda (HMC) Civic hybrid will save $317 compared with owners of their gas-only counterparts. However, owners of four other hybrids — the Honda Accord, Ford (F) Escape, Toyota Highlander, and Lexus RX 400h — will still end up spending $1,883 to $5,508 more over five years and 75,000 miles, Consumer Reports said.
Some manufacturers, however, are switching to diesel/electric instead of gas/electric.
GO DIESEL. With cleaner diesel fuel becoming available in the U.S. this fall, some automakers, including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler (DCX) are adding more diesel models to their fleet. Honda is adding diesels by 2010. Diesels tend to get better fuel economy than hybrids when usage is more cruising than urban stop-and-go. A Toyota hybrid, for example, doesn’t make it from Washington, DC, to Detroit, a distance of more than 500 miles, on one tank of gas, as it gets about 38 miles per gallon. A Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel-powered car, however, can make the journey without stopping, getting 45 mpg (see BW Online, 2/15/06.
With recent technological breakthroughs and the government’s plan ease us of our gasoline addiction, maybe these vehicles will actually be affordable for the common person in the future.
See Also
- Try Ethanol
Is ethanol better than gasoline? - AutoWarranties.com
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Posted on Friday, March 10th, 2006 at 7:32 am
In Auto Warranty