anyone with a hybrid car?
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Veteran ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Hi all, I have been considering getting a hybrid car for the past 2 months or so but was waiting for my finances to stabilize. Now that I can afford one.....can those of you who drive one share what your experience with them has been like? Thanks! |
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molto veloce mama ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() we don't have one,but our next car will be either a hybrid or something that can burn bio-diesel. |
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Pro![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() I rented a Toyota Prius for a week a couple of weeks ago. I averaged about 45 mpg in mixed driving (there's a handy touch screen monitor that calculates this for you as you go). Consider that I was in Puerto Rico, so the Air conditioning was on all the time which has a negative impact on fuel economy. I like the car for it's space. It can't be described as gutsy, but it is adequate for normal driving. I know that there was a recall on them not too long ago for failing to start, but I don't know the end of that story. My main concern, and this may not be an issue for you, is how this car would perform in the frigid Montreal winters. Basically, though, I would recommend it for somebody who wants a staid, roomy, economical car. |
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Extreme Veteran![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() As someone who worked for Toyota for 2 years my advice....Don't buy one. They are great cars, I love the Prius and the hybrid concept is fantastic, but if you're doing it to be economical and save gas $ you're much better off with a less expensive but nice 4 cyl car, such as a civic, scion, corolla, or even 4 cyl Camry. You'll pay almost 1/2 as much for the car and only get maybe 5-10 MPG less in real-world daily driving. I saw a study that showed assuming $2.75 gas, you'd have to drive an like extra 450,000 miles in a hybrid to justify the price difference between it and a car $10,000 less. Not to mention with everyone all up-in-arms about the gas prices dealerships are jacking the selling prices through the roof. We were selling Prius for $6,000 over sticker and people were fighting each other to buy them at that price. Great cars, neat technology, not worth the money. If you have the money to burn, go for it though. Edited by dibujob 2005-09-14 8:32 AM |
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Extreme Veteran![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() OK, found the article. http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/21/pf/autos/hybrid_sense/index.htm It's comparing non-hybrid versions to the hybrid counterpart, such as the civic vs. the civic hybrid. "But you pay a lot for that fuel efficiency. To see how much more, consider the hybrid version of the Honda Civic and upcoming Ford Escape SUV, which both cost about $3,200 more than their respective non-hybrid versions. To make up the difference in price, Kelley Blue Book estimated that the average Civic Hybrid driver would have to travel at least 180,000 miles, assuming $2.15 a gallon of gas. (If gas prices stay lower than that, you'd have to drive even more to make up the difference.)" Only about $3000 difference between the civic and the civic hybrid and it'd take 180,000 miles to make up the cash difference. For a Prius, obviously there is no Toyota non-hybrid version but a 4cly camry can be had for less that $20,000 all day long. Try over $30K for a Prius. Fugidaboutit! I'll take my $15,000 Scion which gets almost the MGP all day anyday. |
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Member ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Here is another link you might find useful, Edmunds Top 10 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars for 2005. http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/103325/article.html I've had a Honda Civic Hybrid for the last two years and love it. However, I drive about 25k miles a year and will probably drive this car until it dies. So for me, owning a hybrid makes sense. |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() I don't but my Dad has driven a prius for 4 years now. He LOVES it. His favorite thing to do with it is pass V8's going up hills. |
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Extreme Veteran![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() It's peppy, that's for sure! Don't be fooled into thinking hybrids are slow like golf carts, the electric motor has far more torque than a gas motor. Check out this Hybrid....over 400 miles on a single 13.7 gallon tank and 0-60 in 4 seconds. I love Toyota |
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Veteran ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() I vote for a VW TDI (turbo diesel)! I just bought a Golf TDI and love it, I always pay less for diesel than I would for regular gas (you have to look to find cheap prices though), gets 45 mpg now, I'm still breaking it in though, apparently after 10,000 miles I should start to get 55 consistently. Low sulphur diesel is coming next year which will improve emissions (though you can also run biodiesel which is even better)! |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Not yet but seriously thinking about buying one for around town and to work commuting, but I will still have my SUV for my up north vehicle. |
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Expert![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() lizard - 2005-09-14 4:20 PM I vote for a VW TDI (turbo diesel)! I just bought a Golf TDI and love it, I always pay less for diesel than I would for regular gas (you have to look to find cheap prices though), gets 45 mpg now, I'm still breaking it in though, apparently after 10,000 miles I should start to get 55 consistently. Low sulphur diesel is coming next year which will improve emissions (though you can also run biodiesel which is even better)! I've had my Jetta Wagon TDI for about 2 months now. I love it. I consistently get 50+mpg and I've had the air conditioning running almost every second. I'm also still breaking mine in (only have about 3750 miles on it). It only cost me about $1000 more than the regular gas model (and I compensated for that by getting the standard transmission). I considered getting a hybrid escape, but the price, and the fuel economy sold me on the VW. |
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Master![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() I listened to a radio show one night about hybrid cars and if I remember right they said that the electrical engine still needs to gas to run. They were saying if your buying the car to improve the environment skip it. If you buying it to make yourself feel better then go ahead. In the end everyone on the panel was against buying the hybrid cars until the technology improves. |
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Elite![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() The hybrid cars get an improvement compared to a conventional gasoline car on average gas mileage because the gasoline engine is much smaller and runs near its most efficient operating point most of the time. The electric motor supplements the gas engine when high power is needed to accelerate thus reducing the need for a bigger engine for peak power. When cruising at steady speed, a portion of the gasoline engine's power is used to power the motor/generator to charge the batteries. The cruising mode is a very efficient regime for the engine to operate in contrast to the inefficient operation of a gasoline engine at low rpm and high power condition that is needed to accelerate from a stop. The hybrid cars also have regenerative braking where the electric motor is used as a generator to decelerate the car and recover a portion of the energy of braking to charge the batteries. So the gain in mpg are due to 1) smaller gas engine, 2) more efficient operation, 3) regenerative braking. The losses are 1) extra weight for batteries and electric/motor generator, 2) extra cost for the batteries, motor/generator and the complicated electronic controls that raise the initial price of the car. Geezerette #1 bought a Prius as her first car that she purchased on her own. The Geezer was quite proud. She gets 45 to 50 mpg which is pretty good for a 5 passenger car. TW Edited by tech_geezer 2005-09-16 8:00 AM |
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Veteran![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Thanks for your responses! The articles provided and the experiences/thougths shared are very helpful. I still have not made up my mind, I like the concept but I am not 100% sold on it yet. I'll start looking into cars that use diesel as well. Edited by nj newbie! 2005-09-16 8:47 AM |
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Expert![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Another thing to think about and I only know of this becuase I work with a volunteer fire fighter. He said that right now, if there was a serious accident with a car like a Prius that would have serious reservasions about cutting into the car to get a person out due to the fact that there is some high voltage running through the car due to all the batteries. |
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Veteran![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() hum...that is definitely something to think about...thank. |