Have you ever thought about buying an Hybrid car?

[Beaver]

Hey,

When I lived in Singapore, where it is probably the most expensive place in the world to own a car, I owned a 2004 Prius sedan. Before that, I had a Toyota Echo. To give you an idea of the cost of a car in Singapore, an Echo in the USA would cost roughly $13-$16K. While in Singapore, the exact same car would cost in excess of $70K USD when I lived there.

Now the Echo was great on gas as I was getting almost 500 km on a full tank of gas (40-45 litres or 11-12 gallons). The Prius was getting almost 350 more kms on the same amount of gas. My wife says we got double the kms out of the Prius on a full tank.

The Prius did not have any lack of power. It performed fine on the highway as I normally drove in speeds of 140 km/h.

As for fitting your hockey bag in the trunk, the battery can get in the way but it is manageable.

I live in Germany now and drive an Opel Zafira and it now costs me 85€ ($130 USD) to fill up. Just 3 weeks ago, it cost me 65€ ($100 USD). I get around 675 kms on a full tank (55-60 litres or 14-15 gallons). Gas is getting out of control but I need it for my life. I look at my car as one of my children now, she has to eat too. I take her out to the restauarant 2 times per week and get her an 80€ meal each time to keep her going!

If I didn't have any experience with a hybrid, I would be hesitant to buy one. But the Prius was great and when my wife and I move back home to Vancouver, we will buy a hybrid as one of our cars.

Russ

[icehockeyaf96]

We own a Prius since December. My husband likes it. My oldest daughter doesn't like the way the seats aren't adjustable and the rear window is hard to see out of. You can't totally rely on the video of the back of the car which comes on when you're in reverse gear because it distorts how closed everything is and doesn't have total peripheral vision.

[HMHINC]

I thought about getting a hybrid for about 20 minutes after seeing the Al Gore movie. But then I remembered I was a heterosexual..................

[fusion]

Originally Posted by HMHINC

I thought about getting a hybrid for about 20 minutes after seeing the Al Gore movie. But then I remembered I was a heterosexual..................

Good one....

[HMHINC]

I guess that was kinda harsh, but I believe 10 years from now the 'hybrid' cars will be viewed as a complete hoax. The disposal of those batteries will be ......?Along with the cell phone batteries I assume. The technology is there to build a more efficient vehicle, just because it's coming from Honda or Toyota doesn't mean it's better. If you believe Honda's 'environmentology' slogan, you are being deceived, I work for Honda, they throw away more stuff than you can imagine.

[chakal]

Gas price is an hoax and we still all buy it? right?

35,000 miles for batteries???? Honda and Toyota guarantee their batteries for 160,000 km!!! Why people believe the batteries are dead after only 35,000 miles?

Today's batteries are way smaller than the 2003 and 2004 version of the Prius. The technology is better and better and I think in 10 years, we will all own an hybrid car until the hydrogen cars come.

Some people sounds like my grand-parents when they were saying in early 60's that Rock'N'Roll would be a short fashion and that it would die soon. Governments are now voting laws on that, they give thousands of dollar in tax rebate when you buy an hybrid, that will help this part of the industry to grow. I think Hybrid cars are like Rock'N'Roll and internet, it's there to stay and to invade our lives. Maybe today's hybrid is the Beta of the new technology, maybe the VHS is coming, I don't know, but gas prices will always go higher (and it's uncontrolable, sky's the limit) and hybrid cars' prices will always get lower each year. Do the math and what's your answer?

[c0nquistad0rian]

I got a ride from a guy with a Prius whose team needed a goalie. My goalie bag fit perfectly into the truck. I currently use an RBK goalie bag, which I stuff everything into, including my leg pads. What's a bag if it doesn't hold all of your stuff, anyways?

[HMHINC]

My point is, you still need gas for a hybrid. 160,000 KM down the road, you gonna buy a new battery or trade it in? Trade-in value on a 160,000 km vehicle that needs a 7000 dollar battery? When they can eliminate gasoline, then I'll look a bit harder into it. My wife's car gets 50 mph, it's Jetta TDI, diesel. A Toyota Camry with a 4 cylinder gets 35. The technology is there to do away with gasoline altogether, hybrids are a temporary go between until then. Assuming that ever happens, after all, the U.S. has done a lot of things in order to secure oil and Exxon keeps recording record profits. Hybrids are a way to appease the disenchanted , seemingly eco-friendly caucasian. Another marketing tool, a gimmick.

[Stryker908]

[home0006]

Originally Posted by biguglygoalie

the only hybrid i'd buy...

Where do you plan on finding the Energon cubes to run it though?

Back on topic though, I have been looking at Hybrids, but nothing out there really is what I want. The Toyota Carolla hybrid is the closest thing, but I'd want to get an all wheel drive mid sized sedan but that just isn't out there yet (that I know of). Though admitadly I'm an Audi nut, and I'm saving up to replace my current '96 A6 with an all wheel drive hybrid model of the car. Also granted the batteries are expensive now, by the time that most people need to start replacing them, the price will probably be lower than what it is now.

[azdave]

All wheel drive is another marketing ploy that I don't really understand. I know in MN. all wheel drive is very nice to have. Here in AZ. I checked out an R32 and it is all wheel drive, mpg sucked. Stated 18 and 22 but the salesman was upfront and said he gets about 16 in the city and never over 20 on the highway. Size of a GTI and gets SUV mileage. The Audi all wheel drive cars are the same plus you need to put in premium fuel.

Smart car only gets 38 mpg so the Minis, Toyotas, Mazdas are equal or better than. As far as Hybrids go the Prius gets the best ratings and battery costs are going to go down, not up as more and more people get these cars. Fuel costs on the other hand are not going anywhere but up. Once big oil sees you will spend $4 per gallon what makes anyone think they will get it back down to $3?

Our here SUVs are just sitting for sale. Prius and small cars are popping up all over the place. Another couple of years and I have a feeling we are going to look like Europe with all the small commuter cars.

Can't wait for a solar or all electric car the size of a Prius to come out.

[Stryker908]

Originally Posted by azdave

Can't wait for a solar or all electric car the size of a Prius to come out.

Wait didnt we already have that .... .WAY BACK in 1996?!

[dreadlockgoalie]

Hybrids won't save you money these days, because there's still a premium price on most of them. They do reduce emissions significantly though and from what I've seen, most of the concerns about battery disposal is fairly overblown. Still, the only reason I'd buy one was if I did almost all my driving in the city. The electric engine won't do anything besides add weight when you're on the highway. The Civic in particular has no hardly any trunk because the battery takes up most of the space behind the back seats. It also means you can't get a 40/60 split in the rear seats.

Also, you have to keep in there are more than one kind of hybrid. Some use the electric engine to generate almost all the power at low speeds while other will use the gasoline and electric engine in conjunction to cut gas consumption. The former is going to work much better in the city.

My parents and I went over this all last year when they went looking for a new car. We wanted something with low emissions and good mileage but also decent cargo space. The best mileage we found was not a hybrid but the Jetta TDI. The diesel engine will go around 800 km on a single tank, gets among the best mileage at both city and highway speeds, we don't sacrifice trunk space and the greenhouse gas emissions are much lower than a gasoline car. Plus they also tend to have much better reliability for some reason. The Europeans have known this for years and it's just starting to catch on with North American cars. Until they start making hybrids in small commuter cars, putting plug-in options in or bringing the price down, they're unfortunately not worth it quite yet. I'd wait for VW's new diesels, personally, which they're adding a better particulate filter to.

[cwarnar]

I was considering a Prius as well, they get 48 mpg highway and 60 mpg city.

Here is a few great links:

Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com

http://politicalcalculations.blogspo...s-guzzler.html

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008...ntro.html#more

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008...tudy.html#more

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/05...pted-and-othe/

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/0...9markets1.html

Keep in mind by 2010, the plug in hybrids and a ton of new stuff will roll out.

[Densetsu]

For any manufacturer that has sold 60,000 or more hybrid vehicles since 2005, the IRS is phasing out the tax credit. In the US, Toyota and Lexus have already hit that mark, and Honda hit it this January.

So for those hoping to get a cheque in the mail for buying these vehicles, better hurry fast.

Hybrid credit gone for Toyota, fading fast for Honda (Page 1 of 3)
Hybrid Tax Credit - Phaseouts