Take a look: somebody has ranked hybrid cars, based on how much money they save you. Your best hybrid buys, in order, are…drumroll please…
- The Toyota Prius,
- The Saturn Vue, and
- The Honda Civic.
Unfortunately, the ranking methods aren’t completely spelled out. But as far as I can tell, the author compares the price difference between a hybrid car and its non-hybrid mate, and compares the extra cost of the hybrid engine with the money drivers save on fuel. These 3 come up as the best hybrid buys.
Of course, the Prius (unlike most other cars of its ilk) was built as a hybrid from the ground up, so it doesn’t have a non-hybrid version. But it still won top honors. Here’s what they say about the Prius:
After seven years on the market, the Prius is still the best hybrid for people who just plain want to burn less gas. It’s arguably also the best for people who hope to save money in the long run. Built from scratch as a hybrid, it maximizes interior space and offers a roomy cargo hatch, whereas hybrid sedans tend to diminish trunk space and/or eliminate folding backseats. There is no gas-only version, but there doesn’t have to be. It’s both the most efficient and most affordable hybrid out there.
Sleuthing around a bit, I took a look at #2, the Saturn Vue Green Line, to see how its cost savings racked up, compared with the non-hybrid Vue.
The skinny:
- The conventional Vue lists for $21,875, and EPA rates it at 19 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, or about 22 mpg on average.
- The hybrid Vue lists for $24,795, and its city/highway mpg rating is 25/32, or 28 mpg on average
Assuming 15,000 miles per year, $3.50/gallon gas, and that the EPA numbers are accurate, the hybrid version pays for itself in less than 6 years. After that, any gas savings are just gravy.
Which makes me wonder why someone wouldn’t opt for the hybrid version. Over the long run, it looks like to me like a real bargain.
That said, I can see why the average car buyer might hesitate about hybridizing their Vue. In theory, gas prices could fall; the hybrid could underperform its EPA ratings; battery replacement could pose an unexpected cost; and so on. So the extra $3 grand for the hybrid may feel like a risk.
But to me there’s just as much risk on the other side: gas prices could soar even higher, for example, as many analysts expect. And as I reported last winter, hybrids (especially the Prius) are holding their value exceptionally well.
To me—and despite the higher purchase price of a hybrid—the real financial risk is to buy a gas guzzler. More and more, the hybrid seems like the safer bet.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Xrrr under a Creative Commons license.
Adrian
Hey thanks for the great blog, I love this stuff. I don’t usually do much for Earth Day but with everyone going green these days, I thought I’d try to do my part. I am trying to find easy, simple things I can do to help stop global warming (I don’t plan on buying a hybrid). Has anyone seen that http://www.EarthLab.com is promoting their Earth Day (month) challenge, with the goal to get 1 million people to take their carbon footprint test in April? I took the test, it was easy and only took me about 2 minutes and I am planning on lowering my score with some of their tips. I am looking for more easy fun stuff to do. If you know of any other sites worth my time let me know.
Barry
We just took our Prius on 3 week road trip from Canada to Los Angeles and back. Over 4000 miles for less than $300 in gas. 49mpg overall according to the monitor. Less than 1/4 tonne CO2 per person. Excellent car all around for road-tripping.For you carbon counters out there: If we had flown just to Los Angeles and back, it would have been at least 4 times as much ghg per person (see http://www.atmosfair.de calculator). And we wouldn’t have be able to visit all our friends up and down the coast…or explore the oregon coast…or hike in the redwoods…etc. This highlights for us a central fact about fossil fuels. We use an huge amount just to make our lives “faster”. On this road trip to visit family we cut our costs and our carbon massively compared to our old method of flying…but it took an extra week to really enjoy fully. The ever decreasing amount of vacation time that the average american worker is getting is being made up for by fossil fuel binging speed. If we are going to slow down our lives to emit less ghg, we will want to reclaim that lost leisure time too.
Wells
Clark’s piece didn’t begin to hightlight the numerous and even phenomenal advantages hybrids offer, not with the current models nor the next generation Plug-in hybrids. Fuel economy based on driving 15,000 miles a year, to justify the hybrid’s extra expense, isn’t nearly the best argument favoring hybrids. C’mon. The hybrid drivetrain will prove to be the safest. You know, like reduced accidents saving LIVES. That’s kind of like important, dude. The larger battery pack of plug-in hybrid offers households an emergency back-up power supply, in case like the power goes out.Rooftop solar panel technology is perfect match with plug-in hybrids. Private electric utility companies lose some control over price when households install these systems. Household electricity consumption can be monitored more readily this way as well, furthering energy conservation. The plug-in hybrid is limited range on electricity, 10-20 miles tops. This encourages short trips rather than long trips on a daily basis. Neighborhood development patterns change and more destinations become accessable without having to drive and mass transit systems become more practical to arrange.I just wish Clark and the rest of the Sightline crew would wrap their heads around the hybrid drivetrain advancements, (and this is just the short list), for once.
Wells
Driving 15,000 miles a year is 1,250 miles a month and about 40 miles a day. Clark is saying owning a Prius only makes sense when you drive it 40 miles every day! Following this logic, Sightline must be the far rightwing side of the progressive movement.
Matt the Engineer
Aw, Clark never said not to buy a hybrid. “Which makes me wonder why someone wouldn’t opt for the hybrid version. Over the long run, it looks like to me like a real bargain.”The 15k miles just looks like one example, meant to show a short payback (and yes, just looking at $). But looking at the lifespan of a car, it makes just as much sense even if you drive a mile a day. If gas keeps any kind of price escalation, this could save you much more over the life of the car (imagine your yet-to-be-born daughter driving the gas guzzler you’re buying now, 50 years from now when gasoline is a rare commodity).