Hybrids - False Economy

[Spanky]

I plan to keep my Corolla. It gets 32 mpg / 41 mpg.

 

[laurence]

Geez, my vw passat gets 29 average! Not bad after reading these posts! My wife drives it, though, and it has an "instant MPG" display. She enjoys watching it and driving in a way that maximizes that reading.

Cheetos in the airbag, mmmmmmm! I'd definitely crash while looking for the last one in the bottom of the airbag!

 

[Dawg52]

 Dog, a co-worker of mine bought an Equinox, says he likes the vehicle, but the gas milage is awful (think he said it was around 12mph)
   I like the Prius, but I, too wonder if it's worth the cost... especially since I suspect that dealers will be tacking "premiums" on the list price.

Thanks for the info. I passed this one on the road yesterday and it looked like a toy anyway. I've scratched it off the list.

 

[Sheryl]

TH thanks for posting the article. My opinion changes from one day to the next... There's really nothing wrong with the car I have 97 Rav4 - I am happy with Toyotas, and hooked on the small SUV style - the Highlander makes a lot of sense - but then again $34,000 is a year of retirement at least.

If I have the patience I'll wait a couple years and get one used, if they still appeal, and have not become dinosaurs.

I'm not worried about the complexity factor, since my 78 year old co-worker (who can't figure out how to operate Outlook Express on his own) as been driving a Prius with no problem.

 

[Spanky]

Here is an interesting article on hybrids:
http://biz.yahoo.com/special/hybrid05.html

It suggest to wait since price will mostly come down as comptetion intensifies.

 

[tozz]

I own a 2004 Prius, as does my father, and a couple of his brothers.

I'm not going to try to convert anyone, but the Prius really isn't a bad car. I get 52-56 mpg during my daily 3 hour stop and go commute, and just got a respectable 49 mpg on a highway trip to Montreal this week. In electric mode, I can sneak up and scare the *&%! out of Early Retired pedestians in mall parking lots. I don't know how you price that pleasure out, but it has to figure into the equation somehow.

The Prius has been on the road since 1997 with no realiability issues. Yet folks still shake their heads and mumble something about the new technology not being "proven." My drive train (including battery) comes with a 10 year/150,000 mile warranty, and emissions are 90% less than the average new car.

Can you justify a Prius on fuel cost savings alone? Dunno. I figure I break about even after ten years. But then I compare the Prius to either a Camry or Corolla rather than an Echo, and I do a lot of city driving where the hybrids really economize. If gas goes up, the payback occurs sooner.

Because of the high cost of gas, the Toyota Prius is the hot-selling new car.  You see a lot of news stories about how people are buying hybrids because gas is so expensive.