Protecting the environment is important. So is saving money at the pump. Many consumers who buy hybrid cars for these reasons might regret to learn that they’re probably not getting as many benefits as they think. Many insurance brokers and car dealerships keep information about vehicle prices and fuel efficiencies, so you should contact them to get the details about any car that you might want to purchase.
Are Hybrid Cars Really More Fuel Efficient?
Some hybrid cars get really good gas mileage. The 2010 Toyota Prius, for example, gets 51 mpg in the city and 48 mpg on the highway. When you ignore the horrible PR that Toyota’s vehicles have gotten lately, this might look like a pretty good deal. After all, the US Department of Energy estimates that the annual fuel cost for this vehicle is only $825 for the average driver.
Not all hybrid vehicles offer the excellent fuel efficiency of the Prius, though. The 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids get a very respectable 51 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway. The Lexus HS 250h, Nissan Altima Hubrid, and Ford Escape Hybrid, however, get less than 35 mpg in the city.
That number will beat most vehicles with standard motors, but not by much. Plus, the illusion of hybrid efficiency quickly falls away when you learn that many models, such as the GMC 1500 Yukon Hybrid, Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, Cadillac Escalade Hybrid barely get over 20 mpg on the highway or in the city.
The 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6 gets a lousy 17 mpg city and 19 mpg highway.
How Do Hybrids Compare to Standard Vehicles?
Some hybrids outperform standard vehicles, but the truth is that many of today’s engines have great fuel efficiency even when they don’t take advantage of hybrid technology.
The 2010 Toyota Camry, for instance, gets 32 mpg on the highway. The hybrid model gets 34. The hybrid does a lot better than the standard model in the city (the hybrid gets 33 mpg, the standard gets 22), but the benefits really depend on how much driving you do on the highway versus in the city. Drivers today tend to spend a lot of time on highways, getting off only when they reach an exit that’s near their destinations, so the impact is negligible for them.
When you compare the shoddy performance of BMW’s ActiveHybrid X6 with its standard models, you quickly see that their hybrid doesn’t offer much improvement in fuel efficiency. The BMW 335Ci, for instance, gets the same city mpg as company’s hybrid and dominates the hybrid with 26 mpg on the highway.
Are Hybrid Vehicles Worth the Upfront Costs?
As many insurance brokers , dealers, and car experts have determined, most hybrid vehicles just don’t pay for themselves. Even if you drive a lot in the city (which is where most hybrid models can perform better than standard engines), hybrid vehicles still have the burden of high upfront costs. Chances are that you’re not going to save enough money from fuel efficiency to make up for the higher ticket price, even when the government is willing to subsidize the technology with tax incentives.
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