So I've been online window shopping for a new car for the past few weeks. I have a V8 '93 Chevy pickup I have been using as a work vehicle. Since taking my new field service job, I am going to be driving 30K-40K miles per year. My truck gets 12-15mpg. Doing the math, I realized that I was paying more to drive my paid-off truck in liability insurance that I would pay to finance a $20K car that gets 35MPG with full coverage. So the search commenced.
I put together a spreadsheet that would break cars down by sticker price financed by year plus fuel price for given EPA estimates per year and spit out a yearly price tag. What I found was that every hybrid car that had a non-hybrid counterpart was more expensive than the non-hybrid version even factoring fuel price for 30K miles per year. For example Jetta Vs. Jetta GDI Vs. Jetta hybrid, the hybrid and GDI are not cost effective until gas goes up to $9/gal or unless you drive >100K miles per year. So I was opposed to hybrids from the outset.
On my list of cars to visit in person, were most of the low-cost compacts from all the main manufacturers; Jetta, Kia Rio, Kia Forte, Ford Fiesta, etc. about 15 in all. I didn't actually visit all 15. After viewing a few, I noticed a trend; all the cars which looked good in the spreadsheet had absolutely no room for my tools and the occasional 50HP VFD. So I started to shift my focus from the compacts to the micro SUV/crossovers like Kia Soul, Mazda 3 wagon, etc. but I was severely disappointed with the gas milage; it was starting to no longer make sense to buy a car.
Then I pulled in to a toyota dealership to see what they had, and the salesman tried to push this used Prius on me. I told him I wasn't interested in hybrids or used cars but he insisted I at least look at it, and so I did. I was amazed by how much cargo space it had. The gauge cluster and all the widgets gave me a nerdgasm. I test drove it and he told me that they were offering a 7 year/100K mile bumper to bumper warranty. That give me more miles and more years than I would get with a lot manufacturer's (even Toyota's) brand new car warranty. So in my mind, for all intents and purposes I can consider this a new car. Someone else drove it around for 35K miles and took that "new car hickey" for me, so it puts it within my budget.
So I bought it. I transferred all my tools and spare parts (275lbs) into the back of the car and it didn't even squat noticably. I guess it has a beefy rear suspension, being a hybrid with a big ass battery pack over the rear wheels. I took it for a spin around town today with the tools and the family inside; driving like a granny, keeping the "eco meter" centered, I got 71.5MPG (according the trip meter, yet to be verified by tank fill) over a 9 mile trip of stop & go traffic.
So in summary, my opinion is that hybrids don't make sense in almost all cases and I think they're largely a gimmick. However, if you need a lot of space and excellent mileage and a quality dependable car, the Prius is hard to beat - as long as you buy it used .
Side profile pic is with 275lbs of crap in the back (pictured). When I had this crap in my wife's '95 corolla, it squatted the car until the rear wheels were up under the fenders. I could not go over speed bumps without scraping. No problem for the Prius. Also, in "power mode" the prius and lug this crap up a freeway entry ramp faster than the corolla; I think even faster than my truck.
I put together a spreadsheet that would break cars down by sticker price financed by year plus fuel price for given EPA estimates per year and spit out a yearly price tag. What I found was that every hybrid car that had a non-hybrid counterpart was more expensive than the non-hybrid version even factoring fuel price for 30K miles per year. For example Jetta Vs. Jetta GDI Vs. Jetta hybrid, the hybrid and GDI are not cost effective until gas goes up to $9/gal or unless you drive >100K miles per year. So I was opposed to hybrids from the outset.
On my list of cars to visit in person, were most of the low-cost compacts from all the main manufacturers; Jetta, Kia Rio, Kia Forte, Ford Fiesta, etc. about 15 in all. I didn't actually visit all 15. After viewing a few, I noticed a trend; all the cars which looked good in the spreadsheet had absolutely no room for my tools and the occasional 50HP VFD. So I started to shift my focus from the compacts to the micro SUV/crossovers like Kia Soul, Mazda 3 wagon, etc. but I was severely disappointed with the gas milage; it was starting to no longer make sense to buy a car.
Then I pulled in to a toyota dealership to see what they had, and the salesman tried to push this used Prius on me. I told him I wasn't interested in hybrids or used cars but he insisted I at least look at it, and so I did. I was amazed by how much cargo space it had. The gauge cluster and all the widgets gave me a nerdgasm. I test drove it and he told me that they were offering a 7 year/100K mile bumper to bumper warranty. That give me more miles and more years than I would get with a lot manufacturer's (even Toyota's) brand new car warranty. So in my mind, for all intents and purposes I can consider this a new car. Someone else drove it around for 35K miles and took that "new car hickey" for me, so it puts it within my budget.
So I bought it. I transferred all my tools and spare parts (275lbs) into the back of the car and it didn't even squat noticably. I guess it has a beefy rear suspension, being a hybrid with a big ass battery pack over the rear wheels. I took it for a spin around town today with the tools and the family inside; driving like a granny, keeping the "eco meter" centered, I got 71.5MPG (according the trip meter, yet to be verified by tank fill) over a 9 mile trip of stop & go traffic.
So in summary, my opinion is that hybrids don't make sense in almost all cases and I think they're largely a gimmick. However, if you need a lot of space and excellent mileage and a quality dependable car, the Prius is hard to beat - as long as you buy it used .
Side profile pic is with 275lbs of crap in the back (pictured). When I had this crap in my wife's '95 corolla, it squatted the car until the rear wheels were up under the fenders. I could not go over speed bumps without scraping. No problem for the Prius. Also, in "power mode" the prius and lug this crap up a freeway entry ramp faster than the corolla; I think even faster than my truck.
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