Best
Hybrid Vehicles: Financially Speaking
Friday, November 30, 2007
No
surprise the Prius is number one
CNN
has put together a list of the most cost-effective hybrid
vehicles based on data from Edmunds.com.
The study assumes steady gas prices and yearly mileage of
15,000 miles. However, a major flaw, in my opinion, is
that there is no distinction based upon the type of
driving that is done. For example, if you drive any of the
full hybrids most often in urban traffic, then the cost
effectiveness of these hybrids becomes even more
effective. Thus, if you drive a Toyota
Prius in predominantly city driving, then the Prius is
an even better investment.
Likewise, the study is purely about costs. Thus, a hybrid
doesn't have to really save any fuel, it's just about a
hybrid's cost-effectiveness versus it's conventional
counterpart. Even though, for example, the Malibu
hybrid offers "only a modest fuel economy
improvement", it ranks as number 2.
Finally, Toyota's hybrids, unlike the rest of the hybrids
considered, no longer qualify for any tax credits. If the
Prius and Camry
hybrid still qualified for tax credits, there would be
little comparison between them and all the other hybrids
based on fuel economy and costs.
Anyway, here's the list and the amount of time Edmunds
estimated it would take to recover hybrid costs.
- Toyota
Prius, 4.2 years
- Chevy
Malibu Hybrid, 4.6 years
- Toyota
Camry hybrid, 4.8 years
- Ford
Escape hybrid, 5 years
- Saturn
Vue Green Line, 5.8 years
- Mercury
Mariner hybrid, 6.2 years
- Honda
Civic hybrid, 7.4 years
- Nissan
Altima hybrid, 8.4 years
- Saturn
Aura Green Line, 9.4 years
- Lexus
GS450h, 10.8 years
- Lexus
RX400h, 11.7 years
- Toyota
Highlander hybrid, 22.8 years
- Lexus
LS600hL, 3,771 years
And that's the list of
the best hybrid vehicles, at least in terms of costs.
2 Comments:
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What is Edmunds comparing Highlander hybrid with? There is no V8 4.0L non-hybrid Highlander to compare with. Simply ignoring HyHi performance gain and calculating hybrid premium based on fuel saving alone is just silly.
The same goes for the Camry and Alima hybrids. Do they compare with V6 version or I4? I bet they choose the 4 cylinder version.
Why not compare V6 Camry and I4 Camry and calculate how long it will take for the extra 2 cylinder premium?
These nonsense comparison has to stop!
Dennis,
Obviously there are numerous problems with this study. Case in point, when the Malibu hybrid can come in 2nd, without providing a significant improvement in fuel economy, something just has to be wrong.
I think the new Malibu is a great looking car, and it will be a big hit and I advocate buying the hybrid version of the Malibu because it does get better gas mileage.
Nonetheless, the Malibu hybrid is not a great hybrid, nor a great financial move. The Malibu is a good hybrid.
For example, while the Malibu hybrid might pay for its cost before the Camry hybrid, it doesn't offer much value after costs are recovered.
Compare that to the Camry hybrid. Once hybrid costs are covered, then you are saving a significant amount of fuel every year after cost recovery - that's a real investment and a real cost-incentive.
Of course, how long will someone keep the car? More variables!!!
As you point out, there are just so many variables involved that its not easy to quantify the cost-effectiveness of hybrids.
Nonetheless, the study does provide some worthwhile data, but it should not be used as key determinant when considering a hybrid purchase.