Buying a new car is a big decision. A lot of money will be invested on that vehicle, and the people want to be smart about that decision. Today the biggest factor that draws people into a particular car is the fuel efficiency. With gas prices continuing to rise everyone wants a car that not only will be economical for the prices now, but also to economical when the gas prices rise even more.
This is where a lot of people turn toward hybrids. They think great gas millage, and they will save money. Well that sounds great, but there are a lot of things people have to think before deciding on hybrids.
First: What kind of commute they have, if they do a lot of city driving hybrids make sense, if they do a lot of highway driving hybrids do not make a lot of sense. (I will explain why)
Second: How long is their commute, because distances matter.
Third: Does performance matter, because in hybrids forget it.
When I said that if you do a lot of highway driving hybrids do not make any sense is because the electric engine shuts off, and only the gasoline engine works to provide the high speed. If you are like me that drives a lot on the highway then you wouldn't consider a hybrid. Then the distance factor come in and plays a big role. The question is how many mile you drive in a year, this can determine if a hybrid will make sense or not. to do that you compare the two cars you have in mind, the hybrid and the regular car. Find out the average millage for the regular car and estimate how much fuel will cost you per year. This is simple to be safe round up the cost of fuel to 4$/gallon. Then lets say the car you are looking are and average mpg of 29mpg, and holds 15 gallons. This means it can go 435 miles per tank, and it will cost you $60 to fill it (@ $4/gallon). If you drive 12000 mile in a year, it means you have to fill your car about 28 times, and it will cost you about $1700.
Now lets analyze the hybrid, which can get an average mpg of 48mpg, and it holds 15 gallons. This means it can go 720 miles per tank, it will cost you $60 per tank, and if you drive 12000 miles per year you have to fill about 17 time a year. This will bring the fuel cost to about $1000. The difference if $700 per year.
Now the consumer has to ask himself/herself a question: if the $700 a year I can save on an hybrid worth the high price hybrids have, and the lack of horsepower? In my opinion the answer is a simple no, because in my care where I do a lot of highway driving, I will not get the maximum mpg from the hybrid, therefore the savings will be less than $700, and I will lack a lot of power, which I need in my car because this how I am.
This is where a lot of people turn toward hybrids. They think great gas millage, and they will save money. Well that sounds great, but there are a lot of things people have to think before deciding on hybrids.
First: What kind of commute they have, if they do a lot of city driving hybrids make sense, if they do a lot of highway driving hybrids do not make a lot of sense. (I will explain why)
Second: How long is their commute, because distances matter.
Third: Does performance matter, because in hybrids forget it.
When I said that if you do a lot of highway driving hybrids do not make any sense is because the electric engine shuts off, and only the gasoline engine works to provide the high speed. If you are like me that drives a lot on the highway then you wouldn't consider a hybrid. Then the distance factor come in and plays a big role. The question is how many mile you drive in a year, this can determine if a hybrid will make sense or not. to do that you compare the two cars you have in mind, the hybrid and the regular car. Find out the average millage for the regular car and estimate how much fuel will cost you per year. This is simple to be safe round up the cost of fuel to 4$/gallon. Then lets say the car you are looking are and average mpg of 29mpg, and holds 15 gallons. This means it can go 435 miles per tank, and it will cost you $60 to fill it (@ $4/gallon). If you drive 12000 mile in a year, it means you have to fill your car about 28 times, and it will cost you about $1700.
Now lets analyze the hybrid, which can get an average mpg of 48mpg, and it holds 15 gallons. This means it can go 720 miles per tank, it will cost you $60 per tank, and if you drive 12000 miles per year you have to fill about 17 time a year. This will bring the fuel cost to about $1000. The difference if $700 per year.
Now the consumer has to ask himself/herself a question: if the $700 a year I can save on an hybrid worth the high price hybrids have, and the lack of horsepower? In my opinion the answer is a simple no, because in my care where I do a lot of highway driving, I will not get the maximum mpg from the hybrid, therefore the savings will be less than $700, and I will lack a lot of power, which I need in my car because this how I am.
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