Any hybrid owners on this forum???

anyone on this forum use hybrid car? Do you think the cost of purchase is worth in terms of saving fuel? Have you had any mechanical problem relating to the battery?

Picard -

There are some folks here with Hybrids, yes. Those of us with non-traditional vehicles or fuel typically duke it out over here

Daniel is your guy on hybrids...

But I'll answer your question this way:

Yes, it is worth it. Even if you had to pay more for the car and/or fuel. There are significant benefits of saving fuel and burning it cleaner that go well beyond the purchase price of the car and the purchase price of gasoline.

There is no need to worry about the battery. The warranty is insanely long for one thing, and for another, the vehicles protect those batteries like they are newborn ducklings. Don't be afraid of batteries! Batteries are your friend.

There are a few of us. I have the 2002 Prius. After 3 years and 35,000 miles I still love the car.

I've had no problems related to the traction battery. The basic design has been in production since 1997 (in japan) and battery failures are exceedingly rare. In California, the battery is considered part of the pollution control and so has a 10 year, 150,000 mile complete replacement warranty.

Do I think it's worth the extra money? Yes. In my case I was thinking about a much more expensive car (a Jaguar) so the Prius was cheaper by about $15,000. The other car we were looking at was a Volvo for $37,000. As you can see, the Prius at $23,000 (out the door) was not, in my case, more expensive.

If you are in the market for a car in the exact same class as the Prius, you may or may not find that you are paying a premium of several thousand dollars. By exact same class, you'd have to find another 4 door hatchback which seats 5 and has a continuously variable transmission. Just kidding. There are no others with that exact configuration. You'd have to compare it to an automatic 4 door of similar size.

Ok, assume that you found a similar car, similarly equiped, and it was $3,000 less. If you drive it 12,000 miles a year for two years with gas at $3 per gallon and sell it. YOu re cost of ownership is really the purchase price +taxes - resale price + cost of gas.

In my case, my 3 year old Prius should sell for about $18,000 per kelly blue book. I've used about 770 gallons of gas at about 2.50 per gallon for a gas cost of 1925. Total cost of ownership if I wer to sell it today? $6925

Now take a similar car, the Totota Corolla. It's a bit smaller and the accelleration is not as good, but it makes a decent comparison. The 2002 S model sold for about 17,000 plus tax and lic, so right around 18520 out the door. The S model today will sell for 7,700 to 9,060 per edmunds.com
So the cost of that car is $9460 depreciation and at 34 mpg $2572 for gas. Total cost of ownership? $12032

Now if you are a person who drives his car till it's worth nothing and then sells it for scrap, the only differences are the gas savings, and possibly the enhanced reliability of the hybrid. The Prius engine is run more efficently and with less stress than a normal car. It does not idle at stop lights, for instance, so the actual engine run time is about 1/2 of a conventional car.

My comments have been directed towards the Prius, and not the others. There are vast differences in the design philosophy from the various car makers. The Honda Accord, for instance, uses the hybrid design to boost total power without losing MPG. The Honda Insight is a full blown fuel saver, but has a niche market due to the two seater design. Even so, the resale of the hybrid Honda's are still better than the gas models.

Even if you put the economics aside, the hybrids as a class do produce less polution than their conventional counterparts with similar performance. That's a plus no matter how you look at it.

Daniel

Ah good. You found it, Daniel. I was worried that I'd have to send up a smoke signal.

Darell said:

Ah good. You found it, Daniel. I was worried that I'd have to send up a smoke signal.

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Thanks Darell. Glad you are looking out for me (LOL). I'm just running a little slow this week.

I know there are some other hybrid owners on CPF. Honda, IIRC.

One thing I did not mention in my post was the feeling of driving a hybrid. The Prius usually uses the electric motor to start the car moving from a dead stop. The car accelerates so smoothly that you'd think it was a V12. Seriously! Its acceleration is also super consistant. Thanks to the CVT and electric drive it's always in the right gear and RPM range; no downshifting before accelerating through an intersection, for instance.

The torque of the combined gas + electric comes out to the kind of grunt you get from a diesel. It climbs a 10 mile long 6% grade as easily as it handles a flat interstate. The best part is that it can accelerate up that 6% grade after beling slowed by other traffic. Many cars can't get back up to speed in those circumstances.

I could sing the praises of the Toyota hybrid design for days...

But you'd only get bored.

Daniel

Do hybrid cars, such as prius and honda accord, have quiet interior cabin? Are they quieter than gasoline version ? Do they have same interior noise level as gasoline cars? I am considering buying honda accord hybrid.

picard said:

Do hybrid cars, such as prius and honda accord, have quiet interior cabin? Are they quieter than gasoline version ? Do they have same interior noise level as gasoline cars? I am considering buying honda accord hybrid.

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The answer is "it depends". There is no gasoline version of the Prius, so it's hard to say what that would be like. When accelerating up a steep grade, the Prius is at it's noisiest. The ICE winds up and the electric motor throws in a little noise too. Fortunately, you can only accelerate for a certain number of seconds before to excced a safe speed, so yo back off and it quiets down again.

Most of the time, you can not tell if your Prius ICE is running or not. Someone sells an aftermarket kit to tell you when the ICE starts up to help you keep it on battery as much as possible.

My wife and I find the Prius is much quieter inside than our other two cars. We hold conversations at a normal level even when on the freeway. When we rent cars, one of the things we frequently remark upon is the excessive noise inside the cabin. The Prius compares well with the Jag X-type as far as noise.

There is an interesting noise as the regenerative braking recharges the battery. A sort of electric hum that builds as you press harder, then goes away as the car slows. It's not objectionable to my ears. It would no be noticed in the background noise of a convetional car.

On the other hand, there are times when there is no engine noise at all. Cruising down a city street at 25 MPH may be electric only. That's not true for the Accord, just the Prius. When stopped at a light all the current hybrids stop the ICE if it's not needed to run an accessory or charge a depleted battery. It's kind of eerie to pull up to a light late at night with the windows down and hear only the sounds of the neighborhood.

One of the few "hybrid negatives" is that when you pull into a large parking lot people don't hear you behind them, so they walk merrily down the middle of the lane, blocking you. It's fun to watch their faces when they realize that there's a full sized car 5 feet behind them.

So, quiet? Yes. The Honda hybrids should not be any noisier that their conventional counterparts. I suggest test driving all the models to see what you like / dislike about all of them, The word is that you can find a Prius on the lot ready for sale if you simply call all the toyota dealers within 25 miles.

Daniel

We've had our Honda Civic Hybrid since early 2003 and have put over 48k miles on it so far. So far, I have replaced some tires and a 12v battery (the conventional lead acid starter battery). The dealer replaced the ignition module under recall and fixed a rattle in the door. All in all, not too bad. I haven't even replaced the brake pads yet (usually I go through those fairly quickly). Regular maintenance includes oil changes and taking it to the dealer for a checkup. I did have to have the alignment done recently (we took it 4wheeling).

Our hybrid is old technology now compared to the newer models out now. Even so, we get about 38-42mpg with my driving style and using the AC on full most of the year.

I've replaced the rear stop and tail light with truck LED modules. The interior dome light is a 5watt led mod and the map lights are 3mm led clusters.

Our next hybrid will hopefully be a plug in model. I would definately recommend a hybrid for anyone who can afford one.

Peter

My spies tell me that Toyota is only making the loaded Prius these days with the GPS, etc., and they are running in the $28K range in my part of the world. Maybe a base Prius is available elsewhere, but I doubt it. Considering that you can get a Corolla or similar compact for $8K+ less, you would have to do a great deal of driving to recoup your costs.

Were I in the market for a compact car I'd get a slightly used Corolla or similar for money in the teens, and save that ten grand plus.

At the Prius website there is a fuel savings calculator that allows you to compare cars. Driving 12000 miles/year at $3/gallon would save about $500 per year in fuel costs as compared to a 20 mpg vehicle. So its basically 20 years of driving to break even, not considering what your savings will earn in the interim.

Plus, the technology and vehicle choices likely will improve significantly in the not too distant future, and one might be able to get a base Prius without the $7K in add ons. Paying $20K for new Prius would make a big difference in the savings calculation.

JMO! :nana:

best regards

picard said:

anyone on this forum use hybrid car?

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Yes

Do you think the cost of purchase is worth in terms of saving fuel?

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Don't know, don't care. It's a good car. It's a damn shame Detroit can't make one. (yes, I know, they've put out lots of press releases saying they're working on it)

Have you had any mechanical problem relating to the battery?

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No. And that 100,000 mile warranty on the traction battery tends to quiet any worries.


picard:
>Do hybrid cars, such as prius and honda accord, have quiet interior cabin?

About the same as any other car.

>Are they quieter than gasoline version ?

On the inside, no. On the outside, sometimes.

>Do they have same interior noise level as gasoline cars?

Yes. If this annoys you, you can acoustic insulate the doors.


>There is no gasoline version of the Prius,

The Toyota Echo.