Consider The Hybrid

If only.

Today, I need audience participation. Put your thinking caps on and get ready to comment.

We’re in the market for a new car. The Honda CRV has been the object of our occasional affection for over a year, but the more we consider the prospect, the less we’re able to justify our owning an SUV. For one thing, the conceit that we need something sizable for hauling things is made null and void by the fact that a simple phonecall to either set of in-laws can get us a truck in no time at all. For another, it’s not nearly as fuel efficient as either of our current, older vehicles. At a dollar and change per gallon, 23 MPG looked pretty good. Not so much anymore.

So we’re starting to consider stepping into the future by purchasing a hybrid. I know that several of you have either a Toyota Prius or a Honda Civic Hybrid, so tell me all about it. What’s been good, what’s been bad? How’s the month-to-month maintenance? How’s the insurance? If you’ve had the hybrid for a few months or more, do you see that much savings over your previous vehicle? And hey, if you’re driving something incredibly efficient that’s neither a Prius or a Civic, I want to hear all about it.

(Pictured is the solar-hybrid Honda 1^4, Honda’s entry for the 2007 Los Angeles Design Challenge.)

April 11, 2008 – 10:30 am | By Thomas | Posted in Observations | Comments (13)
  • http://yarg.org El Gray

    Uh, no, I’m pretty sure that’s a Pod Racer, Thomas.

  • Thomas

    Pod Racing was only the start of Anakin’s descent into evil. Can you imagine the environmental impact of those contraptions? No wonder the Sand People took potshots at him.

  • http://cup-of-coffey.blogspot.com/ Beth

    I need to monitor the comments you receive. I’ve been mulling the Prius vs. Honda question for the last several months myself.

  • http://www.mostlymuppet.com/ Seth
  • Robio

    Due to having kids, any kind of vehicle that offers a decent MPG was pretty much out of the question. However, mini-vans are total sex magnets so that makes up for a lot. Seriously, it’s like Barry White and Spanish Fly all rolled into one. My boss and best friend both drive Prius’ though and for the most part they’ve enjoyed the hell out of them.

    The only real problem, aside from space, is that they completely and totally lack any kind of acceleration. None. If you stop at a stoplight, make sure you pack a lunch. But if you’ve outgrown the need to floor it when traffic lights turn green it should be just fine. Aside from that, both have had the car for over a year and have loved it.

    Florida gives a lot of neat perks. HOV Lane access, lower insurance rates. Not sure if the same holds in GA, but I’m sure there are similiar things in place.

  • Pat

    Saw your post on my daughters blog “Waiting for Vincini”
    anyway we own a Prius since September 2007 and I love it. At this time though all the tax credits are gone, I got the last one. But our dealer said they may lower the prices since there are no more credits. To get the most benefit you use the cruise control. Also going 55 mph you get so much better than the 70 Mph we did on 81 through the Carolinas. We get 47 miles a gallon local and anywhere from that to upper 50′s on the highway. Most we got was 62 mph for short straight distance.
    The civic hybrid still has a substantial credit but we found it so low that it was hard to get in and out, but we have crappy knees. If you go with the Prius dont get the extra warranty thru the dealer. I got it for a lot less through atoyota dealer in Massachusetts. Did it all on the phone. Paid 900, no tax where the ny dealer tried 2400 then came down to 1500 plus tax. We got it without the back up camera as I find it distracting and distorted, plus with sun glare it can be useless.

  • Jen

    As you know, I bought my ’07 Civic Hybrid in September..

    Tax Credits: I received a $2,500 federal tax credit. I think the amount of the credit diminished this year. You do not receive a tax credit nor HOV access in Georgia (I’ll save my rant for another day).

    MPG: I’ve put 14,000 miles on my car since September. Eek! So I would say that I’m definitely on my way to recouping the extra money spent on a hybrid. I do mostly highway driving and have found that I average about 37-38 mpg, but have gone up to 40. I also have a lead foot and your driving makes a big difference in this car.

    Interesting Pro: There’s a gauge on the dash that shows you how many mpg you’re getting at a given moment. It’s made me more conscious of my lead foot.. and you can turn it off it you feel too guilty.

    Acceleration: Unlike Robio’s friends, I haven’t found that I lack acceleration. It’s not V-8 quality, but there’s no need to pack a lunch. But this might be a difference between the Prius and Civic.

    Dash: The dash gets a bit getting used to.. Your speedometer is directly in your line of the sight, but I’ve found this to be a great feature because you don’t have to drop your eyes much to figure out how fast you’re going. Also, the speedometer is a numeric read-out instead of the classic gauge, so it’s also easier to read.

    Navigation: Ok, I splurged. It’s easy to use and haven’t had any issues with it. Only complaint is that if you look up “closest Target” it probably won’t be the closest Target. I probably need to update it. But it’s been perfect with addresses.

    Space: It’s got plenty of leg room / head space (I’m nearly 6ft) and the trunk is larger than expected in a Civic.

    Come date my car!

  • http://www.geekhabitat.com/ Shannon Moore

    Hey, this is @ageekgal. You didn’t mention to Ford Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid or Mazda Tribute Hybrid, or their bigger (and slightly less fuel efficient) brother the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. I’m guessing cost is the deciding factor to omit these?

    I have a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid. My lifetime miles per gallon is 32.3 MPG so far–better than my 1992 Toyota Corolla. My mileage data is charted here for all to see–it’s not amazing, but I don’t drive that differently by and large than I used to. I find my self preservation instinct keeps me from slowing up other drivers too much or taking longer routes to save gas. http://greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/car/2391.html

    Maintenance has been wonderful–no more or less expensive than any other new car, and no issues save some fit & finish issues at first (sunroof leak, minor, fixed; one recall for a new drive shaft due to improper welding (none failed, but the prospect of failure resulted in the recall.) Oil and filter changes are routine, and I have had a run of bad luck with tire punctures and the tire shop knows my hybrid very well now, including putting 4 new tires on it yesterday, complete with my tire pressure monitoring system straps around each wheel (standard equipment in most SUVs as of ’08, btw.)

    I splurged too. My hybrid is loaded. It was my first new car since ’92. So I overpaid on the nav system (already have a Streetpilot, and soon to sell that and get a new Nuvi), but I wanted the hybrid energy management screens (some people call them cartoons :) because I’m a geek and I wanted to see all the info the vehicle could share with me. Heck, I even have a ScanGauge (http://www.scangauge.com/).

    Would I buy it again? Probably, although once you get bitten by the high MPG bug you want more, and the way I want more is to get a Prius. I’m close to convincing my hubby to adopt my Ford Escape Hybrid when he sells his ’01 F-150 Supercrew 4×4. I’d drive the Prius.

    The Escape Hybrid has plenty of cargo room–see pics of us loading ours up for a camping trip without impeding the driver’s rear view (http://flickr.com/photos/wildtexas/2388060206/in/set-72157604396349792/). If we had TWO kids, though? It’d be a tight fit with two kids in carseats + the extra gear of another kiddo. As it is, our ice chest has to sit on one of the back seats, next to the kiddo.

    Read GreenHybrid.com for more info, including issues people have with each vehicle (and then balance than with the fact that like any vehicle people don’t tend to post that much if they’re 100% happy, but they’re VERY vocal if things go wrong, especially in the first 5k miles.)

  • http://www.geekhabitat.com/ Shannon Moore

    PS: Hybrids do have acceleration. I can spin out my tires from a standing stop if I floor it too much. What makes people THINK hybrids have zero acceleration is doing ride-alongs with hybrid drivers who are “hypermilers” and thus start off very slow from lights (to stay in electric-only mode as long as possible) and coast to stop signs/lights, etc. That isn’t the vehicle’s “fault”, it’s the driver doing that and would be the same issue in a non-hybrid if the driver drove that way.

  • Jen

    I discovered a CON today! You cannot fold down the back seat. At. All.

    After googling this bs, I found out it’s because “the DC electric motor is slim – less than 2.5 inches – and its juice is stored in an eight inch thick battery pack behind the rear seat.”

    But.. I still fit a 7ft knight into the car.

  • Thomas

    Wow. Thanks for all of your comments, pro and con and otherwise. This is a lot of food for thought, though the Prius is certainly getting a lot of good press.

    Why not the SUV hybrids? Well, it seemed like we’d be trying too hard to have it both ways, all the room and all the mileage, knowing we probably couldn’t have one without sacrificing the other. But who knows? I’ve wondered if anyone was ever going to make an efficient “Car-UV,” something sized and shaped like the Nissan Murano or even the Suzuki XL-7 (which surprised us greatly as a rental last year).

    Jen … so, you lose the whole trunk-through-to-the-front option. That kind of blows a bit. Folding down the backseat on the Focus is one of the best things ever. How else am I supposed to get home with a couple of spur-of-the-moment 8 foot 2x4s?

  • http://audac2.wordpress.com Jen

    Yeah, no more sliding a long 2×4 through the car. But the cab is still pretty large, so you could probably fit it corner to corner (though probably not 8ft because my 7ft barely fit).

  • Dorie

    I got a Nissan Versa back in August and have been really happy with it. It gets up to 35 mpg on the open road and about 27 in town. I rarely have to fill the tiny tank up and it doesn’t make me groan when I do, which is completely the opposite of my experience with my ancient Maxima that died last summer. I also like that the car is a four-door hatchback, so it’s small enough to zip around town and fit in tight parking spaces but also has enough room to comfortably fit three or four folks. I moved almost all of my belongings sans large furniture in the back of it (the seats fold down) in about seven trips. I was shocked at how much toting room it had.