Thinking of buying a hybrid -- discuss

Not all hybrids do better in the city (which I did not know until recently). I bought a 2012 Hyundai Sonata hybrid in June and found out then that it was designed to do better on the highway than the city. My real world experience shows that to be true. I drive 30 miles a day to work on mostly flat terrain and because I leave for work at 2AM, traffic is never an issue so I can coast a little (not a lot Ragu...just a little ;D ). There are some hypermiling things that I do, none of them difficult or bothersome to other drivers. But I do avoid quick starts when I can and will coast to the light when I can. I also always drive the speed limit. Doing just these things, the lowest mileage i've gotten is 42 and the highest is 46. My old car was a Honda Odyssey that got, at best, 23 MPG, so this would be a lot better.

It has cut my gas costs by more than half and my wife says the gas savings are covering almost 2/3 of the payment.

I am a big guy (6' 4" 280) and I fit in it just fine and there is comfortable room in the backseat for 2 adults (three is a bit of a squeeze). I tried the Prius and did not fit comfortably at all.

Our second choice was going to be the Chevy Malibu Eco. It was a close decision as that is also a very nice car but it came down mileage and the Sonata just did a little better.

The Sonata is not a powerful car by any stretch, but it gets on the freeway ok and I don't have a problem keeping up.

Any questions, feel free to PM.

 

I wouldn't always drive the speed limit if i was getting 100 miles to the gallon. If that's the key, it would be a deal-breaker for me.

 

FWIW, way back in 2004 I rented a Prius for a weekend when my car was in the shop. It's all Enterprise had in the lot. I found it perfectly acceptable in terms of highway power. No car that isn't a sports car that is that small should go much over 70 anyway.

 

What's the long term cost of owning one? Only dealers can service hybrids? How much to replace the batteries? Is there a trade-in value for a 6 year old hybrid, at least 2, maybe 3, generations behind the technology?

 

As mentioned above definitely check out highway vs city mileage. I had heard that the Prius is really meant for city driving as the start/stop braking friction is what charges the batteries. There are all kinds of cabs up here in Canuckistan that are hybrids.

 

I owned a Ford Hybrid Escape, had over 100,000 miles on it. Served me well and actually got more $ on a trade in then I thought I would. I now have a Prius V (a slightly larger Prius, so a bit worse gas mileage but more trunk room than a regular Prius). I'm getting around 44 mpg. No complaints here.

Really, why wouldn't you buy a hybrid? Better gas mileage, better for the environment. Trust me, you can 70 or 80 mph if you really want to in a hybrid, too.

And for whomever said you have to coast to get good mileage - that's just total b.s. Sorry.

 

We have our regular mechanic service our hybrids. It ain't hard.

Which batteries are u talking about? As far as I know the hybrid battery is a different battery than the regular car battery, of which my hybrid has both. Meaning.. I just replaced the regular battery on my car, which I bought in '06. The battery was the same price anybody would spend on a car battery. But the hybrid battery I believe is designed to last for the life of the vehicle.

I'd have to sit down and do the math, but with gas prices what they are, I'm sure I've gotten the return. I just don't fill up as much. It's great.

I find the coasting thing fun. I like to look at the meter that tells me when the battery's being used... But if I'm in a hurry to get somewhere, I don't sit there and try to coast. I accelerate like everybody else. I love being at a stop light and hearing the engine cut out. I get this huge smile on my face. I'm not wasting gas!

 

Just stay to the right.

 

Why is it complicated?

 

I didn't even know my car had two batteries until a few weeks ago. I've driven my car for 6 years.

Wanna know the two biggest downsides of a hybrid?

1. Pedestrians can't hear you coming.
2. If you have a habit of leaving your keys in the ignition at night so you'll know where your keys are the next day, you're SOL. Your car will be running all night.