Local Fox station reports Hybrids aren't worth it

Typical.
.
_H*

 

How many miles a year they assume you drive would have been a useful piece of information...

 

Not to mention what they think the "premium" is!

 

The premium is the difference you have to pay between the hybrid Prius and the non-hybrid Prius, roughly $25,000, give or take a few thou...

 

there is some logic in this if you take into account people who own cheaper cars, like the yaris, base civic, elantra etc...but alot of people don't own those FE cars...they owne 30K+ SUV's and lincolns, monte carlo etc etc...the cost diffrence for a prius isnt so bad compared to with a fully loaded accord or camry, in fact a non hybrid camry cost several thousand more then a prius. And pick up's trucks? BMWs? mercedes? a boat load more. I live in vegas and it seem's alot of people own very expensive, fuel hungry cars....

 

With the exception of Toyota and Honda hybrids, I would have to agree.
The rest of the "hybrids" out there are probably not worth it, but they get to ride on the coat-tails of greatness by using 'hybrid' name.
And in many consumers' minds, if it's a 'hybrid', it gets '60 MPG' like the 'Prius'.
YEAH, right.
Someone was asking me about how satisfied I was with my 'hybrid' Prius, and then said somethings about Chevy having a 'hybrid' Malibu. Like they perceived it to be equivalent to the Prius.....
I tried to explain there is a vast difference, but I don't think it sank in.

 

Fox news isn't worth the time it takes to watch it!

 

So which conventional non-hybrid car would be a good match in terms of size and features to a Prius?

Possibly, the Toyota Matrix is reasonably close and comparably equipped sells for about $2000 less than a Prius. MPG (of the Matrix) is roughly half the Prius at ~25mpg. Ignoring any cost of money, gas at about $4 a gallon, and assuming that the car would be driven 15,000 miles per year results in a breakeven period of about a year and a half.

 

Of the Toyota models, that's the one I generally compare it to with its functionality (i.e., hatchback), size, and features.

Consumer Reports' April issue judged the Prius the least expensive family car to own over 5 years, based on 12K miles a year and gas at $3/gallon. I don't remember right off which cars they compared it to.

Having said that, I tend to agree with 9G-man that some hybrids really aren't worth it.

 

Prius is an import so lets compare it to another similar size import.

BMW 328i is around the same size as a Prius, even if it is a little bigger the smaller BMW 128i is only a 2 door.

Starting at $32,400 MSRP
3.0-liter, inline 6-cylinder engine
230 horsepower
Rear-wheel drive
28 mpg hwy*

So a BMW would be $4000 to $10,000 more than a Prius hybrid.
Tell me again about the hybrid premium.

Chev Impala is a good domestic comparison, after all if you were shopping for a car in the $22,000 to $29,000 price bracket it fits right in there. A 4 door car that has room for 5 and a good size boot like a Prius.

Price for the Impala is $22,400 to $29,780. The LT 50th is the cheapest Impala with auto down drivers window so I'll pick on that with a MSRP* of $25,995.00 How does that compare to a Prius?
Tell me again about the hybrid premium.

Not fair picking on GM all the time is it so how about Chrysler?
CHRYSLER SEBRING SEDAN Limited Package N
sells for $26,205 plus extras, a nice 4 door 5 seat car like the Prius and right in the middle of Prius price range.
Tell me again about the hybrid premium.

 

I think that too many of us are assuming that they are talking about our Prii when they say hybrids in the article.

They were talking to a Chevy dealer and the President of the Dealers Association but don't identify the make of vehicles he sells.

If you went to any dealership other than Toyota or Honda without doing your homework, you would probably come to the same conclusion as the reporter. A Malibu or Tahoe hybrid does have a $2-8K premium and does not provide the increased mpg to provide a payoff of that premium in less than 7 years.

 

i completely fail to see the point of the article. so it takes 7 years to get your money back buying gas over the price of the Prius....

average time spent owning a car?? well i guess if it was significantly less than 7 years we may have a problem...who knows?

one thing i DO KNOW... anyone who thinks gas will only be $4.50 a gallon 7 years from now, has a major wakeup call coming to them

**unable to find any data on average length of ownership for new car purchases, but i do remember reading something about that a few years back... pretty sure it was in the 11 to 13 year range or so...

 

Fox is not my 1st choice for news, or is it 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. I just tried to read the article, and my computer stalled for damn near a minute, while it was busy rejecting all the crap it was trying to put on my machine. I bailed.

As for pay back, If the base price for a particular vehicle is 30K and a Hybrid is 45K, one needs to see what package the Hybrid is offered in. If the only way to get a Hybrid, is to have it with 10K worth of options you don't want or need, then it's a 15K adder. If you were going to get the options anyway, then it's only a 5K adder.

Some manufactures are using "Hybrid" as carrot to get you to buy other more profitable add on's.

Simply asking what the base price is for ea. is very misleading. Try finding a Plain Jane Hybrid GM Truck, I don't think you can.

 

Does Fox include the resale value of the vehicles upon which it based it's conclusions? No elaboration needed.

 

Isn't it funny though? . . . CNW, Fox, etc, whomever ... blathering on about, "it aint worth it" or "the pay off takes too long".

Ask 'em, "how long for the pay off on that Hummer, or that Vett, or the Suburban, or the Harley, or the T roadster ?? " Watch 'em say, "uhhh . . ."

 

Sooo...I'd be better off driving a massive Ford Excretion? ound:

 

A few good charts to keep around in case your FAUX News friends and neighbors keep bothering you...

 

We have a couple of 2008 Jeep Hybrids at work I drive once in a while. Only thing that tells you its a Hybrid is this stupid little round speedometer looking meter for fuel efficiency. That and some weird drive train feel. I drove one for quite a while. P & G it and it never got more than 26 mpg's on this meter.
Its a $ 24,999 car too. Real stiff ride. And your high up which alot of people like. It has some good acceleration when you stomp it but its a 3.7 so poor comparison to our car but not a whole lot more powerful than our car either. But with its truck like feel could probably haul alot more weight than our cars. All done and said I would think its weight hauling capability is its best feature and maybe more room in the back.After driving that car all day and then getting in my 07 the Prius feels like a luxury car in that its so much more refined. Super quiet smooth ride. Decent handling and comfort. Thanks...give me my Prius please.

 

They must have left out some information. If you owned a SUV and traded down to a hybrid and the dealer gave you less than what you bought your new hybrid for then you are negative x amount of dollars.

40,000 SUV traded it an 5000 less, means you have to make up $5000 in gas which can take you a couple of years depending on how much you drive. It sometimes also does not make sense if you did not need a new car. My E46 was dying so whatever I am saving in gas is going into the price difference of monthly payments.