25 Car With Mpg Good As Hybrids

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Yeah , I don't think I've gotten much under 37 MPG (if under 37 at all) on an all city tank in at least a couple of years.

It nice and hot in Houston and I bet thats why.

[roxy1]

while a hybrid has the big advantage in the city, keep in mind that if true city driving is most of your commute, the number of miles is much less than for others.

I used to drive exclusively in Chicago traffic at 50 miles per week. while the hybrid mileage would be great, at 25 mpg's, I would only use about $8 per week for gas. at 50 mpg in a hybrid I would need 1 gallon, so $4.

so, the hybrid city advantage sounds great, but is it? in my scenario I would save $4 per week, $208 per year.

it would take 10 years to save roughly $2000.


now, I have a mostly rural and light suburban commute, similar to my brother, who drives a prius. he averages 46 mpg, I average 42+. that saves him $128 per year if we both drive 15,000 miles per year.

[SKurj]

My commute is 50 miles each way at 60-80mph.. No point in my buying a hybrid, even if there wasn't a premium price attached to them. Now a diesel.. maybe but of course the only real diesel option yet is the VW's and no thanks! Even the premium price for the diesel and then the more costly service.. and then the fluctuating price of diesel.. make it hard to justify.

Now when I can buy a hybrid or even plug in, that can do 150-200 miles on a charge at highway speeds .. maybe then.. so long as the price doesn't out weigh the fuel savings.

and wtf is with all the 80mph prius's ... treehugger by night.. lumberjack by day?

[NYC-SE]

Originally Posted by SKurj

Now a diesel.. maybe but of course the only real diesel option yet is the VW's and no thanks!

I came from a VW TDI. Finally gave up after 4 years of problems. Yes they get better MPG but factor in the added cost, higher diesel prices and expensive maintenance and it's just not worth it, and that's if everything is working right. Now throw in break downs, shop time, vehicle unavailability and it's REALLY not worth it.

I bought a 2014 Yaris SE and life is good now.

[jack black]

Originally Posted by roxy1

now, I have a mostly rural and light suburban commute, similar to my brother, who drives a prius. he averages 46 mpg, I average 42+. that saves him $128 per year if we both drive 15,000 miles per year.

Now, you do realize that comparing prius to yaris with MT is like apples to oranges, right? Prius is midsize while Yaris is compact. Prius has eCVT.

You should either compare Prius to Matrix with AT or Prius C to Yaris AT.

In my case, the hybrid premium over Matrix melted in 50,000 miles of city driving (yes, I drive a lot in city).

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

It nice and hot in Houston and I bet thats why.

Yeah, the heat shortens the life of batteries, but the absence of the cold you guys get (as well as other northern parts of the U.S. and just about all of Canada) means we don't really get winter MPG dip solely attributable to temperature. The NAPA Legend battery (same one CTScott uses) that I got at 274,086 miles = a few cents of difference when compared to the previous 2 batteries combined.....$130.99 net (120.99 net + 10.00 installation at a local place) vs $131.52 ----- ($70.09 including install for a 1yr guarantee Sears that I milked to exactly 3 yrs and 86,891 miles (after getting 138,055 and just under 3yrs re the OEM battery).....then $61.43 including installation for a 1yr guarantee Wal-Mart battery that lasted 16 months and 49,860 miles).....but the NAPA Legend is light years better.....SO worth the extra cost.