Are Hybrids overrated?

Question

There has been some speculation that the EPA gas mileage listed on some hybrid cars have been inflated. For example, in a review by consumer reports, the Totota Prius, has been stated to have mileage rating in the high 50's or low 60's. However, the report stated that there were no actual accounts of the hybrid getting over 48 miles per gallon, which isn't bad, but is night quite the 58 or 61 mpg that is suppose to be able to get. Hybrids also carry a hefty pay tag, which often cancels fuel savings. Are hybrids overrated?

Answer 1

The old EPA fuel economy figures were inflated for ALL cars.  Not just hybrids.

That's because the EPA used to determine the gas mileage by putting the cars on a dynamometer to see how many dyno miles can it rack up on a gallon of gas, rather than using real-world driving conditions.

If you look at the revamped EPA ratings after 2006, they are much more in-line with real-world mileage figures.  The Prius is now rated by the EPA as getting 46mpg.

Overrated?  I think my Prius is actually underrated.  The  fuel economy is nice, but I bought one primarily because it's lower-maintenance than normal cars.  Its use of regenerative braking means the Prius does not need a brake job until 100,000 miles (try that in a regular car and see what happens).  It does not have a starter, alternator or timing belt to wear out.  And its transmission has just 22 moving parts, no gear-shifting wear-and-tear, no clutch, no hot-running fluid-coupling torque converter.  And no, the Prius does NOT use a belt-driven CVT transmission.  It uses a single-gearset Power Split Device transmission.

The current Prius is a midsized car, NOT a compact.  It has the same amount of interior space as a Camry.  I can't think of any other midsized gasoline-powered cars that gets this kind of fuel mileage and have such low maintenance requirements.

My Prius is more than just skin-deep gas savings.

Answer 2

Note that the EPA fuel economy testing procedure changed for the 2008 model year. ALL cars are measured in a laboratory under a specified driving pattern by the EPA. The new 2008 testing procedures adds in extra testing for higher speeds/acceleration, colder temperatures, and AC use, which the older tests did not. ALL cars, not just the Prius, had their MPG go down in 2008.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/f*g/ratings20...

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/f*g/fe_test_s...

By law, manufacturers have to advertise/post the governmental EPA ratings on the window sticker. Since the tests changed, the mpg ratings went down (for ALL cars! not just hybrids), and the older model cars have had their EPA results modified to bring them in line/comparable to the new tests at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ .

Meanwhile, I've never seen anyone do a cost-benefit analysis for a v4 vs v6 vs diesel engine, or for an upgraded sound system or leather seats or a wheel upgrade, so why do one for a hybrid drivetrain?

Most cost analysis articles neglect trade-in value which the Prius does very well in maintaining. (in some areas, used Prius are still selling for new prices for availability and rising gasoline prices!).

Don't forget to include federal and any state tax incentives in your calculation (Consumer Reports forgot, and had to issue a retraction that hybrids are cheaper to own/operate than their gasoline cousins). Edmunds.com still doesn't take into account the true depreciation value (as seen by manually looking for a Prius trade-in value) when calculating their TCO, but they still say that hybrids will pay for themselves even when using their lower than actual trade-in amounts: http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/08/22/bc.a...

Hybrids do cost less in the long term than their conventional counterparts. (Intellichoice used a 5 year ownership comparison in 2006) See: http://www.intellichoice.com/press/Hybri... and http://www.intellichoice.com/carBuying10...

While Consumer Reports in 2006 only found the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid would pay off within the same 5 year frame. The Honda Accord Hybrid, the Ford Escape Hybrid, the Lexus RX400h, and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid were also studied.

(I'll note that there was a mathematical error in the initial publication of Consumer Reports' hybrid vehicle cost analysis, which a retraction was published later... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11637968/ )

Since this publication, many more hybrid models have become available, so I can't use this to say about hybrids "in general."

As for actual fuel economy on the Toyota Prius, on my 2001 (the older compact model, at the time rated 52mpg city, 45mpg highway, 48mpg combined, under the new 2008 EPA fuel economy testing schedule it is rated 42mpg city, 41mpg highway, 41mpg combined), over the last 50,000 miles I've averaged 45.1mpg, with several tanks registering over 60mpg (better than EPA).  On my 2004 Prius (the newer midsized model, at the time rated 60mpg city/51mpg highway/55mpg combined, under the new 2008 EPA fuel economy testing schedule it is rated 48mpg city, 45mpg highway, 46mpg combined), up to the time I sold it (for lack of use - I now walk everywhere or take public transit) at 33,200 miles, I was averaging 49.1mpg on it, also with several tanks over 60mpg (better than EPA).

See: http://www.kluge.net/~felicity/prius.php for my Prius' fuel information.

And I'm not alone.  On average, most drivers average in the high 40s for MPG, with some far surpassing the EPA ratings (over 60mpg).  See what other owners report here:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?ac... and http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/milea... and http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/milea...

With some simple maintenance (proper oil fill levels and inflated tires), removal of extra weight from the car (don't carry stuff you don't need), and some precise driving you can get 100mpg on an unmodified Prius:  http://www.hybridcars.com/gas-saving-tip...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthrea...

Hybrids do cost less in the long term than their conventional counterparts. (Intellichoice used a 5 year ownership comparison in 2006) See http://www.intellichoice.com/press/Hybri... and http://www.intellichoice.com/carBuying10...

While Consumer Reports in 2006 only found the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid would pay off within the same 5 year frame. The Honda Accord Hybrid, the Ford Escape Hybrid, the Lexus RX400h, and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid were also studied. (I'll note that there was a mathematical error in the initial publication of Consumer Reports' hybrid vehicle cost analysis, which a retraction was published later... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11637968/ ) Since this publication, many more hybrid models have become available, so I can't use this to say about hybrids "in general." However, in the US, the Toyota hybrids have sold so many that they no longer qualify for the US Federal hybrid vehicle income tax credit, but Honda and others still have theirs.

Check out the April issue of Consumer Reports if you want reliability information. The Toyota Prius make their best bets for new cars and for used cars.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/...

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/...

The Prius is also in edmunds' used cars best bets list as well, and their lowest true cost to own list (2007 and 2008).

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/bestbet/a...

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/tco/2007/...

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/tco/2008/...

Answer 3

No, they aren't overrated.  People just drive like idiots, and hybrids respond even more strongly than most cars to how people drive with regard to fuel economy.  

Also, highway driving, which many people primarily do, does not take advantage of many, if any, of a hybrid's fuel-saving features.  

A hybrid is not the right car for everyone, and will not get the best fuel economy in all cases (small turbodiesels ...and large turbodiesels, actually, can get better highway fuel economy AND have a similar low-end torque advantage to the electric motor).  They are overhyped, with idiots going around talking like they're the answer to all energy woes, but they are not overrated.

And there are plenty of people who DO get at least the original EPA fuel economy, because they drive in an economical manner.  There are some...hobbyists?  wackos?...who get far more than that by taking some pretty extreme measures.