Do hybrid cars/SUVs really work and save gas.?

Question

Looking to buy one and save, but curious if you have one and if they are realiable

Answer 1

I don't currently have one - but odds are, my next car will have some hybrid or alternative fuel capabilities.

Yes, they really do work & save gas... (although they currently don't make any "full sized" vehicles with hybrid tech - there are some mini-SUV's and that's about as big as it gets)

Answer 2

Here is an interesting cut and paste.







March 7, 2007





Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage

By Chris Demorro

Staff Writer

The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate 'green car' is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.

Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.

The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?

You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the Prius's EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.

However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn't be writing this article. It gets much worse.

Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the 'dead zone' around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.

The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius' battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist's nightmare.

"The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside," said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.

All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn't end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce 'nickel foam.' From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?

Wait, I haven't even got to the best part yet.

When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius's arch nemesis.

Through a study by CNW Marketing called "Dust to Dust," the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.

The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.

So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.

One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.

Answer 3

Driving a hybrid is like any other car except for one thing. When the car is stopped for more than a few seconds, the gasoline engine is shut down automatically. This can be a little eerie at first, as you find yourself sitting in silence. But step on the accelerator and the electric motor gets the car underway until the gas engine cuts in. There is no starter in the conventional sense since one isn't needed.

If you replace the batteries after the warranty expires, it will most likely cost several thousand dollars. Toyota claims prices will drop as hybrids become more popular; battery packs currently run around $4900. However the pack contains 38 modules that can be replaced individually for $138.00 each. Honda's Insight and Civic hybrids have an 8-yr./80,000-mi. warranty on most of the power-train, including batteries, and a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on the rest of the car. The Prius has an 8-yr./100,000-mi. warranty on the battery and hybrid systems, plus a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on everything else. The electric motors and batteries don't require maintenance over the life of the vehicle.

The biggest disadvantage is you will never be able to work on it yourself, you will be married to the dealer and at this stage of the game most dealers have very little knowledge concerning hybrid vehicles.

Also some states have reported deaths to some technicians that were working on hybrid vehicles.

Answer 4

Don't waste your money.  You say you want to save, but you won't save anything.  Take the lower car payment and ues the extra cash to do something in your area to help the evnvironment.

Answer 5

yes but it is still expensive. in 10 years, everyone will buy it but until then, stick with your car or get a cheap ones. if you really wanna get one, try getting a job at google. they give you $10, 000 - $20, 000 if you're gettting a hybrid.

Answer 6

Skippy say they will get a little better gas mileage, however the cost of maintaining them and the extra cost they are to purchase, wont be saving you any money. Hybrids actually cost more per mile to run over the lifetime than a regular gas car.

Skippy also want to add that the pollution caused by the nickel mining used to produce the batteries  causes more polution than gas cars themselves. So hybrid cars arent really helping the enviroment or saving you money.

Answer 7

The big issue, IMO, with hybrids is that they have the functions of the gasoline and electric engines reversed.  In order to make the cars behave like regular gasoline cars, they use the gas engine to get up to cruising speed, then let the electric motor hold it there.  

Acceleration is when the gasoline engine is the least efficient, produces the greatest emissions and burns the most fuel.  If they really want to save fossil fuels, they would make the electric motor do most of the work, including acceleration, and just use the gasoline engine to recharge the batteries while cruising.

Answer 8

In stop and go traffic there is a significant improvement. Highway driving is pretty good, too. If all you are looking for is better gpm go for an economical conventional. The hybrids are several thousand more so your savings is negated. If you want to protect the environment go hybrid.

Answer 9

It depends on your driving habits.  Hybrid vehicles will give you significantly better mileage in stop-and-go city traffic, but on the highway the difference will be smaller.  

They are just as reliable as any other car. I would say that if you drive more than 10,000 miles a year, go ahead and get one.  If you drive less than that, it's probably not worth it, but you can calculate based on the cost of gas in your area and find out.

Answer 10

The answer is yes, and many of the earliest answers have incorrect information.  First to answer your question.

I've got a 2007 Toyota Prius and I average about 50 mpg, both in the city and on the highway.  In taking long trips on flat roads I've gotten about 52 mpg on the freeway, on a recent long trip on hilly terrain I got 47 mpg on the freeway.

The Honda Insight owner had complaints about his car - well Honda doesn't make the Insight anymore for those reasons.  He said the Prius doesn't handle well, but that's simply untrue.  Mine handles great and I haven't heard of a single Prius owner who is less than happy with his car.

As for finances, a hybrid will make up for the higher initial cost probably within 5 years, depending on how much you drive (and which hybrid you buy).  If you get a 5 year dealership loan, your higher monthly payments will be offset by gas savings, and after that you're saving money.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/08/22/bc.a...

Hybrid warranties are great - the hybrid system including battery is under warranty for 8-10 years.

The nickel mining thing mentioned by Skippy is a myth.  The nickel plant which people cite as a reason not to buy hybrids was polluting the surrounding environment before hybrids were even invented, and has since cleaned up its act.  It's all based on this one nickel plant.  Besides which, hybrids will soon be using lithium ion batteries anyway.

The whole Hummer vs. Prius thing was an absolutely terrible study done by a marketing company.  I guess that's what happens when marketers try to do a scientific study.  When you compare it to studies done by scientists, you find that most of their assumptions are completely wrong, and so their results are also completely wrong.  For example, they assume a Hummer H1 will last for 35 years!  Here's a study which analyzes all the errors in the Hummer vs. Prius study:

http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_...

In fact, a Swiss study recently found the Prius to be the greenest car on the planet:

http://www.reuters.com/article/environme...

There's absolutely no reason not to choose a hybrid over a regular car right now.  Go ahead and buy one - you won't regret it.

Answer 11

I have one (Honda Insight) with 100,000 miles.

The good news:

I saved a lot of gas with it. 52MPG average lifetime mileage with auto trans. Fun to drive after I added slightly wider tires.

The bad news

7 weeks in the Honda dealership for repairs. New transmission at 75,000 miles (it was covered by Honda). Car rides super rough and handles poorly with stock tires. Many hybrids use narrow high pressure tires to maximize their gas mileage. When I added new tires my mileage dropped by 8MPG. Original additonal cost of hybrid is seldom paid for by gas savings. Prius also has poor handling - look at the reviews.