DO HYBRID VEHICLES REALLY SAVE YOU MONEY?

I bought the first Hybrid Toyota in 2000 imported into California, a 2001 model I had waited, and waited for. My son loves it when I’m on the road and he gets to save money on gas by driving my Prius.

When I first bought it, I let everyone drive it, even strangers on the street who would stop and ask me about it. All were surprised by its power. For some reason most people assumed it would be slow to pick up speed and get up and go.

Others have asked me about savings vs. the heavier price tag and I couldn’t answer that, except to say, a hybrid puts less carbon in the air, and that benefit alone is worth it to me. Today, I borrow from GAS 2.0 blog to report these figures.

Industry analysts at Vincentric recently tested 25 popular, US-market hybrid models and compared them to equivalent ICE versions in an attempt to find out which hybrids (if any) deliver real savings over the life of the vehicle.

Surprisingly, 11 of the 25 hybrid models tested actually did save their owners money! Check out the top 10, below.

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1. Lincoln MKZ Hybrid (-$7,001)
2. Mercedes-Benz S Class Hybrid (-$4,242)
3. Lexus HS 250h (-$3,747)
4. Toyota Prius V (-$1,804)
5. Toyota Prius C (-$1,469)
6. Ford Fusion Hybrid (-$1,202)
7. Kia Optima Hybrid (-$779)
8. Porsche Cayenne Hybrid (-$672)
9. Honda Insight (-$656)
10. Hyundai Sonata Hybrid (-$319)

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Overall, Vincentric noted that the average cost to own and operate one of these hybrid vehicles was $1,223 more than their all-gasoline powered counterparts over 5 years. That figure was calculated assuming 15,000 miles of driving per year. Fuel prices used in this report were calculated using a weighted average over the previous five months. Vincentric’s own summary of their findings notes that “the range between the best and worst savings was significant, with the 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid saving buyers $7,001 while the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid cost buyers over $8,065 more to own (than comparably equipped conventional vehicles).”

So there you have it. And no one questions the power of hybrids after many years on the road of so many countries. Auto makers around the world have produced all-electric vehicles that manage over 100 miles in range per charge and hybrids that can get over 280 eMPG.

The electric vehicle is here to stay unless they come up with something better and cheaper.  And, car companies  are already working on it.