What are the advantages and disadvantages of owning a hybrid car?

Question

Pros and Cons when owning a hybrid car. Is it worth buying one?

Answer 1

Assuming you can afford the added expense of buying one, your gas expense will be less and you may help the environment (until you have to dispose of the ton of lead acid batteries!)

Make sure you get a good warranty and trade it off before it needs new batteries. (It can cost $5,000 to replace them!)

The flex fuel alternative may be less expensive. Lots of new cars can burn it--and regular unleaded gas. Burn E85 if it is available in your area. I live in the middle of corn central--we have lots of it!

Answer 2

advantages would be the obivous helping of the emissions. hybrids are good for the environment release less carbon emmisions into the atmosphere. you also have a gas-sipping car for your commute and will save money at the pump. if you live in california, there is a tax rebate as well as a free pass to use the carpool lane even if you are alone.

disadvantages are that these cars in in high demand, so there is probably a high markup when you go an purchase the car. plus they aren't cheap by itself, you could find a small fuel effiecient car for less money. another disadvantage would be the repair costs if your hybrid ever breaks outside of warranty. the hybrid system is very complex so parts and labor will be more expensive than standard cars.

Answer 3

Well, at least the thing seems to exist, which is unusual for electric cars. It goes as far as 80km and as fast as 80 km/hr, but an electric car cannot do both. Precisely how far you have to go to accomplish that 80 km range isn't specified. I rather doubt that the battery can be removed readily or carried easily, so your apartment-complex question is actually a very good one. You'd probably have to make a special arrangement with the building management to run an extension cord and somehow pay for the power you use. But it's been on the market since 2001, which speaks to its reliability, and perhaps it's something of a solution in certain cases. But since your country allows its use, it probably also allows the use of other 'quadricycles,' and there are some two-cylinder diesel micro-cars available there which can probably be operated with something approaching the same economy.

Answer 4

The Cons, first.
1) More expensive than the conventional one. However, as companies get PROFICIENT in buiding them, they will be able to build more, lowering the price...in real dollars.
2) Batteries take up a little trunk space but how much load do you carry.

Now here are the Pros.
1) Fuel economy is obvious. Depending on you driving style, the trips to fill up your tank would be less frequent.
2) Thanks to an electric motor, maintaining the car would be easier and chear. Warranty would be longer. A taxi driver in Vancouver drove his Prius for two years with 200,000 miles. It is still going strong. Cumulative costs would be lower.
3) I used to believe that a hybrid has to be small with a lack of performance but not anymore thanks to the Lexus GS 450h.
4) When a car brakes, the battery regains energy making it last longer.
5) The car can run on battery power ALONE, depending on the model.

For me the benefits outweight the costs and YES it is worth it.

Answer 5

It is far better for the environement, provided the batteries are at the end of their lifes disposed of correctly.
Some countries give therefore tax reductions for those who drive hybrid cars.
So far the Pros.
Cons are the smaller choice of different cars and the higher price. The latter will be more than compensated if you live in a country with tax reductions and if you keep the car for a couple of years.
Another Con: not all mechanics are ready to deal with this technology.
In the beginning there were problems with lacking hp, which most manufacturers of hybrid cars have now overcome.

Answer 6

let's start with the disadvantages, higher initial cost (usually about $2000-4000),

now for the pros, higher fuel economy, quite operation, better fuel economy on highway and in city, less maintenance due to less use of internal-combustion engine (electric drivetrain requires NO MAINTENANCE), federal tax credit, possible local incentives, standard 8-15 year warranty on the battery and hybrid components, smoother ride since the gas engine never has to work at full power demand, lower emissions, greater low-end torque because of electric motors, and helping advance technology which will lessen America's dependence on foreign oil.

the batteries are not lead-acid, they are highly recycleable, non-toxic Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries for which manufacturers already have plans to recycle. By the time current hybrid's warranties expire, battery replacement should cost no more than $1000, less than a new transmission. If you drive equal to or greater than average distance, a hybrid makes financial and ecological sense. If you drive less than average, you might not reap the economical benefits and should consider a small, fuel efficient diesel or flex-fuel vehicle (but only if you know you can get E85, or biodiesel in your area)

Answer 7

The advantages are, of course, fuel economy.

The disadvantages are the relatively high maintenance costs, difficulty in finding mechanics that will work on them, and most hybrids have significant issues producing horsepower.

Some studies have concluded that, when you consider the entire lifespan of a hybrid, from the foundary to your driveway to the maintenance it receives over it's lifespan, they end up costing more and polluting more even when you consider the increased fuel economy.

Answer 8

hybrid mechanics will fail in a few years (like10?) go for a toyota hybrid they last forever even non-hybrids!

Answer 9

Battery replacement can run over $6000. U.S.