What are the negatives of a Hybrid car? Do we really get the milage claimed by the car manufacturers?

Answer 1

Contrary to the answers above, there are few if any negatives to owning a hybrid.

To answer your first question, hybrids get less mileage efficiency than the former EPA estimates, just like every car. However, the EPA has revised its estimating system, and here are the new results:

"The Toyota Prius, the nation's best-selling hybrid model and the most fuel-efficient, is estimated to see its mileage rating drop 20 percent to 48 mpg in the city from the old estimate of 60 mpg. Its estimated highway mileage should fall almost 12 percent to 45 mpg from the current 51 mpg. The combined mileage estimate will fall about 16 percent to 46 mpg.

The Prius will remain the best-mileage car in the country even with the new formula. The big drop is not a surprise; Toyota has been saying publicly for years that it believed the EPA estimates were too high for hybrids.

Toyota officials said Friday they're not concerned about the drop in the Prius's estimated mileage because almost all other vehicles' are dropping as well.

In fact, the Prius will appear to save more fuel, compared to the average vehicle, than it does now.

Using current mileage figures, the Prius uses 326 gallons less fuel over 15,000 miles than the average car, which is now estimated to get 25 mpg. Using the new figures, the Prius uses 346 gallons less than the average car, which is estimated to get 22 miles per gallon.

"The [EPA mileage] label shows the estimated fuel cost," he said.. "Buyers who are comparison shopping can clearly see that the Prius is now a better deal because it'll save more fuel."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/02/23/mileage/index.html

In reality my Prius averages about 50 mpg.

The main negative about a hybrid is of course the higher initial cost. However, contrary to comments above, a hybrid will make up that initial cost in gas savings over approximately 5 years, depending on how much you drive and what car you're comparing it to. See this article for further details:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/08/22/bc.autos.hybrids.reut/index.html

If you have a 5 year loan to pay for the car, your gas savings will therefore make up for your higher monthly payment. Then once the car is paid for after 5 years, you're saving tons of money on gas.

Repairs are no more expensive - the hybrid system is under warranty for 8-10 years, including the battery. The electric engine has fewer moving parts than an internal combustion engine, so it's far less likely to have a problem. Hybrids also use regenerative braking systems, which saves wear on brake pads.

Hybrids are great - there's no real reason for most people not to buy one when shopping for a new car.

Answer 2

I just bought a Nissan Versa. When I started car shopping, I had the Civic Hybrid as #1 on my list, and the Prius was #2.

Like Rohak said, I found that the Hybrids were so much more expensive that they weren't worth it. The money that I saved by NOT buying the Hybrid will buy almost 125,000 miles worth of gasoline at $3/gallon! And that doesn't even count the cost of the battery replacement for the Hybrid (although the batteries are designed to last a loooong time).

The real reason to buy a Hybrid is to feel better about using less gasoline. But you won't feel it in the wallet.

Answer 3

Real world MPG is slightly lower than what the EPA ratings are for any car, including hybrids. The negatives would be that you would be unable to modify the mechanicals of the car greatly, the savings in dollars will not be that great when compared to an efficient gas powered used car, and repairs to the hybrid technology could be expensive once your warantee is over on the vehicle.

Answer 4

The most obvious negative is the extra cost. It will take a long time to recover that money in fuel savings for most people.

Also, the technology is still pretty new, so it's long term reliability has not been established. And if the batteries need to be replaced you're looking at a few thousand dollars most likely. And that's on top of all the usual car repairs.

Answer 5

Negatives:

average cost is so much higher than 'conventional' vehicles you never see any monetary gain from increased mpg.

Fuel mileage gains are nominal when compared to high mpg vehicles like VW diesel, Honda Civic, etc.

Costs to maintain and repair highly complex electronic, battery, drive systems are looney-tunes high.

Cost to replace battery pack and / or fuel cell is looney-tunes high x 2.

Take a look at people who drive hybrids -- 99% of them are dorks.

Take a look at 99% of all hybrids on the road -- they LOOK like something a dork would drive.

Resale value is rock bottom. No one wants a used hybrid when there are thousands of them cluttering dealer lots across the country.

Answer 6

The only negative I can see is the initial cost and limited variety, both problems that will lessen as the years go by.

If you want to know the actual mileage for any car, visit http://www.fueleconomy.gov