Hot for a hybrid? 9 things to consider |
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But Consumer Reports found that in its regular driving
cycle it could do no better than 25 mpg on average in its Accord
Hybrid, just 2 mpg better than a test of a gasoline-only V6 Accord.
A road
test that Bankrate did on an Accord Hybrid six months ago resulted
in an average of about 28 mpg, a result of a large percentage of
highway miles in the test.
Similar published tests of other hybrids show that
while they get better fuel mileage than their gasoline counterparts,
it's rarely going to be as high as the government sticker on the
window says.
What about the environment?
Putting aside for a moment the size of any fuel
savings, another appeal of hybrids is the promise that they are
doing less damage to the environment than similar, gasoline-only
vehicles.
Is that true?
Yes, but with a few caveats.
The EPA, concentrating on global
warming, provides ratings for vehicles based on the amount of greenhouse
gases produced in a year, expressed in tons. The more fuel a vehicle
burns, the more greenhouse gases it emits. So hybrids, by their
very nature, will emit fewer harmful gases.
Consider the Ford Escape Hybrid.
The EPA estimates that it will produce 5.8 tons of greenhouse gases
over a year when driven 15,000 miles. That compares to 8.2 tons
for a similar gasoline-only Escape.
But that EPA estimate is based
on the assumption that a driver will get an average of 33 mpg from
the Escape Hybrid and an average of 23 mpg from the gasoline-only
Escape. The amount of harmful emissions depends on your mileage,
so it's possible that an individual's driving style could mean fewer
greenhouse gas emissions in a gasoline-only Escape than that emitted
from an Escape Hybrid whose driver always has the pedal to the metal.
And there's another -- as-yet-unexplored
-- environmental issue with hybrids: What's to be done about recycling
or disposal of those highly toxic battery packs when they wear out?
What about maintenance and durability?
As with any new technology, there are going to be questions about
reliability, and so far there isn't enough real-world experience
to know for sure how hybrids are going to fare over the long haul.
Generally, the battery packs in hybrids are warranted
for eight years or between 80,000 and 100,000 miles depending on
the manufacturer. Beyond the warranty period, the manufacturers
say they are confident the batteries will last much longer -- perhaps
for the useful life of the car.
If you had to replace a battery pack today, and it
was not covered by warranty, it would cost $2,000 to $4,000, but
so far, no manufacturer has reported selling a replacement battery
pack for its hybrid models.
Prices are expected to keep dropping, but how much
they'll cost when they begin to wear out and are not covered by
warranties is anyone's guess.
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