Thanksgiving Hybrid Drive

Over Thanksgiving, I drove the Camry Hybrid to MN from Chicago and back. It was a really confortable drive and we averaged about 37.5 mpg. Compared to our Oldsmobile Aurora, this represents an advantage of 12.5 mpg. Our typical driving accounts for approximately 1,000 miles over a MN weekend saving a total of 13.3 gallons of gasoline. At $2.25/gallon, we saved $30 on this one trip. That certainly doesn't make a huge dent in the $400+ payement for the car, but it represents about a 7% advantage vs. driving a similarly priced vehicle for the same money. For instance, a similarly equipped Chrysler Sebring sedan costs about $1,000 less than the Camry.

Extrapolating an estimated $30/month savings if the vechicle were driven 1,000 miles/month at $2.25/gallon at optimum efficiency. So, that means that one can easily justify a $1,500 hybrid "premium" based on a monthly vehicle budget that includes fuel and vehicle payment. Tack on the Hybrid tax credit ($2,600 when I purchased), and it is a no-brainer. This also assumes a balance of city and highway driving.

The other element to consider is that I drove a Chevy Cobalt for several days after our Aurora was destroyed and I averaged 19.5 mpg in that small car because of the amount of city driving that I do regularly. I am now routinely averaging 37.5 mpg regardless of highway or city driving.

The factors that are often overlooked when considering a hybrid is that the hybrid "premium" is financed over several years so you need to capture your monthly outlay, not how many gallons of gas equate to the assumed "premium". Toyota leads the industry in resale, and due to the overwhelming demand for hybrids, their depreciation is lowest in the automotive industry. There is actually less wear and tear on the breaks and engine, resulting in a lower overall cost of maintenance....fewer air filters, brake jobs, fuel filters, etc. The added maintenance component is the electrical hybrid systems, which has proven reliable over the past 6 years in the Prius, and the only battery problems that have occured is from people that have modified their systems, and the manual systems employed by Honda.

Anywho, I like Hybrids!