> Victor
> My optimist side sayz- "the future will be cool!"
> My realist side says- "Gee, I hope your right, smiley!"
Consumer Reports recently did a test <http://tinyurl.com/z7l56> on 6 hybrids
(Prius, Civic, Accord, Lexus RX400h Toyota Highlander and Ford Escape) and
from their test data (which I feel is as objective as you're likely to find)
extrapolated that only the Prius and Civic are actually gonna save money
over a 5 year/75K mile period. The others could actually cost as much as an
additional $7K over the 5 years. And that's only if you can takle full
advantage of the limited federal tax credits.
Beyond the 5 years you're probably looking at substantially more if/when you
need to replace the battery pack and repair or replace other hybrid specific
systems. Our '95 Odyssey van with 190K is beginning to reach the point of
diminishing returns, but we hope to nurse it through next Spring or longer.
Last June we bought a 4 cyl/auto Accord as our primary commuter and use the
van only when necessary.
Point is, we tend to keep our vehicles much longer than 5 years and tend to
drive more than 15K/year, so I doubt a hybrid would be a good deal for us,
at least with the current technologies.
YMMV,
Ron
|