> Mileage is obviously highly dependent on personal driving
> habits, but I think that's even more a factor for a
> Toyota-style hybrid.
A good friend of mine has owned several Priuses (or whatever the plural is).
He claimed to routinely get over 50 mpg on his commute to work (in LA
traffic but in the carpool lane), while his "leadfoot" wife only gets around
40. He once borrowed my wagon for a few days and I got to drive his 1st gen
Prius; my average was 48.2 (according to the onboard computer) just driving
somewhat conservatively (no hypermiling or anything like that) on my usual
mix of surface and freeway.
But maintenance costs have been high, particularly tires (which are a
special high load capacity, low rolling resistance construction that wears
out quickly); the high voltage battery has already failed once (although
after some fighting with Toyota, he got them to cover half of the $7k
replacement cost); and it was going to cost some $500 to replace the AC
condenser.
So when the carpool sticker expired last year, he traded the Prius on a
Leaf. He really likes it, but just last week he was talking about how he
couldn't get to work and back with the headlights, wipers and heater all
running.
The silly mileage claims for plug-in hybrids (and full electrics) depend
heavily on what equivalence you choose between kWh and gallons. They tend
to fall apart when you use your actual marginal cost for the electricity (I
only pay about $.16/kWh on average, but the last kWh each month costs more
like $.33) and factor in things like the cost of the charging station.
YMMV and all that.
-- Randall
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