Amount wasted on gas vs going hybrid or EV?

[diverscale]

Give me a Prius and I'll get it there..... It may not come back factory fresh, but I'll make it happen....

my god, I had ''EV's'' in my head from the first post, just found it funny to copy/paste jeremy556's sentence . Will edit my post to reflect this!

Still, would never have done this in a prius, had to sleep in the truck quite often and would have developed serious mental illness due to frustration and lack of space

and old 2013 article I remember reading: http://business.time.com/2013/01/14/why-the-car-of-the-future-will-be-powered-by-gasoline/

(the car of the future will be powered by ........................ gasoline)

 

[BlackWorksInc]

The wife wanted one (long commute, 80 miles a day at the time) and after learning how it works and the gas savings it kind of grew on me. The best MPGs are Spring and Fall and I can get 55-58 MPG.

But....I like my 4Runner a whole lot more despite the lower MPG.

See that I can understand, my friend runs a shop in Seattle but teaches CTI courses across the west coast so for him a 3rd Gen Prius just made sense since he's always on the road for long stretches of time and he just needs a vehicle to go back and forth.

 

[FrontRange4Runner]

what you pay for is a highly complicated piece of gadgetry that will and does fail later down the road and costs quite a bit to fix.

I'm not taking sides, and agree with a lot of what you said, however the above describes every modern vehicle. They are all complicated, will break at some point, and will cost a lot to fix when they do.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

True enough these days.

 

[Saker]

One example is a buddy of mine bought a hybrid vehicle which gets 600 miles to a gallon......

:wtf:

Really?

op2:

 

[sooperedd]

always asked ?
find new friends


google up what it takes to make hybrid batteres and see how bad it is and what it does !!!!
and where do you think that energy comes from to charge these vehicles
and how much is used in the mining and production and all the chemicals used etc...
sure no recycle centers exist for the batteries today but OH they will have them up ! YEAH cause it is something like 5x the money to recycle the material back out sure they will and then what will that do to cost !
again incentives to build these are insane huge it will only get worse

but sadly IDIOTS eat the crap they are fed and then say I love it


get a EV feel better about yourself just don't really look into the production side then tell the gas guy how bad he is hahahahahaha

They are using old Hybrid Camry batteries as part of a solar system to power some of their buildings in Yellowstone Park.

 

[sooperedd]

See that I can understand, my friend runs a shop in Seattle but teaches CTI courses across the west coast so for him a 3rd Gen Prius just made sense since he's always on the road for long stretches of time and he just needs a vehicle to go back and forth.

Another cool thing about the Prius is when you're sitting in a traffic jam the engine isn't running; when you move 10-20' at a time it's all battery power.

The miles she drives was the primary factor in getting a Prius.

 

[Land_Shark]

I always get asked why I chose a gas guzzler vs a hyrbid suv/sedan or even an EV whch is becoming huge (Volt, Tesla, Leaf) I drive enough to spend about $2k on gas alone every year which is $10k in 5 years.

What do you say when someone asks or how do you justify the cost of gas alone in 5 years?

My brother in-law asked me something similar to this one day. We got my wife a hatchback car and not an SUV b/c they are great on gas and can hold plenty of gear. Also, she doesn't really care about cars that much, but she likes the taller ride height of the SUVs.

When asked about why I drive an armored/lifted 4Runner here in the D.C. area, I simply reply, "because I do stuff". If they get it straight away, there's no further explanation, if not I go on and tell them because of it's reliability, capability off road, ability to haul people and gear, ability to get me places most SUVs cannot, etc, etc, etc. I like to explore off road, take snowboarding trips to VT, we have a canoe that goes on the roof and I pull a couple ATVs to our property in WV every now and then. Some people aren't into any of that at all and I understand, but it's a lifestyle choice and no hybrid or electric vehicle can do what the 4Runner can do (yet!). People look at me like I'm a dumb redneck here in D.C., and.....well, I guess I am sometimes!

 

[DesertDog]

My truck is my adventure rig with a specific purpose that can't really be matched by a more efficient economy car. My other car is a hybrid for commuting and general trips. No further explanation required.

 

[Toyfour14]

Another cool thing about the Prius is when you're sitting in a traffic jam the engine isn't running; when you move 10-20' at a time it's all battery power.

The miles she drives was the primary factor in getting a Prius.

One thing I don't get is the solar roof. It serves no purpose in my opinion. If your close enough it turns on the a/c to cool the interior. It's also a $1,500 option too.

 

[4runnerTRDPR0]

PHEV + 4runner

We have 2 vehicles to include our PHEV (Plugin hybrid Electric vehicle: the same as a volt): its a Ford Fusion energi... The cost of the vehicle is helped by tax credits you get at the end of the year when you file(I only got a thousand back though since I got three kids and my job doesn't pay out as much, you get the full tax credit when you have a higher tax bracket). I am averaging anywhere from 80-100 mpg combined because my work place is about only 6 miles away. I plug it in using the regular outlet every night. I get anywhere from 21 miles to 24 miles pure electric before it switches over to hybrid mode and even then I still get around 40 mpg on hybrid mode, I drive back home everyday for lunch and most days never use the hybrid ICE because its pure electric that covers me. It is also covered by a 10 year warranty for the electrical components to include the battery, I am very impressed with the PHEV and very happy with it so far, more people don't keep there cars for 10 years so i figure it was a good deal when i got it at 0% interest. If you need 2 cars like my family requires, it is a great balance .. 10 years down the road I will either switch out the worn out battery or upgrade to the newer technology (hopefully tax credits are still going but doubt it)

 

[Toyfour14]

Another cool thing about the Prius is when you're sitting in a traffic jam the engine isn't running; when you move 10-20' at a time it's all battery power.

The miles she drives was the primary factor in getting a Prius.

The 4Runner and Prius both have traction control, but the 4Runner can be thrown into 4wd and the Prius can't. How does the Prius handle in the snow with just traction control.

 

[Engineer]

I wonder if the same people who would ask bike or carpool to work? Do they turn the thermostat way down in the winter and up in the summer to save on electricy consumption. Do they live in the smallest possilbe house? buy only the miminum required to live and rarely throw things out.......Most "eco hippies" seem to have the priority backwards and target big SUV's as easy targets. But does a prius driver that commutes 100miles a day cause more or less harm to the enviorment then a 4runner driver who commutes 6? or the person who goes through 4 cars in 10 years vs the one who drive a single car, what about the impact of building those other cars........:ballchain:

 

[Dalko43]

Dude, if you are going to buy a Prius just ask if they will throw in a complimentary castration at the same time. LOL

I bought mine for the safety, reliability and power and yes I do not offroad, but many don't from what I've seen on here. Mpg's are the biggest downside over anything over time.

Let me know when there's a hybrid that can get me here

The thing that people won't know is that when the hybrid's die off slowly (which they are because gas is so low) the Prius will be worthless offsetting any and all gas savings.

I don't like the idea of driving a prius, but I can appreciate the advancement in technology that it represents. I think hybrid technology will inevitably make its way into mainstream car technology. The ICE can only be milked so much more in terms of fuel efficiency....the next logical step is including hybrid technology.

Many advanced supercars are doing this (McLaren P1, Porsche 918) and have had amazing results (electronic motors are essentially used to dial out the engine lag associated with turbo ICE's and provide amazing amounts of torque off the line).

I think once the technology has been refined and made affordable, it will find its way into vehicles like the 4runner, and make them that much more capable and fuel efficient.

To the OP, if you have a need to haul cargo, travel on less than stellar surfaces and want something durable enough to last more than 7 years of abusive driving, the 4runner makes sense. If you want fuel efficiency and nothing else, get a Prius. If you want the best compromise in terms of fuel efficiency and rugged/offroad worthiness, get a Subaru Outback. Honestly, you shouldn't worry about "justifying" your car-purchase to anyone but yourself...you should buy the car that you need/want, not the car that other people tell you to buy.

And as someone else already pointed out, the "gas-guzzler" SUV's of today are much more eco-friendly and fuel efficient than the typical SUV that was being made 10-15 years ago. The world (at least the developed part of it) is moving forward when it comes to eco-friendly habits/practices...there's no need for someone to criticize my choice to drive a 4runner within that context.

 

[1engineer]

I wonder if the same people who would ask bike or carpool to work? Do they turn the thermostat way down in the winter and up in the summer to save on electricy consumption. Do they live in the smallest possilbe house? buy only the miminum required to live and rarely throw things out.......Most "eco hippies" seem to have the priority backwards and target big SUV's as easy targets. But does a prius driver that commutes 100miles a day cause more or less harm to the enviorment then a 4runner driver who commutes 6? or the person who goes through 4 cars in 10 years vs the one who drive a single car, what about the impact of building those other cars........:ballchain:

Let me answer those questions for you... No.
Most people, even those who earnestly try to use less energy, have no clue nor would they even understand what it takes to truly be efficient. Even the ones who live off the grid don't drive hybrids lol.

 

[redkat]

I just like saving money and having the piece of mind of independence. I'm certainly no "eco hippie"

 

[cf_coder]

We're a two car family and the second car is a third gen Prius. I bought that car back when I had a 20 mile commute to work everyday and they still had the hybrid license plates available here in AZ. Those allow me to drive in the HOV lanes as a single during rush hour. It easily saved me 20-30 minutes each way in traffic avoidance. It's now the wife's car as she has a freeway commute and I don't. But I wouldn't have any problem driving it if circumstances changed.

Matter of fact, it's at around 145K miles right now and we're considering trading it in and getting another one, just so we can transfer the hybrid plate to that vehicle.

_coder

 

[Jetboy]

I don't think it will be long before we have hybrid 4runners and pickups. I'm not opposed to the idea. I think the variable displacement equivalent engines have a ways to go as well. The otto/atkinson cycle with a turbo like the NX200t is probably the future for non-hybrids. It's effectively a variable displacement engine. Add a small hybrid system to it and it would be a nice engine for a 4runner size SUV.

I'm interested to see when the first person strips a Tesla and builds a buggy out of it. It could be really effective if done right. Opens up a world of design options with no drive shafts, weight can be put anywhere you want, clearance can be as much as you want, you can use gear reduction hubs to get any gearing you'd like. Lots to like.

 

[cjacob316]

A lot of people don't realize that China pollutes enough for the whole world and what we do doesn't really matter. You need oil and gas to make roads, and cement manufacturing is a huge cause for pollution. So you either drive a more efficient vehicle that needs heavily maintained roads that add to the pollution problem, or you drive a slightly less efficient vehicle that doesn't need roads.

I would not be opposed to a hybrid option like the highlander has to meet Cafe standards, we've seen american companies do it in larger platforms. It's more realistic than diesel. Even if it became standard in all 2wd models, it would not effect this community.

 

[jkb505]

I've done a detailed cost analysis on this topic. I thought about a hybrid but after I modeled my driving habits, maintenance/repair costs and depreciation over a 5 year horizon, there wasn't a cost benefit to switching. The main driver is that 4runners and Tacomas hold their value more than most sedans, including hybrids.