I’m sure a lot of you get this at work. You’re the “car guy” so people expect you to have the answers when they start looking at new cars.
So my co-worker lives in the Falls and commutes here to Williamsville every day. 190, GI bridge, 290, 990, Audobon gets him within a block of our office. In addition to his commute he’s constantly running around in town because of his kids, wife, elderly mother etc. Right now he’s got a Chysler minivan with a lot of miles and it’s time to get something new. He asks me what I think about hybrids.
His reasoning is that he drives a lot and gas prices aren’t likely to ever go down. Now he’s a BIG guy, he doesn’t fit well in my GTO and sure isn’t going to fit in a Prius/Civic. He’s thinking about an Escape, but I’m not sure how well he’ll fit in that to be honest, but that’s what he’s thinking about. He plans to buy it, and basically own it until repairs start making him think it’s not worth it anymore. Aka, drive it into the ground.
My concerns.
The battery. Told him to find out how long the warranty was since he was going to keep the car a long time.
A lot of his driving is highway, where hybrids aren’t much better than conventional cars. The 2008 EPA guidelines are causing all cars to take a hit in MPG, around 5%, but hybrid’s ratings are taking something closer to 20%. It was as if they built the hybrid to ace the old EPA test loop while ignoring the real world.
The pluses.
His in town trips should get much better mileage.
A tax credit for the hybrid (told him to look into how much it is).
The more gas goes up, the more a small savings over a conventional car adds up.
How big of a guy are we talking 6’6 300 or 5’8 400, etc.
I really liked the feel of a 2005 Ford Escape I sat in, the interior was comfy.
I’m 5’10 220lbs so it def would change if he was a very large guy.
My step dad is like 6’4-6’5 ish (however hes skinny) and he doesn’t feel comfy in any car but our 06 Tahoe.
I guess it comes down to if he fits in it properly.
Def have him find out about the battery warranty as I’ve heard they are a bitch to replace $$$$. I can’t really think of any other hybrid suv’s, sounds like he def needs one though.
hybrids don’t get mileage on the hwy thats any better than anything else. get him a TDi. If he’s set on a hybrid, get him the Lexus RX300h (or 400h or whatever it is)
from what i remember off the top of my head…the tax credit really isnt even worth it anymore. it lessened over a couple of years. as for the hybrid issue. my vote is for tdi or some other ecno"ish" box (or suv). as long as you dont get into negative equity really quick, you could always just trade in or sell if you pick something that has a decent resale value (read: Honda, etc). i really dont think any hybrid is worth it though unless you love trees. TDi or bust.
Hybrids are stupid… the write off doesnt even pay for the premium cost of the hybrid, they are going to be hard to sell used (depending on how long is left on the warranty) because noone wants to pay for batteries.
Can EMT’s still not use the jaws of life on them for fear of being electrocuted?
Wait till 08 Model diesels come out… should be seeing them from a whole bunch of manufacturers.
