A Flawed Hybrid Car Concept

Sometimes to the exclusion of all else, budget is very important to everyone. That has been one reason why people get into the hybrid car bandwagon, simply because the hybrid car concept boast of big savings, and boast it loud.

The truth is, of all the hybrid car designs, be it sedan or coupe or SUV, remarkable fuel savings is still a far thing to achieve. At most, the differences between the two are within spitting distance against each other. That means, it’ll take longer than the promised 5 years to recoup the additional expenses for purchasing a hybrid.

Let me show you some interesting details regarding the hybrid car concept.

By now, the Toyota Prius is in everyone’s lips. Not really surprising, since the car itself is a neat combination of suave and quality. But does the price tag worth what you will save in fuel by the next, say, five – or even 10 years? Think again. Here’s the test sheet I dug up on Popular Mechanics, issue February 2005.

EPA Fuel Economy Ratings of the Toyota Prius and the Volkswagen Jetta GL TDI

Toyota Prius: 51 mpg on highway, 60 on city
Volkswagen Jetta GL TDI: 46 mpg on the highway, 38 mpg on the city

Actual Test Results made by Popular Mechanics

Toyota Prius: 56.2 mpg on the highway, 32.9 mpg on the city
Volkswagen Jetta GL TDI : 53 mpg on the highway, 31.6 mpg on the city

It seems that EPA has blundered big with regards to fuel economy ratings. Or if they are well meant, the techniques they employ are hopelessly out of date. If anything, people do keep good track of the mileage they get. And when they realize that the sticker didn’t represent the actual fuel consumption of the hybrid, they begin blaming it on the hybrid car concept.

Another thing is the near negligible difference of the fuel economy ratings of both parties. It seems that the folks at EPA and Toyota and Honda bandy with the words fuel economy while their actual cars don’t save as much fuel as the next car. The 0.3mpg difference in mileage doesn’t add up to real, tangible savings, most especially if the Volkswagen Jetta is $5k cheaper than the Prius.

It is really sad when stats don’t show up how they are supposed to. Even more when people abandon their SUV plans to acquire a more budget friendly hybrid car concept, only to learn about the sticker shock. I myself found it hard to realize that after all the promises of saving big, the real savings truth is not much better than the conventional cars we have.
So now, what should be the hybrid car concept?