With the price of gas continuing to rise, consumers are looking for alternatives to the standard gas guzzling vehicle. Enter the hybrid electric car. It is increasing in popularity because it uses two sources of power for the engine - gas or diesel and a rechargeable battery. This combination reduces fuel consumption when the electric motor is the main power source, especially in city traffic, and provides the convenience of switching over to gas on longer trips when the battery may need recharging.
When compared with conventional vehicles, there are many advantages to driving a hybrid vehicle. The most obvious is that hybrid electric vehicles reduce fuel consumption, especially when used mainly for city driving . This in turn reduces greenhouse gas and tailpipe emissions. So at first glance it looks like hybrids are good for the pocket book and good for the environment, but when you take a closer look there are some nagging questions that need to be answered. Are your gas savings really going to cover the extra costs that are involved in owning a hybrid vehicle?
Depending on where you live, the ticket price of the car can be as much as $6000 more than the non-hybrid version. This can be offset by rebates that are offered in some provinces and states, but some of the rebates are no longer offered because companies involved have already reached the maximum on the cap set for vehicles sold. As far as insurance is concerned, it depends on the type of vehicle purchased and the location in the country. When comparing the cost of insuring hybrid vehicles with non-hybrid vehicles, none of the hybrid vehicles were consistently higher or lower. In the US, insurance rates are on average 10% less for hybrids than for conventional vehicles.
Hybrid vehicles are rumoured to have higher maintenance costs but, here again, when you take a closer look, the costs are quite comparable to non-hybrid cars. And some hybrid manufacturers offer an extended warranty to for hybrids. For example, Toyota’s warranty if for 8 years (or 160,000 km) on the Prius and Highlander hybrid vehicles.
The bottom line is that hybrid electric cars will always save you money on fuel and will definitely benefit the environment. However, whether it will be cost effective to make up the difference in the initial cost depends on several factors: which hybrid vehicle you drive, where you live, how much insurance costs and how fast you drive.
