Hybrid Car Review

Edmunds, in their latest study, makes the obvious point that, if you're just looking to save money on a car, a small, cheap car is your best bet. Hybrids, since they are more expensive, aren't the 'best value.'

Does anyone really buy a hybrid because they believe they are going to be saving money? I think they buy them because 1) they are green and/or 2) they use less gasoline and 3) they get to buy a larger car than they expected and still do 1 and 2. No one buys a hybrid because it is going to save them money.

In the end, very few people buy a new car in order to save money.

If you really wanted the best value, you would buy a used, small, cheap car and drive it until it died. Then replace it with another small, cheap car that you can drive into the ground.

I can't really emphasize this enough. If you're buying a hybrid car, you're getting more for less. Now, since not all hybrids are built for fuel efficiency, I can't say you're necessarily getting more fuel efficiency, but I can say you're getting a car that's more efficient. It all depends on what the manufacturer wants to emphasize.

But, anyways, back to the Edmunds study. The best car to buy, if you are worried about the value, is the Chevy Aveo. Edmunds 'True Cost to Own' study "incorporates projected model-specific average vehicle ownership costs, consisting of depreciation, financing, taxes, fees, insurance premiums, fuel costs, maintenance and repairs."

If you factor in all these, the Chevy Aveo will cost you under 43 cents a mile to own. The Prius costs you 50 cents a mile to own, putting it 34th on the list. It was surpassed by the Honda Civic Hybrid, which costs just under 48 cents a mile. That puts the Civic Hybrid in 14th place on the Edmunds list.

Not surprisingly, all hybrids were not built equal, and so the cost to own a hybrid varies wildly. From the aforementioned Civic Hybrid right down to the Lexus RX 400h (which was built for luxury and performance, not primarily for fuel efficiency) which ranks 260. The Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUVs do very well, coming in at 94 and 102, respectively.

The really nice thing about this study is they even take into account the federal tax credit, where applicable.

Cost-Per-Mile: Least Expensive Vehicles to Own
Make		Model		Style		Cost-Per-Mile at $4.06 Per Gallon	Rank	Cost-Per-Mile at $5 Per Gallon	Rank	Cost-Per-Mile at $6 Per Gallon	Rank
Chevrolet		Aveo		5 Special Value 4dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl 5M)		$0.427	1	$0.461	1	$0.496	1
Hyundai		Accent		GS 2dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl 5M)		$0.430	2	$0.463	2	$0.498	2
Honda		Fit		4dr Hatchback (1.5L 4cyl 5M)		$0.442	3	$0.474	3	$0.507	4
Toyota		Yaris		2dr Hatchback (1.5L 4cyl 5M)		$0.445	4	$0.475	4	$0.507	3
Honda		Civic		DX 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)		$0.455	5	$0.488	5	$0.522	5
Nissan		Versa		1.8 S 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl 6M)		$0.458	6	$0.492	6	$0.529	7
Mazda		MAZDA3		i Sport 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)		$0.463	7	$0.498	8	$0.535	11
Kia		Rio		4dr Sedan (1.6L 4cyl 5M)		$0.464	8	$0.497	7	$0.533	9
Scion		xB		4dr Wagon (2.4L 4cyl 5M)		$0.467	9	$0.506	12	$0.548	17
Toyota		Corolla		CE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)		$0.468	10	$0.498	9	$0.530	8

The following are the 10 least expensive hybrid vehicles to own (all 2008 models):

Cost-Per-Mile: Hybrids1
Make		Model		Style		Cost-Per-Mile at $4.06 Per Gallon	Rank	Cost-Per-Mile at $5 Per Gallon	Rank	Cost-Per-Mile at $6 Per Gallon	Rank
Honda		Civic Hybrid		Hybrid 4dr Sedan (1.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)		$0.476	14	$0.499	10	$0.524	6
Toyota		Prius		Standard 4dr Hatchback (1.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)		$0.503	34	$0.525	26	$0.548	18
Nissan		Altima Hybrid		4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)		$0.540	66	$0.569	59	$0.601	54
Chevrolet		Malibu		Hybrid 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid 4A)		$0.563	81	$0.598	78	$0.635	76
Ford		Escape Hybrid		4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)		$0.583	94	$0.615	86	$0.649	80
Mercury		Mariner Hybrid		4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)		$0.596	102	$0.628	98	$0.662	89
Toyota		Camry Hybrid		Hybrid 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)		$0.630	134	$0.660	118	$0.691	106
Mercury		Mariner Hybrid		4dr SUV AWD (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)		$0.634	136	$0.670	133	$0.709	122
Toyota		Highlander Hybrid		4dr SUV AWD (3.3L 6cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)		$0.725	190	$0.764	190	$0.806	182
Lexus		RX 400h		4dr SUV (3.3L 6cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)		$0.897	260	$0.937	260	$0.980	256

¹ The Edmunds.com study takes into account the federal tax credits when applicable.

Edmunds calculations make the following assumptions:

• Ownership expenses are for a five-year time span
• Vehicles are driven 15,000 miles per year
• Vehicles are financed using traditional financing and not leased
• Buyers pay 10 percent down on the vehicle
• Buyers are in the "Gold" credit tier for the purpose of determining the finance rate
• The loan term is 60 months
• Buyers represent the average demographic in their state for insurance rates

The data is available at no charge to visitors, and provides ownership costs regionally for both new and used vehicles. The tool is available at http://www.edmunds.com/apps/cto/CTOintroController.