No Hybrid For Me
Here’s an interesting article about buying a hybrid car versus keeping your current vehicle. I get between 25 and 30 mpg in my Civic, and I drive it about 3500 miles a year. So it would take a lot of years before the hybrid would pay off for me. That’s convenient, because I don’t ever plan on paying $25,000 for a car, so a hybrid is pretty much out of the question. Maybe ten years from now I’ll buy a ten year old hybrid, but for now my trusty Civic is all I need. Instead of spending a lot of money on a car that gets better gas mileage, my mission has been to significantly reduce the amount of driving I do. I used to work 20 miles from home. Then I quit in order to work from home, but after a year of that, we were in need of additional income and I went looking for a part time job. My number one criteria was that the job be close enough to home that I could walk or bike. I ended up getting a job as a shelver at the library a mile from our house. That was four years ago, and I’ve been walking or biking to the library four days a week ever since. At eight miles a week, that’s 400 miles per year - 1600 miles in the four years I’ve worked there. It’s only two miles a day, but over time it does add up. We live in the suburbs, but we’re only about a mile from a grocery store, the post office, the library, Home Depot, a department store, and a Walgreens. There’s also a McDonalds where we rent movies just over a mile from home. The bank is about three miles away, and the gym is about four miles. To get to any of these places, I walk or bike. I pretty much won’t take my car out of the garage unless the place I need to go is more than five miles away, or - in the case of Home Depot especially - if I need to bring home more than I can carry on my back or in my bike basket. All those little two and three mile drives really add up. It may not be practical to start biking 30 miles to get to work (although mass transit may be an option for a lot of people) but leaving the car at home any time you need to go less than five miles would really make a difference. It’s better for your waist than driving, and it’s a lot easier on the budget than springing for a hybrid.
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My dad bought a civic hybrid last year for $15K - way short of $25K - and it has served him well.
Civics themselves are quite fuel efficient, but for those looking to make a drastic change, the civic hybrid is a great choice.
We’re currently looking to replace one of our cars with something fuel efficient and the hybrid is on our list.
Is that really what a new one costs? Probably not if you walk into a dealer to pay cash.
I’ve heard lots of good stuff about Civics in general. Much more efficient than your average car (especially sticks). But driving even less, biking more or combining trips is really the way to go for the long run. Enjoy your rides!
Hypermiling ftw!
I’ve increased my mileage from 28 mpg to 45 with those habits
Emily, I’ve never personally priced a hybrid, as I’m happy with my old civic. But my three friends who have bought hybrids in the last year have all paid between $23K and $27K (two new Priuses and a used Ford Escape). I have another friend who is looking for a Prius and has been trying to find a new one for under $22K but has not succeeded yet. Sounds like the Civic is a much better deal!
Zach - are you really getting 45 mpg? I had to google hypermiling… sounds pretty good except for the drafting/tailgating part
it’s the tailgating that gets you the super-huge gains in mileage. But the downside is that with Semi-trucks slowing to 55, it’s a little more inconvenient. I’d say if you’re about 40-50 feet away (pretty healthy distance) you’re still getting a good draft.
Besides, that’s why I’m trying to eliminate the whole car issue within the next year or so.
You can rent movies at McDonalds? I’m guessing you don’t get dinner while you’re there though…
Kelly - McDonalds has a great dvd rental program. check out redbox.com to see how it works. Although it might not have caught on at the McDonalds in France yet… We walk there, pay $1 for a movie, and drop it off the next day. And no, we don’t usually get dinner while we’re there
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