As rising fuel costs and greater environmental awareness make center stage, both the passionate and practical consumer can find much respite in the evolution of hybrid vehicles. Boasting high mileage figures and an increasing degree of comfort, hybrids have not only become the ire of big engine traditionalist but an increasingly acceptable mode of transport, thanks to the freedom granted by a gas engine in addition to a standard electric motor. In more recent days, however, there are different degrees of hybrid. While the traditional hybrid vehicle such as the Toyota Prius was by and large a gas powered vehicle with an auxiliary electric motor for slower driving speeds in the city, the plug-in hybrid has evolved in recent times to make better use of the electric motor and further reduce energy costs and. It would be nearly impossible to cover all new hybrids in this article, but let’s take a look at some of the new, representative hybrids to expect in 2013 and what they have to offer in terms of their utility and finesse.
Traditional Hybrids
By traditional, I mean the part electric and mostly gasoline powered green machines. Mind you, there are some clever technologies that have been implemented and nowadays car makers are improving the efficiency of these fuel saving features. A good example would be the Toyota Synergy Drive1 platform, which is intelligent enough to sync the electrical and gasoline motors as well as using breaking force energy to charge the battery. A new change in the landscape of traditional hybrids, however, has been the extensive addition of luxury models to the hybrid brand. The hybrid car is no longer reserved for the fervid eco-mentalist alone, and believe it or not, is even being extended to the world of “sporty” autos.
Honda Insight
Sale: $18,600 + MPG: 41/ 44 (CITY/HIGHWAY)
The Honda Insight is certainly not a new car, with the first model going on sale in 2009.2 Unfortunately the insight has never been as popular as the well marketed and pioneering Prius. Lately, however, Honda has started to make a newer niche for itself in the hybrid segment by creating one of the most affordable and well valued hybrids in the market. Astonishingly, the Insight’s price starts at a mere $18,6003 with a navigation equipped model approaching $23,790. The smallest and cheapest Toyota Prius on sale at the moment is the Toyota Prius C starting at a whopping $18,9504 for a much smaller car, albeit with higher miles per gallon value added. The Insight is a 2012 Top Safety Pick by The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and a Kelly Blue Book award winner for having one of the lowest costs of maintenance.
Toyota Prius Universe
For a while now, the Toyota Prius has dominated the world of hybrid vehicles and was in fact the 2012 best selling hybrid.7 It is, therefore, worth mentioning in detail the newest scene around the world’s most popular hybrid. But what about in 2013, what has Toyota done to change the Prius brand name? Quite simply, there is a great deal more variety. With the availability of so many hybrids in the market today, Toyota has added a compact and estate (station wagon) version of the Prius to their line up as well as two radical new models available for limited purchase.
- Prius Original Price :
$24,200 + MPG: 51/48 (CITY/HIGHWAY)
The original Prius is still sold today with the same basic and awkward chassis layout but much improved mileage figures and a vast array of power sensing and fuel saving gizmos. The Prius is now sold as the Prius 2, 3, 4 and 5 with incrementing numbers boasting more creature comforts. The base model surprisingly comes with quite a few standard features including a multimedia interface with Bluetooth hands free technology.8 More expensive models go as far as adding a heads up display, collision avoidance, as well as a solar roof package that studs the Prius’s roof with solar panels to power basic vehicle instruments.9 The engine is fairly small compared to most American cars, but fairly big and powerful enough in worldwide comparison with a 1.8L 4 cylinder engine. While the Honda Insight is considerably cheaper, the buyer still gets a fair amount of equipment standard with the highest range model approaching $30,000. Overall, this is a battle tested and reliable car with more than enough space for the family and a suitable price tag to match. More so, Toyota is making strides towards a new class of hybrids known as plug-in hybrids by offering a limited available Prius Plug-in10 that runs mostly on electricity with a gasoline back up engine. Plug in hybrids will be discussed further in the next section of the article. - Prius C Price:
$18,950 + MPG: 53/46 (CITY/HIGHWAY)
For the buyer that wants a Toyota Yaris with slightly more fuel efficiency than the original Prius and much less space, the Prius C11 is the option for you. Toyota’s response to the growing demand for small compact vehicles has resulted in the Prius C, which is not only compact but a hybrid as well. Right off the bat, my biggest concern for the Prius C is its steep price tag. The vehicle is only about $5000 cheaper than the regular Prius, and yet it is much less practical and much less equipped than the original Prius. While the upper range model for this vehicle is still less than an entry level Prius at $23,200, it is still far too expensive for a compact car, in my opinion. In fact, the entire point of small cars becoming popular these days is the rising gas prices for commuters. The Prius C is only slightly more efficient than the original, and the price tag appears to be more of an opportunistic move by Toyota to take advantage of the rising demand for small cars. To add to this, the higher models fail to offer any significant technological improvement from the standard model with alloys and navigation being a highlight of the upper echelon models.12 Also it is rather strange that the Prius C, with a 1.5L 4 Cylinder engine would give less city mileage than the original Prius. One advantage to this car is the amount of equipment that comes standard with the base model, which includes Bluetooth hands free as well as iPod connectivity. Overall, however, unless you live in a city with very small streets it is perhaps better to buy the original Prius. - Prius V Price:
$26,650+ MPG: 44/40 (CITY/HIGHWAY)
In a way that makes the Prius bigger than ever, the Prius V14 is literally the largest Prius in production that takes the form of one of the few station wagon hybrids in production today. The Prius V offers a lot of the same bells and whistles as the original, but with the added trunk space as well as a heftier price tag. The price difference is actually justifiable, being about only $2000 more at the base model but actually very close to the original Prius in the higher price category at $30,295. Of course, a big drawback to the Prius V is the much lower fuel economy, which is actually a well known problem in station wagons due to the much added weight to the vehicle. For a station wagon, the Prius V offers excellent fuel efficiency that even the large family can enjoy on long trips.
BMW ActiveHybrid 3 Series
Price: $36,850 MPG: 23/33 (CITY/HIGHWAY)
A marked change in the hybrid market has been the emergence of hybrid luxury vehicles ranging from Lexus to Mercedes Benz. While there is a vast selection of luxury hybrids in the market today, BMW is one prominent example of an automobile manufacturer that is making a “sporty” hybrid. This may sound like an oxymoron, but you would be surprised to learn that the electric motor in BMW ActiveHybrid series of vehicles delivers extra torque in comparison to the standard 3, 5 and even 7 series. As one of BMW’s best selling sedans in North America, it is conceivable that its Munich-based creators would cook up a tasty eco car that still manages to feel just as taught and composed as the original 3 series. Like all hybrids, the beamer has two engines: a 3.0 L 6 Cylinder gasoline engine combined with an electric motor capable of delivering 55 horsepower.15 The car remarkably has an 8 speed transmission,16 giving it an exceptionally smooth ride as well as a very adaptable drive with 4 standard modes—eco pro, comfort, sport, and sport plus. The Activehybrid platform comes with its own signature fuel saving system similar to the Toyota Prius that includes brake energy regeneration17 as well as a start stop function18 that turns off the vehicle at traffic signals. While this particular 3 series is quite expensive, it does have a lot of standard hi tech BMW bells and whistles19 such as a navigation system, internet, iPod connect with bluetooth, parking assist, rear view camera, and BMW’s famed stability control20 system to name a few. What really separates the 3 series in the hybrid market is the balance of goals, and the drive to maintain the rigorous utilitarian function of the hybrid while bringing back the thrill of driving a well-made BMW. Some may argue that this goal has gone somewhat awry, and I would agree to a certain extent since the mileage is nowhere near the Prius’s nor is the range of the electric motor that is good only for 2.5 miles stand alone at 35 MPH.21 At the same time, in this day and age it is difficult to make a mid range sporty hybrid that can still perform to racing standards, and I would say BMW has pulled off the Active3 quite well for a luxurious, and sporty sedan. The Lexus hybrid line has a wide range of options that luxury-minded hybrid enthusiasts should look into as well!
Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
Price: $53,045+ MPG: 20/23 (CITY/HIGHWAY)
While Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV’s) have been the contempt of most environmentalists for boasting some of the worse fuel economy figures, it would seem like an impossible task to append the gas guzzling rural off-road spirit of SUV’s to our shortlist of hybrid vehicles. Remarkably, however, cross overs and SUV’s are becoming a popular vehicle to hybridize to the point that the Lexus RX cross over was the 6th best selling hybrid of 2012.23 Traversing the ultimate boundary, however, is taming the gargantuan full size SUV, and Chevrolet seems have done it with the all new Tahoe!24 Starting with the fuel economy figures, you would think that 20 – 23 miles per gallonis a joke for a hybrid, yet this is a tremendous improvement over the regular Tahoe, which clocks in at 15 – 21 miles per gallon.25 This car is a genuinely gargantuan 8 seater, and for that weight comes a 332 Horsepower engine with a towing capacity of 6200 pounds.26 In addition to all of this, Chevrolet offers a 100,000 mile, 5-year power train warranty and even an 8-year 100,000 miles warranty for some of its hybrid components.27 While the Tahoe is a game changing effort by Chevrolet to create a novelty in the hybrid market, the biggest issue with this vehicle is the base price: $53,045. Apart from the GPS navigation and sound system, everything else is an option that must be purchased.28 The regular Chevrolet Tahoe is priced at $39,830, and this is a massive price differential that must be paid by the consumer for a full size, hybrid SUV. Being a novelty vehicle, perhaps we can expect the prices to drop through the years, but nevertheless the Tahoe is an option for the wealthy SUV lover who enjoys the privilege of going the green mile with Chevrolet’s first environmentally friendly full size SUV.
Plug In Hybrids
The principle argument for those against the fully electric automobile is the lack of freedom and limited range that has plagued electric cars since their conception. Although electric cars by far give the best fuel economy figures than any other vehicles on the road today—for example, the Nissan Leaf grants 99 miles per gallon combined city and highway —30 the principle issue surrounding such cars is the limited freedom and great insecurity that ensues when the fuel gauge begins losing charge. It is a great mental torture when continually watching the fuel gauge, and the issue is exacerbated with the limited availability of charge stations throughout the nation. In response, a unique form of hybrid was born, the plug-in hybrid. Instead of a gasoline engine being the primary power source, an electrical engine is the main power house with a backup gasoline engine in case you run out of electric power. In addition, the “plug in” capability means that the user can pre-charge the battery before the morning commute. Its development essentially bridges the hybrid electric gap, and introduces the skeptical consumer to a whole new world of automotive freedom.
Chevrolet Volt
Price: $31,645 MPG: 93/37 (ELECTRIC/ GAS)
With the rise of Japanese hybrids to dominate the landscape of environmental vehicles, developers at Chevrolet were keen on rolling out a worthy competitor, especially amidst the 2008 recession that had almost crumpled General Motors. Three years later, Chevrolet responded with the production of one of the world’s first mass produced plug in hybrids, the Chevy Volt.31 The Volt is a fairly large vehicle, and for its size and space the fuel efficiency figures are very impressive. On the downside, the vehicle retains a sort of Prius awkwardness in design. The price is actually well placed, just about $1000 more than the plug in Prius, and for that you get a screen media interface and fuel monitoring apparatus standard with just a few hundred more for interior upgrades. The Volt also comes with its own power saving system that includes regenerative braking and low resistance tires,32 and more importantly a vast array of safety systems such as Onstar, a sort of accident alert system, and eight air bags. One of the issues with the Volt is that its electric engine can only sustain a gas-free distance of 38 miles, and hopefully as technology improves, Chevrolet can create a vehicle with a greater bias for electrical power than gasoline. For now it is quite impressive that on just one tank of gas a charged battery, the Volt can travel for 380 miles!
Going Forward—Whether you are an avid environmentalist or economically resourceful, the world of hybrid vehicles has expanded massively through the years to provide various options for a wide variety of consumers. As oil becomes more and more scarce and expensive, it is certain that in the near future there will be a hybrid for everyone.
