The hybrid car has gone from darling to doggie in a remarkably short time, helped by a boneheaded set of errors in Consumer Reports. The magazine later corrected its calculation errors but the damage was profound. Others picked up on the original story, including a recent New York Times commentary, and the meme that hybrids are not worth the extra expense is becoming conventional wisdom. This may be bad for hybrids but it is good for hybrid buyers, as prices have softened on all but the few high-mileage models (such as the Toyota Prius), to the extent that the hybrid model can actually be cheaper to buy than the corresponding gasoline model, not even including the gas savings. Three things to keep in mind about hybrids:
- Performance. Hybrids can be designed either for better mileage or for better performance - more pep with a smaller gas engine. Watch Toyota/Lexus launch vehicles with both characteristics, such as the upcoming GS hybrid that accelerates faster than a souped-up V8. The press seems to miss that hybrids are not just about high miles per gallon.
- Smoother Ride. Hybrids can be designed with a continuous transmission, rather than a normal automatic with 4 or 5 gears. The drive is much smoother in city driving - no momentary pause & jerk, as in a V6 in the low gears. Quicker pickup, smoother acceleration.
- Street Price Advantage. Hybrids can be cheaper to buy as well as cheaper to operate. We just picked up a Lexus RX400h for less than the equivalent RX350. Many of the consumer price comparisons in the media will use MSRP rather than street price. With the sag in demand for hybrids, they can sell at delightfully low real prices - plus you can get a decent tax credit ($2200 on the 400h) from the government on most models.
Use the CarsDirect price as a starting point for street price, and check it out. When the herd runs away, time to buy.
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