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Want to buy a Hybrid? We give you 7 reasons not to. |
Majority of the people hold the view that if they buy a hybrid, all their worries about high fuel prices and other vehicle related costs will disappear. This couldn’t be further from the truth and becomes apparent when one stands back and wonders why the whole World hasn’t gone crazy purchasing these hybrid vehicles. Some of the many reasons are as follows;
1 – Hybrid technology comes with its own unique problems which require expert knowledge to fix. Your local garage mechanic will just put his hands up and say “experts only I’m afraid”. Expert knowledge means you have to dig deaper into your pockets to get hybrids repaired.
2 – Hybrids come with a limited battery life so you will only do a certain number of miles and then the battery is dead for good. Although Toyota and Honda have reported hybrids doing up to 200k, this nagging feeling that the battery could die on you can cause a few stomach ulcers.
3 – Hybrids tend to stall and suffer loss of power more often than the normal cars we’re used to. Driving at high speed on a motorway, the last thing you need is for the petrol engine to suddenly cut off and the battery to be activated causing a sudden feel of loss of power.
4 – Hybrids do not give a returns saving as expected. Most people would purchase a hybrid to save money in the long run but they’re shocked to learn that the premium costs incurred when buying the hybrid will not be recovered. Basically, hybrids do not pay for themselves.
5 – Hybrids have a very low quality driving performance and are really only good for inner city driving. Petrol or diesel lower engine sized rival models give the same economy figures but a far better ride quality and performance.
6 – Hybrids do not have as good a resale value as most will expect. This takes us back to the original thought that makes us wonder as to why we don’t see everyone driving a hybrid. The reason is the low demand although this factor may now change slightly with the favourability leaning towards the hybrids a bit due to rising oil prices.
7 – Hybrids do not return the mileage promised by the makers. This point is true for most vehicle models out there where the car makers boast about an amazing mpg figure which never turns out to be true for the every day driver but in the case of hybrids, the official mpg figure seems to be exaggerated a bit too much.
Still want a Hybrid, Go Ahead! But do share your experiences with us here.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 and is filed under Articles, Hybrid Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I think you’re being a bit unfair here. Don’t forget about the environmental benefits of hybrids.
In response to the previous comment hybrids offer no environmental benefits whatsoever, the embodied carbon (the carbon produced during the manufacture) of a hybrid out weighs even the manufactures claimed C02 emissions and MPG over a 150,000 mile life time compared to a non hybrid alternative, so the standard petrol or diesel car has the edge for environmental benefit.
further more the hybrids being made today won’t be a round in 15 years unlike the standard cars, and in their life time will have far greater repair costs and a whole load of NIMH batteries to throw away when the expire.