The Low Down On Green Living
May 27th, 2008
Think You Can’t Afford a Hybrid?
Stumble it!
When I filled up my car this weekend with $4.09 gas (choke, gasp, sputter), I was sure glad I have a Toyota Prius and won’t have to fill up for another couple of weeks. But I hear from a lot of folks that they think they can’t afford a hybrid and they have to hang on to their sub-20 MPG cars. That got me to thinking about ways to find affordable hybrid options so folks can save money and reduce their contribution to global warming. Here is what I’ve found.
Buy a used hybrid! The Honda Civic Hybrid is probably your most affordable choice, as they are quite a bit cheaper than my beloved Priuses. (What is the plural of Prius? Priuses? Pri-i?) The Civic Hybrid gets 40-45 MPG and is a great all-around commuter car. I searched and found a 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid with 49,000 miles for $16,000 in Los Angeles. I found a 2006 model in Kansas City with 52,000 miles for $18,000. The only Toyota Prius I could find in LA for under $20K had 79,000 miles on it! You might also try looking for Ford Escape Hybrids– there seem to be many of those available around the country. You can search for used hybrids in your city by clicking here.
You can get a used MINI. The MINI Cooper is not a hybrid, but it gets pretty great gas mileage– it gets 32 MPG on the highway. From what I hear you don’t need to get the “S” model (S has 172 horsepower vs. 118 for the standard), as the standard MINI has plenty of pick up. Also, the standard gets better gas mileage than the S and it’s cheaper. You can get a good used one for $16-20,000 across the country. You’ll be saving gas, reducing green-house gas emissions AND look super-cute! You can find MINIs here.
Order a Smart Car. Like the MINI, the Smart is small but mighty. The base Smart fortwo starts at $11,600 and it’s a real mileage winner– it gets 33 MPG in the city and 41 MPG on the highway. Yes, there is a waiting list for these little dynamos: depending on the dealer and where you live it can be 2-4 months. But it’s a great economical option. Click here to learn more about the Smart cars.
How about an electric car? You can get a ZENN car for less than $16,000. Just plug it into the wall, charge up, and away you go. It only goes up to 35 MPH, so you need to be doing non-highway, intra-city driving. But it’s an amazing auto and you can be green-house-gas-guilt-free! Learn more about the ZENN here.
Or you can wait a bit longer for Honda to unveil it’s new “affordable hybrid.” Honda President Takeo Fukui announced last year that Honda would be releasing a new hybrid brand in early 2009 that would be cheaper than their current Civic Hybrid line. Honda has been tightly guarding the details about its next hybrid, but you can read more about it here.
And while you ponder your efficient-auto options, be sure to get the best gas mileage you can with these gas- and money-saving driving tips.
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Comments
Philip Barton
May 27th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Why exclude diesel as an option? TDIs from Volkswagen are a great way to beat prices at the pump. Our 2002 New Beetle, which my wife and I purchased used for $13k @ 47,000 miles, averages near 35mpg in town and 40-50mpg on the highway depending on speed. Even with diesel being more expensive than gasoline - which was not the case one or even two summers ago - we’re still faring better than those driving gasoline powered cars with 26/35 fuel economy assuming a very conservative 4:3 price ratio.
There are also the matters of only having oil changes every 10k miles, not having spark plugs, distributors, and mass air flow sensors to worry about replacing, being able to make our own bio-fuels using waste vegetable oil, and being “mass produced bio-fuel” ready without needing some gimmicky “flex fuel” designation. Oh yes, and diesel engines are simple engines, meaning your neighborhood mechanic won’t balk at it come repair time - something you can’t always say of electrics and hybrids.
As a final note, you didn’t cover the fully electric GEM Car, which many institutions use as fleet vehicles.
Jessica Jensen
May 27th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Excellent points, Philip! Thank you!
Bob
May 27th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Or, you could do as many are, and buy a used Geo Metro, which costs about 5K, and gets better mileage than a Prius. Though they are getting harder to find and more expensive.
Did Prius, and Civic, and other hybrid drivers every wonder how much mercury and other toxic waste ended up in the ecosystem making the batteries for those things?
Alan B
May 28th, 2008 at 8:20 am
I would caution anyone thinking of buying a used MINI Cooper as they are extremely expensive to maintain and repair. $1,000 for brakes, $300 for a battery. You are much better off buying a new one, (You can get one nicely equiped for around $21K), and for the first 3 years all the maintainance is included and they have great resale value.
Amber R
May 28th, 2008 at 9:15 am
There are also GEM cars. I drive one for my neighborhood trips. anyting up to 15 miles away. it plugs into a regular 110 outlet. FABULOUS! I commute 5 miles each way every day and do all of my local trip in it.
Gordon
May 28th, 2008 at 9:23 am
The Mini is very expensive to service and maintain. The dealer experience has been the worst I have every experienced in 30 years of car ownership. It’s $500 somehow no matter what you take it in for. Also, the interior quality is poor, both materials and assembly. Lots of rattles after only 20,000 miles.
That said, you do need the S model the base is dangerously slow, e.g. when making a right on red or merging onto a freeway. Mileage is 25-32 in normal combined driving. Handling is phenomenal, lots of interior space for a package so small, really fun to drive. Just be wary of the ownership costs. Minis also depreciate quite a lot, resale values are low, best bet is to buy a used low mileage model.
Kate
May 28th, 2008 at 9:25 am
The Scion xA (which has been replaced by another model–the xD?), starting around $13,500, is a great option for poor law students like me, and gets around 34 mpg in the city, 41 highway. It’s a bit more practical than the Smart car, as it can accommodate 4 passengers and an enormous black lab very comfortably! And under the hood, it’s basically a Toyota.
Debbie
May 28th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I don’t know about you all, but I’m not ready to risk my life in a tiny tiny car like the Geo or Smart Car. I have to drive on highways to get to the city.
Carolyn
May 28th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
So….why is it necessary to buy a hybrid in order to be ‘green’ and save gas? My current car is a 2008 Honda Civic (regular 1.8L gas engine) and I get 37 mpg in mixed driving. My last car was a 1998 Toyota Corolla and in 130K miles I averaged 38 mpg. (Disclaimer: both of these cars had manual transmissions.)
Most hybrids, especially if you drive a lot of highway mileage, will not be much more economical on gas than either of these were for me. I really dislike the assumption that you can’t be frugal with gas unless you have a hybrid. It’s simply not true.
Jessica Jensen
May 28th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Carolyn, you are quite right that you DON’T need to drive a hybrid. Thus my inclusion of the ZENN electric car and the Smart Car. And various other folks have commented about diesel cars…there are plenty of options in addition to hybrids. Your Honda is a great one!
To your point, here is an interesting feature from CNN called the “Fuel-Sipper Smackdown.” They did road tests (well Edmunds did) for fuel economy and the cars they selected were the Ford Focus, the Smart ForTwo, the Toyota Prius (all 2008 models) and a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. See the results and commentary here:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/autos/0805/gallery.fuel_sipper_smackdown/index.html
Amber B
May 28th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
But what are the options for people who need to put 3 carseats into their car? Small SUVs and Minivans get terrible gas mileage. And don’t try to tell me you can put 3 carseats in a civic.
Kathy P
May 28th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Amber, you’re right, but my Jeep Liberty wouldn’t hold 3 car seats either. There must be an answer, what do moms drive in Europe?
Brian
May 28th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
We put 4 carseats in a Honda Oddysey with an “Eco” mode, which switches it from 6 to 3 cylinders when it doesn’t need the extra power. I don’t know the official mileages, but I do know this is probably the greenest way to go for that type of travel, the car loves the highway.
Of course, I’m also hoping to win the hybrid Yukon, while not very green, consider I tow, and it’s better then my current Avalanche, but even that gets 19 miles to the gallon if I set cruise control to 55 on highways (and yes that can be done.)
Brian
May 28th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
If you need a larger vehicle for people and big enough to tote a 4×8 sheet of whatever every now and then, the Grand Caravan is a great option over a pickup or surburban. Not a 4X4 but I get 20 in town and up to 26-27 on the Highway. That is alot better than the average 13-15 the big boys get and I can still haul 7 people and tow a decent trailer.
I also have a 07 Honda Civic which is 34 in town and 38-40 Highway.
Mike C
May 28th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I used to drive both a Civic (2003) and a Corolla(2006), They both got about 32-33MPG, you can get a used on either for around $12K. I would much rather drive one of those around than a SMART.
As I understand, the SMART requires premium gas!! It doesn’t even get that great of mileage. I would expect a car like that to get at least 40 if not 60MPG.
The old VW Rabbits would get around 35 or 40MPG. How about a motor cycle, smaller engines will get 50-60MPG.
I drive a Prius now. It was bought mainly so I could drive in the carpool lane not the great mileage. of course that was last year when gas was $2.25/gallon, now I’m thrilled with the fact I can get to work on time and save money on gas. I get about 45-48MPG on the Prius
canadiyank
May 28th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Heh, Mike C, I grew up in the hatch of a VW diesel Rabbit. I saw one of the new ones and immediately wanted it due to nostalgia. Like others, however, we need to fit a couple carseats and I have a 6′6″ husband, so those factors limit our options. Right now we have only one car, and it’s paid for, so it does the trick, but I’d really like one of the “greener” options for a future vehicle. We’ll see!
MattH
May 29th, 2008 at 6:39 am
How about a Personal Transporter (PT) for that commute under 5 miles.
http://www.segway.com/
Rob Johnson
May 29th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I just recently got introduced to the Miles- still in develepment, for under $40000, gets you an electric highway rated model or cheaper you could go to a for around 12,000 or a Zap scooter for around $4000. IF you must drive a car may I suggest a Zap Car for around 12,000
Rob Johnson
May 29th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
or a vectrix scooter for around $12000
Jennifer Smith
May 30th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Although my Scion xA gets 35 mpg, I have a 70 mile round-trip commute to work so I was still spending almost $200/mo on gas. My solution was to get a motorcycle, which I bought used for $2500 from a friend of mine. I now spend only $30-40/mo on gas and I still have my car when I need to haul stuff, dogs, etc.
Chris
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Amber,
I am with you on the three car seats question, while my boys are grown now, even a car seat and booster was left no room in my 95 Jetta. I can say that my 06 Chevy Impala is great option. While it takes a lot of self control to manage the 36mpg I have gotten around town with the 3.9l 240bhp six, the smaller 3.5l should do even better. Highway cruise control set at the speed limit will get you 30+ mpg which for a 6 passenger full size car is unheard of. Thanks to the large rental car fleet you can pick one up for $10-15K. Now I am not saying that getting 30mpg is easy with big 6 cylinders but if you can control your right foot you will be amazed and you will have plenty of power on tap when you need it. Best of all it can make Home Depot runs like an SUV. I have fit a 46″ and a 32″ LCD TVs in their boxes with nothing hanging out. Another trip had 3 doors, a full vanity, 6 gallons of paint plus a bunch of other stuff with the seats folded down. Do I sound like I love my car? Why, yes…yes I do! Good luck.
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Michael Orr
October 12th, 2008 at 9:50 am
My wife has a 120mile roundtrip commute daily and now, thank goodness, we both work a 4 day week, instead of buying a expensive hybrid we bought a used 2001Toyota Echo with 60,000 miles on it, now 4yrs later and with 192,000miles it is still getting 47mpg,(stick,4 door) what a pity they don`t make it anymore. American car manufacturers really DO NOT want to change to building more efficient cars so they will ask the government to bail them out so as they can compete with the more fuel efficient imports. Meanwhile, we the consumer, are bearing the burden of higher fuel costs because our car industry has failed to keep pace with trend changes.
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