GreenHybrid - Hybrid Cars - View Single Post

Billyk · #5 (**permalink**) 05-16-2008, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by briansabeans

Can someone give me a rational reason why they would purchase a Hybrid SUV? You get a hybrid to get better gas mileage and be more socially responsible. Yet there are tons of cars with better gas mileage than the best hybrid SUV -- if gas mileage is your thing, get a Prius. It's not socially responsible to own any kind of SUV because their height off the ground increases deaths when an SUV hits a car head-on. Not to mention the added danger to everyone on the road who has to follow you and cannot see how traffic is progressing in front of you.

The only sensible answer I've heard goes something like this: I need an SUV, so it's responsible for me to get a hybrid SUV. I call BS on this one. Who really needs an SUV? Some people, to be sure, but almost none. In reality, these folks just want SUVs and are rationalizing their hybrid SUV purchase by pointing to some activity that they do rarely and probably don't need to do it at all.

So if you live in an off-road cabin or have to haul stuff for work, I think your hybrid SUV purchase is a great idea. If you are buying it so it's easier to haul your skiing equipment, your hybrid SUV purchase is irrational and wasteful.

I'm sure I'm just asking to get flamed, but this is a legitimate topic. For me, if you are going to "go hybrid" and get a fuel efficient car, why would you get a much less fuel efficient car just because it has a hybrid engine?

After 16 years of driving two Ford station wagons 378,000 miles and loving the flexibility of the cargo area, it was time (2007) to get a new vehicle. I looked at the almost all of the current station wagon models (domestic and foreign) and was disappointed to realize the gas mileage would not really beat what I was moving out of. I considered the Prius but reading up on the reliability history, this model had something like 7 recalls in the previous few years! I also read about the traction control issues in which Prius owners would be stranded in meager snow conditions. The autochannel did a report on the 2007 AWD Highlander Hybrid and got stuck in a couple of inches of sand on the beach when they were doing a photo shot for the article. I didn't think these vehicle would work for me as I spend my winter weekends nordic skiing. Sometimes I am up as early as 4:30am or out in the rural areas where the roads are not plowed. A favorite "local" area features a 1600 foot climb in the last six miles of the road. The low to the ground hybrid Prius or Civic would not be a good choice in these conditions. The Civic just did not have the cargo carrying capacity. The Escape Hybrid has proven to be a wise choice for my lifestyle and has improved on my mileage. I can't get the mileage of a Prius, Civic or Insight hybrid but I will take what I currently get--upper 30's to 40mpg.