I've looked into hybrids and from reading some reviews, I am considering buying one. I am 25, in school, live in a big city, and commute about 15m/day, 5 days a week. I am also planning on relocating and driving to other parts of the US within the next two years. Right now I am thinking the HCH would be my best choice, does anyone have other suggestions?

I am willing to put up with some quarks, but I need a car that is reliable. So, is a buying a hybrid in my best interest or should I go with a standard fuel efficient car?

The only "quarks" with a hybrid that I'm aware of are better fuel economy, cleaner emissions, and extra instrumentation to help the driver.

They do cost a little extra, and some models are hard to find. But I've seen a bunch of HCH's at the local Honda dealers. The Insight is very hard to come by.

Reliability: You favor a Civic, it's as dependable as any other Honda.

The choice is yours, good gas mileage with an economy car or exceptional gas mileage with a hybrid.

I'm thouroughly enjoying my Insight. Driving is a game now, just how good can I do on a certain section of my commute. Always trying to bump the MPG's a little higher.
Or you can just drive it like any other car, and still benefit.

Regards,

May be "quarks" is the wrong word, I am all for hybrid technology. I just want to make sure I am not buying something that equates to more maintenance than a normal car.

same or less maintainance. no issues for most of us...at least not any more than any other car

Evan E. Fusco, MD
'04 Prius/BC moded to the T
'06 Highlander Hybrid Limited AWD w/NAV

over 24,000 miles and only needed oil changes.

2004 silverblue 5 sp.

There are no quirks that I'm aware of. All vehicles do have things you have to get used to. No vehicle is 100% of what you may want, but the goal when purchasing is to find something that meets enough of your needs that those it doesn't meet are not an issue anymore.

So far the only maintenance I've had to do was a thrust angle adjustment to the alignment because of what appears to be a manufacturing error, (steering wheel was pointing right about 10 degrees when driving down the road straight, vehicle tracking straight) and my first oil change (moved up to Mobil1). The alignment issue was covered under the 12 month/12,000 mile adjustment period. My selling dealer was very accommodating.

The HCH is less expensive than the Prius, for many reasons. Quality is not one of them, but from my perspective technology and target market are. Both cars are great, save lots in gas and are very competent. Before you buy, read the boards and posts, ask more, detailed questions and try to understand the different technology that drives both of these vehicles.

It has been said:
Hybrid drivers come in 3 flavors, greenie, techie and cheapie. Pick any 2.
2005 Prius, Melinium Silver over gray, package 5 (AI)

i have the same problem on my hch, but that's not from manufacturing error, because it only started to have this problem last week. i think i may have turned the wheels against a curb or hit a pothole - in any case i'm bringing it into a reputable brakes/alignment shop around here to fix tomorrow. since this was due to my driving error, i don't think this would be fixed under warranty from honda.

The only real concern I've heard about hybrid maintenance as opposed to any other vehicle is the battery wearing out after 10 years/100,000 miles (the length of warranty). Today, battery replacement is very expensive, a couple thousand, though the real question is how much will that cost be in ten years? Every year the cost of the hybrid batteries is going down, and the technology is improving, so I personaly suspect that replacement batteries will be a lot cheaper in 10 years, especailly as more and more hybrids are sold (economy of scale). There will probably be aftermarket garages that could replace them, and perhaps even offer upgrades.

The actual electric motor itself and other "hybrid" components should outlast the rest of the car. Also, from what I understand the regenerative braking offered by the electric generator actually reduces the amount of general wear and tear incurred by braking. The hybriid cars actually turn off cylinders when coasting to reduce engine braking, instead storing that energy using the electric generator. This means a bit less strain is put on the engine, and regular brakes. In terms of actual cost benefit that's probably very little, but at least it's something.

I have yet to see any data about battery wear before the car's end of life. I looked quite a bit before buying, but even high mileage 100,000 vehicles didn't report wear or even significant capacity loss (rechargable batteries often lose capacity as they wear). Some have been replaced due to physical damage, manufacturing defect (this shows early), etc. We are all very interested in actual data on battery failure, but for data there will need to be enough cases to make meaningful conclusions (statistically overcome possibily of chance)

Statistically speaking, you have about the same chance at 110,000 miles of your engine cylanders getting a hole in them.

I'm hoping advances in battery tech will let me upgrade someday (plug in hybrid maybe?) but gut tells me probably that would be a newer model car

Have you considered some of these questions ..

1. How much money are you going to spend ? Cash, or Debt ?
2. How long do you expect to keep the car ?
3. What are your priorities .. value, reliability, image, environment ..

We bought a Prius, as a nod to my wife's demand for a 'family car'. If I was single, a used Insight would be my preference, only dampened by it's relatively poor emissions profile.