I second that! I fully loaded TCH when compared to other similarly equipped models is a great value! There is no other vehicle I would consider buying. If gas keeps climbing I would probably go to a Prius.

 

The Prius, HCH, and the TCH make sense,dollars and cents against any equivalent auto.

You don't even have to take into account brake wear or even resale.

The easy way is to just use miles needed to break even on selling price difference;

X/miles per hour hybrid + price difference/cost of gallon gas= X/ mpg non hybrid
X is miles to break even
If the price difference is $5000 roughly a loaded Civic vs Prius, or a fairly modestly equipped Matrix or Vibe.
Gasoline is $5/gallon to make the calculation easy.
40 mpg Prius-conservative
25 mpg other car

X/40MPG + $5000/$5 = X/ 25MPG
5X/200 +1000 GALLONS= 8X/200
1000 GALLONS= 3X/200
66,666 MILES= x= Breakeven
Everyone keeps a car 66,666 miles. This is Prius vs Civic,Matrix,Vibe. A Civic is within 15 mpg of a Prius, but a Matrix isn't-more like 20 mpg difference.

If you want to compare it to something that isn't comparable-a $15000 Fit , or Yaris , or a cheap Focus, or a Cobalt, just double the price difference-$10,000 and you breakeven at 127,000 miles.

If you are really cheap, and buy used for $5000-then it is 250,000 miles. Of course,resale and maintenance come into play,and they greatly favor the Prius vs used anything, and because of the longer warranty they might favor the Prius vs a new Civic etc.

The numbers are roughly the same for a HCH 2.

The idea is the same for a TCH vs a Camry or Accord-
Use 33.3 mpg vs 20 mpg and about $5000 price difference.

X/33.3mpg $5000/$5 GAL = X/20 MPG
1000 gallons= 2X/100
50,000 MILES= BREAK EVEN

Sorry I ignored and got lazy with the units. If I goofed in some other way, it won't be the 1st time.

If you use $4 gas just add 25% to the breakeven miles.
The numbers for a HCHII or about the same as for a Prius.
The Prius.TCH, and HCH II are just unbeatable. The Escape(say 28 mpg vs 21 mpg about 84,000 miles at $5 gal or about 110,000 at $4 gal. The HH 24 VS 18 is about 72,000 miles at $5 or about 90,000 at $4.

The VUE 24 vs 21 with just $3000 difference breaks even at 63000 miles $4 gallon.

Charlie

Charlie

 

Resale is a great unknown, since the oldest Camry hybrids are only a few years old.
One can tell with reasonable certainty what a 6 year old gas Camry would be worth, but the Camry hybrid and it's technology is too new to say how well these cars will hold up.

 

I think a lot will depend on fuel prices and other competition. The TCH stands alone at the moment as a good-size traditional car feel hybrid (I don't count the Altima Hybrid as it has such limited availability). But, that could change quickly as Nissan, Ford, Honda, etc. get more involved in the hybrid game. If the Fusion comes out and is comparable to the TCH in mpg, it could be interesting. The only thing about GM, Ford and Chrysler is that they dump a lot of product into the rental market which hurts resale quite a bit. At the moment, there is no other car I would consider. And while the Volt and other products might be released and be good, what kind of availability are they going to have? A Volt is worthless, in my opinion, if you can't get it.

Current value aside, here in the midwest I'm realizing very little depreciation. And from what I see, even the first generation Prius fetches good prices when available. But, truly time will tell.

 

Funny how the leading hybrid cars are all put last and the worst possible hybrid (not even a true hybrid) is first on the list.

Also Haroldo you say that with using the same driving habits in a fully gas powered car you can also acheive better results than the EPA but regular gas powered cars have not turned us into hypermilers while hybrids have. If I got a gas powered car now I wouln't be buying it to try to save gas, I'd be flooring it.

And gas is not 3.40. When I see articles like this it makes me hope gas reaches 5$ or more next year.

The true savings are in what kind of car you are going from to a hybrid. A person who sold an escalade and is now in a hybrid will save huge while a person who rode his bike and is now in a hybrid has lost.

 

"Funny how the leading hybrid cars are all put last and the worst possible hybrid (not even a true hybrid) is first on the list."

I agree. I love when they rate the Malibu hybrid higher than TCH due to styling (not necessarily in this article). First, the styling doesn't make up for the fact that its a hybrid joke. Second, the car is useless as it has very limited availability. So, in my opinion, the stupid thing shouldn't even be on the list. Of course, neither should the Tahoe. Again, not great improvement in mpg, limited availability and sky high price. GM doesn't seem to get it.

You have to give people hybrid cars that are like what they would normally drive (i.e. Camry Hybrid). If GM could modify a Pontiac or Buick (or the Malibu) to be like the TCH at the TCH price range they would be in the ball park.

 

If GM could manufacture a Malibu Hybrid like Toyota did the Camry Hybrid I would have probably never bought Toyota over GM. But now I will probably never buy a GM.

 

I don’t feel sorry for GM at ALL. It’s history repeating itself all over again. Price of Gas climbs, Japan is ready to meet the market need. No crystal ball needed this time; you could see the high prices coming for years. The auto makers are hurting now ( just like the 1970s) and the Oil companies will be hurting when everyone buys a TCH (Just like the early 1980s) when demand drops. I hope we don’t bail-out the automakers this time!!

Sorry I digressed from the topic at hand….

 

I didn't even know there was a Malibu hybrid until I found the article... I find that a lot of people have the pay back issue. Almost every week someone asks me about my hybrid and then says "well I wont buy it because it only gets 8 mpg better than my current car" or "you lose money when you buy a hybrid."

For me, it all boils down to: I purchased a hybrid to SUPPORT the technology so that these companies can further innovate and release even better products with new technology.

 

What most fail to realize is that the base mpg in the TCH is 8 miles above the very best their car will deliver. Ford has been touting the Focus at 32 mpg. Yeah...best case scenario. The TCH can deliver 38 - 45 depending on the situation. And without compromising comfort. That's why I bought my TCH. 36-40 mpg in city driving (with a/c on). Do that in any other car.

People are dumb. Blunt, but the truth. Although I know some who just can't let the traditional gas engine go. It's what they've known their whole lives. Whatever. I'm happy with my TCH and that's all that matters.