Published based on The Prius may be a Winner; the Toyota Hybrid Car
The Prius may be a Winner; the Toyota
Hybrid Car
The Prius may be a Winner; the Toyota Hybrid Car isnt always That
When Toyota came out with its Prius 10 years ago, gas wasn't expensive. It was primarily promoted as a green
car something you bought to show off your environmental credentials. But their timing could not have been more
spot-on. Right after the first Toyota hybrid car came out, gas prices began to rise like crazy. Whether or not
Toyota anticipated the price rise, they certainly were well-positioned to exploit it. They didn't even need to promote
the Prius as something that would help you save on gas. The media did it for Toyota.
Still, the Toyota hybrid car design department wisely designed the Prius to look quite distinctive so that people
driving the thing would instantly be recognized as environmentally conscious. That was and is the primary selling
feature of the car. Before you decide to put down all that cash for a high-priced Toyota hybrid car expecting to
reverse global warming overnight and to save a little money at the pump in the bargain, this is what you need to
know.
The Union of Concerned Scientists is one of the most prominent organizations to come out with studies that try to
prove that not only do you not burn less fuel and save the environment with most hybrid cars, you don't even save
much money
Before you actually settle on a nice high-tech hybrid, you need to understand how exactly they design hybrid
engines these days. Hybrid cars may have stormed into the market promising to save the environment; but people
really have been quite disappointed with the performance they get from these cars. More and more, companies
that make hybrid cars use of the technology present within their designs to put out better acceleration and other
sporty qualities. They take attention away from their cars fuel efficiency and greenness.
As far as fuel economy (and by extension environmental responsibility) is concerned, the iconic Toyota hybrid car,
the Prius, comes out top of the lot. You get fuel efficiency mileage ratings of 50 miles to the gallon. The Honda
Civic Hybrid and Insight come in second with about 10 mpg less; the Ford Fusion Hybrid comes in third. The other
Toyota hybrid car, the Camry, comes in a distant fifth at 33 mpg. Now why would anyone even want to go hybrid
with that Camry when they could get similar figures was a regular Volkswagen Passat?
Whatever car you go for in the end hybrid or not, environmental and fuel economy credentials are only a small
part of the whole picture. You need to look at what a car costs to finance, to maintain, buy insurance for. A Prius,
with all of these included, on the road, will end up costing you in excess of $40,000; a Honda Civic hybrid will cost
you $5000 less.
Basically, what you want to look at when you're trying to choose hybrid car is, how long it will the car to pay you
back in fuel savings for what you're putting up, up front. The Prius, the Toyota hybrid car, comes out tops here it
will pay you back within two years. No other car comes close.
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