Why would you not buy a Toyota Prius?
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M$6 Answers
In simple terms: if you pay X more for the Prius than an equivalent car with a slightly worse fuel economy, but your fuel savings are not greater than X, then there is no money advantage in driving a Prius.
The Prius would probably hit the sweet spot if gas would hover above the $4/gallon mark, but at less than $2/gallon it just doesn't make sense. You also need to take into account that after a few years of city driving, those batteries are going to need a very expensive overhaul. This means you either take the hit and fix the car, or ditch it before that. If you get rid of the car before you broke even, then there was no real money advantage to own that car.
You also have to understand that the car has to be driven a specific way in order to get the advertised fuel usage figures. If you are a lead foot, you will spend more time hitting the gas engine than the electric motor. On the other hand, if you are a hyper miler, then you will have no trouble whatsoever getting your money's worth.
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M$
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M$1) I don't have the job security I desire in order to buy a new car.
2) I think something better will come out in the next few years. This will not only lower the price of the prius but will introduce more competition in the hybrid market. This will in turn hopefully lower the prices of the batteries once more of them are being produced/recycled. I would rather have other people pay the premium and wait it out. Other people, like Jason Calacanis have the opposite mindset (and I'm glad!). He chose to buy a Tesla knowing that he was paying a huge premium. He justified it by saying that he was willing to pay the premium just so the cost of this technology could come down and more people would eventually be able to buy them. (Jason feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.)
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M$While it may reduce emissions, the side effects of producing the batteries that power the vehicle offset that difference. There have been numerous articles and studies regarding this fact. One can argue it's worth it for progress, which may be true, but that's 100% different than saying it's already helping the earth.
Secondly, the fuel economy is misleading. If someone drives a Prius in the city, they may get great performance, but you have to remember, the electric engine only works at low speeds and stop and go driving, which is why the numbers are so inflated. In reality, once the gas engine turns on, it's actually no less efficient than many other cars out there. In fact, it's got worse fuel economy than some cars that are larger, heavier and have more powerful engines. Since highway and freeway driving require the gas engine, if you spend much time at these speeds, the electric engine won't actually save you much money.
Keep in mind though, that Hybrids in general cost quite a bit more than their purely petrol counterparts, meaning that the initial cost would need to be offset by the savings in fuel for it to make sense.
Since it doesn't in most cases, and the car is relatively under developed in all the other aspects such as handling, power, styling and functionality, the car is riding purely on the concept as an earth saver-wrongly so, because it really is not.
I have over 5 years as a mechanic
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M$
That link is an irrelevant and extreme example. If you compare the right variables, you can make the earth look flat. Comparing fuel economy of a Hummer H2 to a Toyota Prius makes zero logical sense.
I actually compared the fuel economy of the Prius to the BMW 3 series, with 6 cylinders and twin turbos, can get 30mpg on the highway.
Your second point about the highway driving also doesn't apply, because the system referred to, "Regenerative Braking" has nothing to do with fuel economy, but rather it uses friction from the brakes to recharge the battery cells. The amount of power in the batteries does not have any effect on the fuel efficiency of the Prius.
The fact remains that Hybrid vehicles cost significantly more than gasoline only models, and the difference in fuel economy does not offset the cost within a reasonable amount of time.
Also, city driving efficiency only applies to people who spend the majority of their time driving in the city. Saying that "most of your time is spend driving in the city" is not only ignorant, but also not factual, based on the fact that many people are forced to commute via the highways, which leads back to the previous argument, that the Prius actually has no better highway fuel economy than other cars in it's category that are actually less expensive.
Why compare the Prius to a Hummer? Rather, compare a Hybrid version of a car to the same model without the electric engine. That makes more sense.
Like mentioned before, no matter how you try to shake it, the Prius is not economically logical for most people.
EDIT:
Here is a link to a story related.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/hybridwatch01.html
The articles you mention have been debunked countless times.
http://www.betterworldclub.com/articles/hummer-not-more-efficient.htm
Furthermore, the majority of driving takes place within a few miles of the home and so more efficient city and stop and go driving is extremely important. On top of this the prius still has an advantage even while driving on the highway as it has regenerative braking for when you do slow down.
I was specifically addressing this line, "While it may reduce emissions, the side effects of producing the batteries that power the vehicle offset that difference."
The side effects of producing the batteries not as large as people think it is.
As for driving close to home see http://www.columbia.edu/cu/21stC/issue-3.3/ross.html which states that, "most driving is done within 10 miles of home." Don't forget that many people that drive on the highways to and from work are often stuck in stop and go traffic during rush hour. This obviously counts as city driving and not highway when you often don't even break 30mph. This style of driving is seen around every major city in the country. There are exceptions here and there, but I would argue that a significant chunk of miles driven on the highway are well under the normal highway speed limit. For people that spend most of their time driving above 40mph I would never recommend a prius (or any other hybrid).
The regenerative braking also has an impact on fuel efficiency, albeit a minor one. At low speeds the prius uses battery power. When it runs low it needs to use the combustion engine to recharge it. Braking on the highway, or anywhere else, ensures that the battery is always at a high enough charge to avoid starting the engine for the sole purpose of recharging the battery.
I haven't disputed that hybrids cost more, either up front or in the long run. I only want to make clear what the true environmental impact is and its relative efficiency to other vehicles. As I said in my own answer I have no intention of buying one.
Mind you, I currently drive a car that gets decent highway mileage, and value performance and handling over fuel economy, so I am a bit biased. Since I can take the bus to work, I have no problem using public transportation, which is far better than driving yourself anyway.
I'm not here to do a complicated ROI analysis, but my point is this: At the end of the day, the decision comes down to what your priorities are, and if the Prius offers up enough utility to offset the inherent trade offs one must make in owning it. For me, I'll stick to pub trans.
Here's a relevant video from the guys over at Top Gear. Apparently they don't like it very much either...
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M$
If you are just wanting to "go green", you may want to wait on buying a Prius to see the new one with the solar panel on the roof. Another green favorite is the VW Jetta TDI, said to be more fuel efficient, punchier acceleration, and roomier than the Prius.
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M$
