Hi everyone,
I’m planning to purchase a new Corolla in about a year or two. I’m not sure whether the regular or hybrid Corolla is right for me. I do approximately 70% highway driving and 30% city driving. I drive between 20-25K miles a year and plan on keeping the vehicle about 8-9 years. What are your thoughts?
This analysis was for a RAV4 gas vs hybrid, but the logic works the same way.
To Hybrid or Not To Hybrid
I personally like (some) hybrids. At the same time, I don’t think a hybrid is for everyone. It may fit your needs, it may not.
I have a 2004 Toyota Prius, that has 299,999+ miles. It’s been an amazing vehicle. The battery did need to be changed at 275,000 miles.
Hybrids in general are a more complex system. There is an Internal Combustion Engine. There is an Electric Motor. There is an eCVT which figures out the power it is is getting from the ICE and/or Electric Motor to transfer to the wheels. There is the cooling systems, systems with an s, one for the ICE, one for the Electric Motor. And of course, there is the biggest concern, the hybrid battery (traction battery).
At the same time, with all the complexity, the vehicle is somewhat simplified. There is no stand alone starter. There is no stand alone alternator. The Electric Motor acts as both starter and the alternator. On top of all that, when the ICE is on, the energy generated never* gets wasted like when a traditional ICE car is sitting in idle. And on top of all that, the electric motor / eCVT help slow down the car when it regenerates electricity, also saving wear and tear on the actual brakes.
Drivetrain technology aside, the question returns to how much will one be spending on repairs and maintenance on the life of the vehicle, as compared to the ICE.
Here is a spreadsheet that attempts to give a good idea of the break even mileage. How many miles would one need to drive the car, given the price of the vehicles, the price of gas? (We can even add an expected maintenance cost as well).
Strangely enough, this spreadsheet is for the RAV4.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-bVho8e_wwS-9oU_et-SPaqGYyqXH0ZTX7-euJiKRCk/edit?usp=sharing
One tab just takes the averages of highway and city MPG. The other tab, provides 5 different scenarios as a mental exercise.
My general recommendation just guestimating (I haven’t delved too deeply) at the spreadsheet data, generally speaking, to get the best bang for your buck, either with a hybrid or ICE RAV4.
Get the ICE RAV4:
If you plan on owning the car for less than 100,000 miles.
If you plan on driving nearly 100% on the freeway.
If you only drive your car around 5,000 miles per year. (Hybrids don’t like to sit around, they need to be exercised.)
Get the Hybrid RAV4:
If you plan on owning the car for more than 100,000 miles.
If you plan on driving 100% city, 75% city, 50% city, 25% city.
If you drive a ton per year, especially stop and go traffic.
Get either:
If you plan on owning it more than 200,000 miles. (While you will save on gas, it may equal out in terms of changing the battery. Most of the Prius stories I hear seems to be able to get at least ~225,000 out of it. Some less mileage, most folks more.)
I think hybrids excel where combustion engines suffer: low-speed, stop-and-go, city driving.
In my limited experience, hybrids are gutless, loud, and inefficient on the highway.
I would say you are for the most part right. However I did drive my 2013 prius from Southeast Georgia, to Cincinnati, to just north of New York City, and back to Georgia, total of around 2500 mile trip. I got 52mpg average over the trip, mixed driving. It was certainly not the worst road car I have ever had. They certainly excel in city driving though.
I drove rentals around Europe. They gave me a Hybrid Yaris and a normal economy Skoda with small displacement engine. They both got around the same economy on the highway. But Yaris engine was quite loud and struggled to pass. The Skoda felt very smooth, refined and confident and even looked luxurious inside. The Yaris looked like the inside of a public transport vehicle.
Yeah the Yaris is really a super econo box. I had the same engine in my Scion XB and that thing could barely get up to speed getting on an interstate, like scary slow. To me, my prius was actually pretty peppy, especially coming from the crazy slow scion. Most people would consider it slow though.
Your situation puts the difference between the hybrid and regular ICE to be negligible.
You may want to consider renting each, drive them a bit, check prices and get which one you like.
They will both likely get you 200k miles without any issues.
