It's hard to find a deal these days. But good luck, especially if you're in Los Angeles where everybody wants too much for everything. Ask your friends. Maybe they know someone who's selling one because all the dealers in California are scumbags and charge way too much money

I don’t know if you are still in the market for a car or a hybrid. 

The math was done for a RAV4 vs RAV4 Hybrid, but the ideas behind it are similar with any hybrid. 

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.)

Now for the RAV4 Hybrid specifically, the fascinating thing I like about the RAV4 Hybrid versus the CRV Hybrid and the ICE RAV4 is this.  The rear wheels in the RAV4 Hybrid (America) AWD system are completely electric.  There is no drive shaft.  It run completely on electricity.  In many ways, this simplifies the setup, and gives the car more control over when to spin up the rear wheels as needed.

The CRV Hybrid has a drive shaft which connects the Electric motor from the front of the car.  While I do like Honda’s implementation of the hybrid system (which is practically drives like a full time EV), the AWD system gives me pause.  In my mind, it makes more sense to take away the driveshaft.

And of course with ICE RAV4, you have to deal with transfer case and differential maintenance and all that good stuff.

Ultimately, when it comes down to it, give the RAV4 Hybrid a test drive and see if you like how it drives.  I personally drive one frequently, and I think Toyota did a wonderful job balancing a hybrid drivetrain with the performance one would expect from a light duty SUV.

BTW, in terms of the government. From now until 2035, car makers are basically forced by the government to meet certain fleet MPG and emissions standards.  Some makes choose to go hybrid to meet that goal.  Others try to milk every last ounce of performance from ICE engines with turbos and other tricks.  By 2035, no more new ICE vehicles.