Best Cars to Insure - Is it cheaper to drive a hybrid or fuel running car?

Is it cheaper to drive a hybrid or fuel running car?

How much does each cost on a monthly or weekly estimate? Basically I am 18 and I am getting a new car. What should I get a hybrid or fuel running car?

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I tried to figure this out. I just bought a new Toyota Yaris with 35 highway and 29 city. I think it's cheaper to own the Prius over five years than the Yaris in terms of gasoline costs, even if you add in the cost to change a battery on the Prius. The problem is that the Yaris is $15,000 and the Prius is $24,000. However the Prius is bigger and more powerful. I just didn't want to spend $24,000.
The only advantage to a hybrid is city driving. On the freeways a hybrid gets the same mileage as a normal 4 cylinder car, around 35 miles per gallon. Don't fall for the liars that claim 50 mpg on the freeway, it simply isn't true. Buy a VW TDI and you'll get much better mileage than a yuppie hybrid, even if diesel is 10 to 12% more, you'll get around 40% better mileage on diesel.
You should buy a low-cost economy car like the Yaris, Elantra, Focus etc. These cars get well over 30mpg, and cost far less than even the cheapest hybrid car. You will never save enough gas to justify the increased cost of a hybrid. The higher purchase price, interest on the loan, and higher insurance (particularly at age 18) will negate much of your gas savings.
Payments on the Prius would be $220 a month more than for the Yaris, while fuel costs would only be about $42 a month, assuming you drive 20K miles a year and unleaded sells for an average of $4 a gallon. Chances are that insurance and maintenance for the Yaris would be cheaper too. The only VW TDI currently on the market is the V10 Tuareg, and it doesn't get better mileage than just about any car you can buy. When the Jetta was available with a TDI, it did return about 1 mpg better than a Prius in a test run by Autoweek. Here in California, diesel is currently $1 a gallon more than unleaded, $4.89 v. $3.85 at the cheapest gas station. If more people start buying diesels, that relationship can only get worse.
My father has a prius and 90% of his commuute is on the highway, AVG MPG 44.5. My Aunt has the original prius high AVG MPG, 39.7
Hi, short answer: it depends on what you need your vehicle to do, how far you drive, and the type of driving you do It is actually less expensive to drive a full hybrid vehicle than a standard vehicle -of the same level of vehicle- if you are driving at least 20-30 minutes each way. Anything less than 20 minutes and the savings goes to the environment and not gas savings. People will tell you it is cheaper to buy a base Civic, Corolla, Yaris, Fit, or other compact or sub-compact vehicle. Of course it is, because you are not getting the same level of vehicle. You'd never compare a Civic to an Accord, or a Corolla to a Camry and say they are the same level vehicle. Common sense says they are not and you get what you pay for. Spending $4,000 less for a vehicle means you will have about $80 less payment each month ($340 vs. $420). full answer: I want to point out several things and give you some advice as well as answer your question. So stay with me and you'll get a full answer that will make a big difference. You want to lose as little as possible with this $20-30,000 investment you're about to make (vehicle price + finanacing + insurance - depreciation/trade or selling value). Too many people find out their 5 year old SUV is worth 20% of what they paid for it (they lose $24,000 of value on a 30,000 sticker). It doesn't matter what vehicle you look at, the basic monthly payment will be about $20.00 per $1000.00 financed over a standard five year loan. The monthly $20 will go up if you don't have good credit or a good co-signer. So a $17,000 vehicle will be at least $340.00 per month, a $21,000 one will be about $420.00 and so on. Remember, you will get a better interest rate if you are able to put down at least 10% of the purchase price ($1500-2000 minimum). The amount spent depends on what you want and need your vehicle to do. Wants you can do without (but you'd like to have), needs there is no question on. Some people only need a sedan, but want a truck or SUV, for example. Do a "Ben Franklin"- draw a line down the center of a piece of paper and on the left write your needs, on the right write your wants. Put this away for a few days and then take a look at it again to see if your answers have changed. Only then would I start to look at all the vehicles that will fit both columns on your sheet. Then start crossing off the vehicles that just don't appeal to you or aren't available in your area (Nissan and GM are only releasing the Altima Hybrid and Malibu Hybrid in very limited areas of the country, for example). Then go to a dealer lot after hours or on Sunday and look at what the actual vehicles have and what they actually cost. You should be left with two or three vehicles to take for a drive at that point. You will be making a bigger investment in a more advanced vehicle, no matter what it is. You get what you pay for. Please don't make the mistake that so many people do, thinking a Prius is equal to a Corolla or a Yaris, or a Civic Hybrid is equal to a Fit. Common sense says these vehicles aren't the same, it's like comparing a Civic to an Accord or a Corolla to a Camry. You can get a basic, fuel efficient vehicle for the $15-17,000 range like a Corolla, Civic, Yaris, Fit, or similar. You can get a more advanced vehicle like the Prius, Civic Hybrid, Camry or Accord in the $21,000 and up range. Do not purchase a vehcile without the minimums of ABS, side seat and side curtain airbags, CD player, and A/C. Ideally, the vehicle should also have traction control and stability control. Any new vehicle you purchase should have these features not only because you will enjoy it more and be much safer with them, but also think about what you will be doing in a few years. You will be trading or selling this vehicle eventually. It will be worth a great deal more to a dealership or a private buyer when these features become standard across the board and people looking to buy a vehicle demand that their next vehicle has them. Pay attention to the ads you see from every manufacturer. They all tout gas mileage with gas being high now, but they also make sure to mention how safe their vehicles are, especially when they have traction/stability/side airbags. Notice I haven't recommended any vehicle yet. Do your homework first and your choice should be a lot easier. OK, onto why a hybrid is a great choice for most people. A full hybrid is able to move and power the A/C using electricity only, the internal combustion engine (ICE) does not have to start. Think of the Prius. A partial hybrid must have the ICE running to move or power the A/C, but the ICE is shut off at stops (if the A/C is not on). Think of the Civic Hybrid (with it's Integrated Motor Assist system, which boosts the performance of the ICE). A mild hybrid must have the ICE running to move or power the A/C, just like any standard vehicle, but the ICE can be shut off at a stop. Think of the Malibu Hybrid. The difference between a partial and a mild hybrid is the mild has no additional storage capacity for electrical energy, everything is powered by the ICE. A partial will have some electrical storage capacity in a seperate NiMH battery. A full will have a much stronger NiMH battery and much stronger electrical motors/generators. Speaking for Toyota, there has never been a person who has paid to replace a NiMH because of defects or failure in the nine, almost ten, years the Prius has been in the US. There have been NiMH replaced due to accidents or owner abuse or modification, but none otherwise. Anything else is rumor or myth. Common sense says if these things were failing, it would be all over the news. People just pay too much attention to high mpg vehicles these days. Also, a full hybrid has less parts in general and less moving parts than a standard vehicle. The Prius, for example, has no starter, no alternator, no timing belt, no mechanical power steering pump or steering belt, and the brake pads should never need to be replaced due to the regenerative braking system. Also, it is completely false that it costs more to maintain a full hybrid like the Prius. I have posted extensively on the .11 cents per mile maintenance costs of the Prius over each 100,000 miles of operation. That .11 cents per mile includes tires, gas at $3.75 per gallon, oil changes and all other regular maintenance at a Toyota dealership, not a corner cheapy lube. I have also detailed just how wrong the myth of the Prius environmental impact is. It is completely false that a Prius, or other similar full hybrid, causes more pollution than a standard vehicle. Do a search here in answers for those posts to get the full details. So, to wrap up, you will spend more for a hybrid, but you will get more vehicle since manufacturers add more features to a hybrid because it is a different level of vehicle.