The City of Los Angeles (as in the government entity) owns several Toyota Prius hybrids, being the vehicle with both an electric motor and a gasoline engine. I like driving them because the City also acquired HOV Lane Passes for them, so I get to use the Carpool (High Occupancy Vehicle) Lanes even when I'm by myself. I also like driving the Ford Contours because they drive remarkably well for a vehicle that's not a sports car...but I don't get to use the HOV Lane when I'm in a Contour.
Today I had to drive down to Santa Ana, a city in Orange County, which is located approximately 36 miles or 57 kilometres from downtown Los Angeles. I'm on pretty good terms with the mechanic at the garage so I usually get the vehicle I ask for, and sometimes I get it without needing to ask, like today; George saw where I was going and promptly gave me a set of Prius keys.
So, why do you need to know this? The Prius has an onboard computer which shows the mileage you're getting, both current and cumulative. Someone reset the counter in my vehicle 3,000 miles ago and since then it has averaged 41.7mpg, or 5.67litres/100km. On the freeway while cruising around 70mph I was getting damn close to 50mpg, but occasionally I noticed in congested traffic the mileage would drop to around 30mpg, about the same as I'd expect from a non-hybrid Prius, so obviously the two averaged out to around 40mpg.
What does this mean to you? Well, maybe you're thinking of getting a hybrid, but you're wondering just how good it really is. They're more economical than the average vehicle, but they're also more expensive, a few thousand dollars more expensive. Let's crunch some numbers, shall we?
In Los Angeles it's not uncommon to drive approximately 50 miles each day getting to work and back. I noticed we'd be filling our Focus up almost every week and it has about a 250 mile range and usually gets around 25mpg. With fuel here in California costing approx. $2.50 per gallon those 250 miles in the Focus cost me $25. If I were driving a hybrid Prius and getting 41.7mpg I'd only use 6 gallons per 250 miles, which would cost me $15. So I'd save $10 per week which equates to a savings of just 40¢/10 miles. Not a lot, right? But I'm only driving 250 miles per week (actually I'm driving even less now. Public Transport roxxorz!)
Well, the more you drive, the more you save. Someone driving in from Riverside, if they get the HOV Pass, will save both time and money. Riverside to downtown L.A. is around 60 miles each way, 120 miles per day, or 600 miles per week. And yes, quite a few people do that commute (or longer) every day. 600 miles is a weekly saving of $24, and over 52 weeks means you save yourself $1300 per year. Drive the car for 3 years and you save almost $4,000...which is probably close to the price difference between a regular Prius and the Hybrid.
So, now you can do the math, factoring in the price difference, and work out whether or not it's worth you getting a Prius.
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5 comments:
I can't wait until another 5 years go by as that is when there will most likely be more hybrids in used car lots.
I only drive 10 minutes to work so the savings would be minimal in my case, but if I could fill up once per month, I would love it!
My daily drive to the Bus Station and back is barely 5 miles, round trip, or 25 miles per week. Assuming the Prius gas tank takes approx. 10 gallons to fill (about the same as my Focus), those 10 gallons will last for approx 400 miles, meaning if the Prius was only ever driven to the Bus Station and back I'd need to gas up about once every 4 months :D
lol all this talk of cars and i can't drive yet lol :P
thought not sure i will get a car when i hit 17 as insurance for young drivers is so much that would be pretty much all my money being spent on a car that really isn't essential.
also thanks for beta key i think was from you lol if it wasn't i'm keylogged lol.
Bonno, I did send you a Beta Key. Enjoy :)
*belated post*
Also if you buy a hybrid Prius, you get a very very nice tax rebate! I think we're getting 3k back this year from the Prius, which totally makes up for the cost difference between it and other cars.
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