Will a hybrid save me money

Regardless of Gas Prices, Some Hybrids Pay for Themselves Immediately

Theres never been a better time to buy a hybrid, says Jake Fisher, senior director of CRs Auto Test Center. Automakers are offering more hybrid options in more categories, which means more people can take advantage of the fuel savings. Its not just the Toyota Prius anymore, he says. Todays consumers can choose hybrid pickups, two- and three-row SUVs, large cars, minivans, and luxury cars that offer excellent fuel efficiency.

Hybrid vehicles combine a gasoline engine and a battery-powered electric motor. Unlike fully electric vehicles, they do not need to be plugged in.

For our analysis, we compared the manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) of similarly equipped hybrid and nonhybrid versions of some popular vehicles across categories and found that fuel savings could make up for many hybrids additional up-front cost in less than four years of ownership. If gas prices fall to $3 per gallon, the payback period would still only rise to four or five years. Many newer hybrids offer an even quicker payback: The Ford Maverick hybrid XLT has an MSRP thats $2,960 less than the nonhybrid XLT, the Lexus NX350h costs $175 less than the gas-only NX350 version, and the 2023 Lexus RX Hybrid SUV now costs the same as a comparably equipped non-hybrid version.

You dont have to buy an EV to reduce your exposure to high gas prices, says Chris Harto, senior energy policy analyst at CR. Buying an efficient hybrid can help buffer your monthly budget from the wild swings caused by volatility in global oil markets. In fact, in some cases, a hybrid may cost less to fuel than a pure EV.

If youre a Consumer Reports member, this article is available to you. CR members have full access to the results of our Annual Auto Surveys; first-drive reviews of the newest cars, SUVs, and trucks; and our full road tests and exclusive ratings for each vehicle we buy. If youre not a CR member, click below to join.

How much does it cost to run a hybrid car?

Money saving advice: what is cost of hybrid cars? We use the Vauxhall Astra PHEV as an example The amount you save will depend on your lifestyle

Electrified cars are becoming the norm and for good reason. The best hybrid cars offer diesel-beating fuel economy figures (on paper, at least) and enough pure-electric range to allow most drivers to complete their daily commute without burning a drop of petrol.

That means a hybrid car can offer dramatically reduced running costs over an equivalent petrol car. However, they are more expensive to buy and, if you opt for a plug-in hybrid car, you wont reap the fuel economy benefits if you dont have somewhere convenient to regularly charge it up.

We wanted to put hybrid technology under the microscope, so weve spent some time in a petrol and a plug-in hybrid version of the latest Vauxhall Astra. The question is will the PHEV always save you money, or could you be just as well off by opting for the cheapest petrol and driving carefully?

Vauxhall Astra initial costs: petrol vs PHEV

A higher purchase price is one of the strongest arguments against plug-in hybrid cars and the Vauxhall Astra is no different. At the time of writing, the most basic 108bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol-engined Vauxhall Astra cost 26,960, while prices for cheapest PHEV started from 37,935.

Thats a difference of almost 11,000. If you bought the 108bhp petrol Astra and used that extra cash as your fuel budget, youd be able to drive for around 70,000 miles. Granted, thats assuming you can regularly achieve 45mpg but we found figures like that to be realistic during our testing.

Vauxhall justifies the Astra PHEVs higher purchase price with some stellar WLTP fuel economy figures. The brand claims itll do 256mpg but its important to not take those figures at face value.

Petrol vs PHEV: real-world fuel economy

We found that the 108bhp petrol Astra can reliably return 45mpg. The PHEV Astra is more efficient, but it simply cant match Vauxhalls official claims. During our time with the car, we averaged 83.1mpg when driving the car in hybrid mode.

However, we could only achieve those figures when the battery had some charge in it. Once wed drained the Astras electricity reserves, our average fuel economy figures plummeted to 41.7mpg. That means, if you forget to charge (or dont have the facilities to charge) the Vauxhall Astra PHEVs battery, itll be less efficient than the non-electrified petrol model.

Because of this, the plug-in hybrid Astra wont suit you if you spend lots of time chewing through miles on the motorway. Drive from London to the Scottish borders and the battery will be empty before you make it halfway, which means youll spend most of your journey driving inefficiently unless youre prepared to find a spare charger at a motorway service station.

To get anywhere close to Vauxhalls 200mpg-plus fuel economy figures, you need to do lots of short journeys that are within the capabilities of the batterys maximum range and within easy reach of EV charging ports. That will allow you to spend as much time as possible motoring around on electric power alone.

But therein lies a completely different set of problems. Vauxhall says the most efficient Astra PHEV can drive for up to 42 miles on electric power alone. Spoiler alert it cant. During the winter months, the best we could manage was between 17 and 23 miles on electric power.

Petrol vs PHEV: tax

But wait, we hear you say. What about road tax? Road tax is calculated according to CO2 emissions and PHEVs emit less CO2 than petrol cars, so theyll be cheaper to tax, right? While thats certainly the case, it doesnt make enough of a difference to offset the higher purchase price of a PHEV even when paired with best-case scenario fuel savings.

When we wrote this article, the first year of road tax for a brand new 108bhp 1.2-litre petrol Astra weighed in at 210. From the second year onwards, annual prices were set at 180. The cheapest Astra PHEV, meanwhile, was free to tax for the first year and 170 annually from the second year onwards because it emits less than 50g/km of CO2 in official WLTP testing. Thats only a marginal saving.

However, you can make the tax system work in your favour through other means. The most sensible way to buy an Astra PHEV is as a company car. Like road tax, the amount you pay in Benefit in Kind tax is calculated according to your cars CO2 emissions and you can save a huge amount of cash by opting for an eco-friendly car. Consider the following example.

We compared the Benefit in Kind tax rates of two versions of the Vauxhall Astra GS for company car contracts lasting 24 months/20,000 miles. The only thing separating the two cars in terms of spec is their method of propulsion one is powered by a 128bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine and the other is powered by Vauxhalls 178bhp 1.6-litre PHEV powertrain.

The P11D value (which is the cost of the car and VAT, excluding the cost of its first year of road tax and registration) of the petrol Astra is 29,590. Because its CO2 emissions stand at 125g/km, it falls into the 30% BiK tax bracket. Well spare you the boring details the upshot is that, if youre a 20% taxpayer, youll pay 1,775.40 per year to have the car on your driveway.

The P11D value of the PHEV Astra stands at 37,880. Its a much more expensive car but, because its CO2 emissions are far lower at just 23g/km, it falls into the 8% company car tax bracket. So, if youre a 20% taxpayer, youll only pay 606.08 per year for the car. The discounts get even more attractive if you make the switch to the pure-electric Astra. Thatll only set you back 160 every year.

Cost of hybrid cars: the verdict

For most drivers, petrol power is still the best choice. PHEV cars are much more expensive to buy and, unless you can charge them up religiously, theyre less efficient in the real world. We found that, once wed drained the Astra PHEVs battery pack, its economy was worse than the pure petrol cars because we were it to haul around the dead weight of the electrical system.

Petrol cars are still good all-rounders. You get reasonable fuel economy in the town, better fuel economy on the motorway and decent performance on the open road. PHEVs only make sense if you take lots of short journeys and have easy access to a charging port that way you can use electric power more of the time and cut down your fuel bills.

The one exception to the rule is if youre renting the Astra PHEV on a company car deal. Because of its lower CO2 emissions, itll cost you less money each year than the petrol model, but youll have the benefit of driving around in a more expensive and faster car.

SORRY,YOUVE BEEN BLOCKED

You are unable to access the Vanilla Network.

Why have I been blocked?

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

What can I do to resolve this?

You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.

Do hybrid cars really save you money?

Hybrid cars have two motors, one electric and one internal combustion. While theyre generally more fuel efficient, do hybrid cars really save you money?

A HYBRID VEHICLEis one that is powered by two different types of motor,one electric and one internal combustion the kind wereused to where a fuel ismixed with air in a confined space to produce a driving force (petrol or diesel as examples).There are several different variations on that theme:

• petrol/electric mainly powered by a petrol engine, but has a battery which powers an electric motor. The electric motor can drive the car by itself, or in concert with the petrol engine for extra power. The battery is recharged by harvesting energy as the car slows down, or by the petrol engine. Examples here are Toyotas Prius and Camry;
• diesel/electric same, but uses a diesel engine. Typically only found on larger vehicles. Example is the Range Rover Sport hybrid;
• plug-in hybrid same again, but you can recharge the battery from an external power source. Examples are the Porsche Cayenne and Panamera hybrids; and
• generator a pure electric-drive car, but also have a small petrol (rarely diesel) engine that cannot drive the wheels, only recharge the battery. This simplifies the car somewhat. Example is the Holden Volt.

While were on the subject, an EV is an Electric Vehicle, or one powered only by electricity, nothing else. Teslas are the most famous example here.

Whats a hybrid like to drive? A good one is no different to a normal car, or only in such a small way as to be almost unnoticeable by the average driver/owner. There is no technical reason why the hybrid need be any slower than a conventional car, handle worse or significantly compromise on loadspace. However, because hybrids are naturally focused on fuel efficiency carmakers tend toprioritisefuel consumption over handling, for example fitting thin, low-rolling-resistance tyres that are not great for handling, and they dont exactly go overboard on the power either. Interior packaging is very similar to normal cars, as while there is an electric motor that is small the conventional engine is often a bit smaller than would otherwise be the case. Batteries are hidden out of view too, so the day-to-day compromises are not noticeable for most users.

But does a hybrid make sense if you look at the costs? The short answer is simple depends on your situation as theres always going to be outliers and unusual factors specific to every owner. However, what we can do here is look at some of the basics which readers can then modify for their own circumstances.

At the moment, hybrids cost more to buy and may cost less to run so from a financial perspective you need to work out how soon, if ever, that additional capital cost will be recouped by lower running costs. Exactly the same maths applies to choosing a diesel car over petrol higher purchase price, lower fuel consumption.

But hybrids may not always be more expensive. One of the leaders, Toyota, say that in the future, Toyota sees Hybrid Synergy Drive technology extending across its full range of vehicles. In Australia, the range will continue to grow. And it is interesting that the three hypercars of late, the Ferrari La Ferrari, Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 are all hybrids, not for efficiency but for performance.

Given the ever more stringent emissions regulations, and the improving hybrid technology we can certainly expect to see more and more hybrids theres already around 15 on the Australian market, with more to come.

Our visit to the Toyko Motor Show

proved that every car manufacturer, without exception, is focusing on hybrids, electric vehicles and alternative power sources. With that sort of investment we can expect prices to lower, range and efficiency to improve, and hybrids to become the norm. Even off-roaders are embracing hybrid technology, not least because electric power offers superb low-speed control.

All we then need is governments at all levels to wake up and provide incentives to clean cars such as lower registration, free or reduced parking, and lower tax. Thatll help make them more cost-effective, and despite what they say, consumers buy cars with their hip pockets.

So to see what sort of savings could be generated we took a look at the Toyota Camry, which comes in four trim levels, three of which have hybrid options. The base stats are:

Toyota Camry
Conventional cars	Hybrid
Altise	Atara S, SL	Altise	Atara S, SL
Example driveaway cost	$ 28,990	$ 31,990	$ 32,990	$ 34,990
Engine	2.5L 133kW / 231Nm	2.5L 135kW / 235Nm	2.5L 118kW / 213Nm + 105kW electric. Combined maximum 151kW
Dimensions (mm)	4850mm l, 1520mm w, 1200mm h
Weight (kg)	1460kg 1505kg	1575kg	1610kg
Specifications	Extra urban	6.0	6.0	4.0	4.0
Urban	10.9	10.9	5.7	5.7
Combined	7.8	7.8	5.2	5.2
Co2 g / 100k	183	183	121	121
Fuel tank	70L	65L
Towing	1200kg braked / 500kg unbraked	300kg
Drag coefficient	0.29	0.27

The stats show the vehicles are very similar. As youd expect, the hybrid weighs a bit more, and has a smaller petrol engine as theres an electric to back it up. The hybrid is also marginally more aerodynamically efficient. It cant tow as much as the normal car, really not much more than a box trailer. Empty.

So what does this mean for your running costs? Heres the analysis:

Conventional cars	Hybrid
Altise	Atara S, SL	Altise	Atara S, SL
`	Fuel cost	$1,758	$1,758	$1,172	$1,172
Co2	25.62	25.62	16.94	16.94
Analysis	Buy price difference			$4,000	$3,000
Fuel cost reduction per annum (1)			-$586	-$586
Co2 reduction (kg)			-8.68	-8.68
Years to pay off			6.8	5.1

According to the AustralianBureauofStatistics, 14,000km is the average mileage. Weve added 15% to the combined fuel consumption figures to better reflect real-world use.

As you can see, the hybrid will pay for itself in fuel, after about 5 to 7 years, based on that usage pattern. If you do a lot of freeway driving your savings wont be as great, but more if you spend time in slow city traffic. And of course the greater your annual mileage, the greater the savings.

There are more factors to consider than just the cost of fuel:

• Capital costs. In this case, youre spending an extra $3000 or $4000. On a loan, that means greater interest payments. Or if you bought cash, you could invest the money or use it on a home loan, or otherwise make it work for you. In a car, than money is just depreciating;
• Resale. Hybrids typically dont have a great resale value, and depreciation is a huge part of running costs;
• Servicing. Will your hybrid be as cheap to service as a normal car, or as easy to fix? Servicing is not a big difference as the hybrid systems are simple and reliable, but hybrids add complexity to a car, and complexity is never cheap to fix. Servicing is often slightly higher for hybrids;
• Tyres hybrids are heavier which means tyres wear out quicker, but in reality the difference is negligble so need not be considered;
• Brakes hybrids are heavier, so go through brake consumables quicker, right? Wrong! Hybrids slow down by regeneration, so if anything they are easier on the brakes than a normal car. However, the difference is not huge and isnt a major factorthe average driver does not replace their brakes every year, not even every three years;
• Registration hybrids do not yet attract any form of registration discount;
• Parking Australia hasnt really got into offering discounts for hybrids just yet; and
• Insurance hybrids are pretty much the same to insure as a conventional car.

The bottom line

A hybrid only starts to make financial sense if you drive enough low-speed kilometers per year to offset the higher purchase price, and the larger the car, the greater the savings. For example, the Prius c costs around $26k on the road, and a Yaris can be had for under $20k. You are veryunlikelyto ever see a financial return on the Prius, but with the larger Camry and a less significant price difference it may work. But for many owners, the sums will never add up.

A hybrid will never cost as little as a conventional car, simply because a hybrid has all of the complexity of a conventional car plus additional components, in the same way that diesel engines are more complex than petrols and therefore more expensive. The only way hybrids would become cheaper to buy is ifeconomiesof scale kicked in such that demand for hybrids was so great the cost difference was reduced or even eliminated, but that wont happen until the overall cost of ownership is significantly lower something that can only be achieved by government action to reduce hybrid running costs.