And as gasoline cars have become more fuel efficient over the years, thanks in no small part to CAFE regulations*, the regressiveness has increased from another cause:
Middle class folks trade in their 5- or 10-year old car for a new one that gets better mileage then a working class person buys that relatively gas-guzzly used car. And so the working class person will pay more tax dollars to drive the same amount versus the family with the new car. Meanwhile an even poorer person will buy whatever relative clunker the working class person got rid of and therefore pay even more gas tax to drive it.
Of course those are another thing vandal Trump unilaterally cancelled.
My brother’s car died earlier this year, so I was looking at the Toyota RAV4 Prime, a PHEV version of the RAV4. 42 miles in electric-only mode, and 5-600 miles in hybrid mode. It’s new this year and looked really nice but with the few miles I drive, I really can’t justify buying it myself.
That strikes me as an unfair characterization. You’re being refused exemption from highway upkeep costs, but nobody gets that (except people who don’t drive). Your refusal to pollute gains you one significant financial benefit, which is an exemption from buying gasoline (and that comes to far more than $150/year).
The PHEV version (RAV4 Prime) might get you federal or state tax credits, making it a better deal than the conventional hybrid version of the car. But it’s a new car, and it may only be available at a premium.
Some quick googling tells me the Kiro Niro and Hyundai take a full 54 minutes to quick charge to 80% capacity.
I don’t see either of them being offered with AWD. Electric SUVs still need to get better before most people would consider them to be a good replacement for gas.
The Prius has the lowest total cost of ownership. Mine has 180k miles with no major problems. It’s a great car; surprisingly roomy with decent pick-up when in power mode. I’ll likely get another one when it dies.
This just seems so bizarre to this non-American. The rest of the western world is trying to reduce emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, and are adding tax to gas to help that happen - not penalising the people who are helping the planet!
and that “lot of driving” would need to be of the sort that really benefits from the hybrid function. Highway mileage is not dramatically better on the hybrid (35 vs 32) but city driving was (40 vs 28).
There are factors other than fuel economy to consider. I have owned two hybrids (2006 Highlander and 2017 RAV4). Both were far more pleasant to drive than the 2010 RAV4 (4 cylinder). Acceleration was much smoother, especially from a start. Extra power for passing was always available, even up some pretty steep grades. Seemed to me that the 6-cylinder Highlander Hybrid had more like V8 performance and the 4-cylinder RAV4 Hybrid more like V6 - all while retaining better mileage than the non-hybrid equivalents got.
Some of the smoothness may have been the CVT (continuously variable transmission) but AFAIK those transmissions are only available on hybrids (although I see a lot of cars now with 7, 8, or 9 speed transmissions which might be pretty close).
This is about road taxes, and has little to do with emissions or fossil fuels. It’s just we’re stuck with a system that uses gas tax to fund roads, and if you don’t buy gas but still drive on the roads, you need to pay your fair share.
Sure, but is that transferable? To me, that would be the indicator that the battery actually has a long lifespan.
I mean, Hyundai might be willing to take the chance that the average owner won’t be keeping the car until the battery pack’s lifespan is up, and “lifetime warranty” it, figuring that they’ll only pay out on those people who buy it and then need a replacement 10-15 years later, which is probably not that many overall. Meanwhile, the second (third, fourth, etc…) owners would be on the hook for replacement.
Agreed. If you mainly drive short distances, an electric is the way to go, and I would seriously consider one for my next vehicle once the prices look better. AFAIK, some places in Europe give tax reductions for electric cars, but the upfront costs are still a problem. Charging stations are starting to appear more widely, but not everywhere.
The gas tax has a basic flaw in that it does not encourage saving money or cutting pollution. But don’t tell the tax boys, or they will think up something even worse.
Except it does nothing to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels or reduce emissions. Here we pay an annual road tax for each vehicle we own, but the amount you pay varies by what sort of vehicle you drive. You want a gas guzzler, you pay more. You drive an all electric, you pay nothing.
Getting back to the OP:
I see a lot of wild suggestions from vehicles costing 20k right on up to 80k. Any calculation of “Is it worth it?” has to include a budget. Remember that the extra cost to you also means that there is a slight bump in resale value for people who don’t drive their cars for 15 years or more until they die. So what’s the budget you are looking at? There are some absolutely INSANE deals on the Chevy Bolt right now, with extra money off for Costco members of a few thousand bucks. And while it’s not really an SUV, it does have a higher seat height and so you might find it to your liking.
To my knowledge, only Toyota has any data on mass-market hybrid vehicles more than 10-ish years old. (Ford started some early as well, but were basically licensed versions of Toyota technology at that time). There are not any mass market fully electric vehicles that have been in production that long.
All of that in mind: In 2015 I bought a 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid. I paid more for it than a standard Milan, but it got great fuel economy (I averaged 35 - 40mpg) and has held up long enough to be my daughter’s car now. It’s got some rust (all of the Fords I have owned rusted…stupid Fords) but otherwise has held up well. The battery is not as fresh as it was when I bought it, but it still helps her get acceptable fuel economy for her mostly local trips (I think she averages 28+mpg until it gets really cold). Buying a used hybrid is a great way to avoid paying some of the up-front cost of a new one.