Have a couple questions about potentially switching cars to a hybrid and if it's worth it

[Bm93]

Questions first.

1. If I'm after the best cost/return on a car, being the least I have to pay with the most savings afterwards, what type of car should I look for and what else should I look out for when choosing?

2. Is doubling my mileage from around 32/33MPG to around 60+MPG a reasonable expectation by getting a more economical car and implementing more techniques? (I put more info about how I came to the conclusion of the numbers below)

3. Am I better off sticking with my current car instead of switching?

4. Should I get an automatic or manual (if both seem relatively equal)? I much prefer to drive a manual 100%, but I've heard that automatics are closing the gap.

(5. Unrelated question. If I have the option to drive 4 miles, but it'll take ~17 minutes because of very slow traffic on a stretch of road, or drive 4.5 miles, but it'll take 13/14 minutes because of better traffic, which is the more economical option?)

I've got a Ford Mondeo 2.0 2008. It's a 5 gear petrol. But I had been tossing up the idea of getting a hybrid before, but it was never worth it because I didn't drive much. Now that I have a job that is a 30 mile commute, I think it will end up being worth it.

My MPG reader on my car seems to be optimistic, but the range left seems more accurate. I reset my MPG when I hit the motorway this morning to start testing changes on FE and at 55mph, I hit an average of 50.4 MPG (according to the car) when I came off, after 17 miles. The other 13 miles is urban driving, and especially when I finish work there's a lot of traffic which drags it down. I already leave early in the morning to miss traffic and have smoother slower driving, and miss some after work by going Gym on way home and miss half of the traffic as it's later when I finish at gym. 50MPG should get me 770 miles out of the tank if it was correct, but the range said 670 at the end of the motorway which I believe to be more accurate, especially when my average MPG on the car used to be 29.1, which should net me 448 miles, but I'd end up getting closer to 400/420 I think.

I haven't done a full week of driving with a full tank then refuelling the next week to figure out roughly how much I'm using per week to get a more accurate number yet though now that I've started the new job, but I currently (on the readout) averaged 35/36MPG, which if I consider the ~10% increased reading on the readout is probably more like 32/33MPG. I think if I practiced more techniques better I could raise the true reading at least around 35+ but I have no way of knowing yet.

If I managed to double my normal mileage, I'd save at least £100 a month on fuel, and probably around £20 a month on car tax, although the insurance apparently tends to be more expensive, but I don't think this will be more than a few pound a month difference overall. My wife said if I wanted to get one she'd also chip in for the cost, and I could essentially be driving a newer car for no extra cost on my monthly budget, theoretically.

I had been tossing up the idea of investing in an instant MPG reader, but I had heard some newer cars and a lot of hybrids have it, so if I was to get a different car and it comes with it, there's no point buying one, but if not I may as well.

[Hersbird]

Well 60 miles, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year is 15,000 miles. I don't think you will get 60, but 50 is doable. At $5/gal that's only a $640 savings a year.

Now there could be other savings with a hybrid. Better resale, the brakes last longer. You are doing good with your Ford. I had the Lincoln version here the MKZ and didn't get 25 mpg. Of course it was the AWD 400hp 3.0 turbo. I switched to a Sonata Hybid and get 50 pretty easy. I have seen a trip across town claim 72mpg once, but tank to tank, hand calculating around town it gets 50 and that's my wife mostly driving it not trying. So I'm happy I got the Sonata. We drove 30,000 the first year so saved about $2,200 with gas here at about 3.80/gallon.

I also may be confusing European gals and US gallons, so maybe 50 US mpg would be more like 60 European.

[freebeard]

Get a aircooled Beetle convertible. The mileage will stay the same, but appreciation will be through the roof.

newatlas.com/50-most-valuable-volkswagen-bug-beetle-sold-at-auction-price/53935/



This one sold for $72K. Beetles are silver, Microbuses are gold.

[Isaac Zachary]

I don't know about the UK, but in the USA we're still in a pretty terrible time for buying. Selling can be good, but then trying to find a car for a decent price is pretty much impossible. And car dealerships have been increasing the prices of their cars above MSRP.

I dumped my 1985 VW Golf diesel for a 2013 Toyota hybrid and ended up getting worse fuel mileage. Of course right now the cost of diesel is higher than gasoline out here, but sometimes it's the other way around.

[Bm93]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

Well 60 miles, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year is 15,000 miles. I don't think you will get 60, but 50 is doable. At $5/gal that's only a $640 savings a year.

Now there could be other savings with a hybrid. Better resale, the brakes last longer. You are doing good with your Ford. I had the Lincoln version here the MKZ and didn't get 25 mpg. Of course it was the AWD 400hp 3.0 turbo. I switched to a Sonata Hybid and get 50 pretty easy. I have seen a trip across town claim 72mpg once, but tank to tank, hand calculating around town it gets 50 and that's my wife mostly driving it not trying. So I'm happy I got the Sonata. We drove 30,000 the first year so saved about $2,200 with gas here at about 3.80/gallon.

I also may be confusing European gals and US gallons, so maybe 50 US mpg would be more like 60 European.

In UK we use Imperial gallons for MPG, 4.54 litres I think.

Also, fuel here costs a bit more than in the US. The cheapest place I can get it, converting to US gallons, it's £5.32 a gallon, or in USD it's $6.74 a gallon.

My mileage would be a little lower as I only go there 4 days a week as 1 is at college, but I also work a second job which is close by, so maybe 13000 is more accurate, so considering that, it's £591 a year savings if I base off actually getting 35 MPG with my current car doing more techniques, whereas if I go off what I'm actually getting which is 31/32, its around £813 a year savings.

Which is less than I'd have hoped, but it's still pretty good I guess. I'll just have to think more on it and decide if it really is worth spending several thousand on another car for the long run savings at this point in time or wait a bit.

Side question, I see a lot of used Prius' going relatively cheap as imports from Japan. Is it a gamble getting one of those because the numbers always look good, but I heard they get them from not the best conditions.

[redpoint5]

I've got a total cost of ownership calculator in my signature built specifically to compare various options. It's not perfect because many variables cannot be known with precision, but it's useful for ballpark comparisons.

[oil pan 4]

I don know of any hybrids that aren't plug in hybrids that get 60mpg, I think the best you are going to do is around 50mpg and I'm not sure if you mean highway driving or not.
I don't know of any hybrids with a manual transmission unless you're looking at turbodiesels.
Less distance and lower speed will definitely be more efficient.
If you're oy looking at like 4 mile trips why not get an electric beater car?

[Bm93]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I don know of any hybrids that aren't plug in hybrids that get 60mpg, I think the best you are going to do is around 50mpg and I'm not sure if you mean highway driving or not.
I don't know of any hybrids with a manual transmission unless you're looking at turbodiesels.
Less distance and lower speed will definitely be more efficient.
If you're oy looking at like 4 mile trips why not get an electric beater car?

It's 30 miles either way, not 4 miles. Also I have never properly considered getting a hybrid or electric car as my current car works, so I've only very recently been looking into it, but I can have a look, I just want to make sure I'm not going to be left in the lurch if I do get a beater car and it dies on me. My current car I've owned for 7 years, and it's only at 81,000 miles, I bought it with 30k on the clock so it's still got life in it and I've never had a serious issue. Always apprehensive about getting something else because I know my car has never completely screwed me, just a couple major issues that still last until I can get them fixed.

[redpoint5]

Looks like Telford is somewhat centrally located in the UK. I'd be very inclined to look into an EV if there was easy access to charging at home. The relatively mild winters wouldn't affect range as severely as some of our northern states.

If reliability is among your concerns, EVs are far less complex and need far less maintenance.

Since I wrench on my own vehicles, maintenance and repairs isn't as big of a deal to me, but if I had to pay mechanics to do everything for me, I'd for sure get an EV.

[Bm93]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Looks like Telford is somewhat centrally located in the UK. I'd be very inclined to look into an EV if there was easy access to charging at home. The relatively mild winters wouldn't affect range as severely as some of our northern states.

If reliability is among your concerns, EVs are far less complex and need far less maintenance.

Since I wrench on my own vehicles, maintenance and repairs isn't as big of a deal to me, but if I had to pay mechanics to do everything for me, I'd for sure get an EV.

I was having a look at the cost of EV car batteries, and they cost as much as I paid for my car, which makes it seem more expensive than it is I guess, but I was trying to find if theres a calculator to calculate potentisl battery degredation based on frequency and length of use plus time to get an idea of when it'd need to be replaced and how long I'd be willing to go over the average battery life with fewer mileage.

Don't suppose you know if such a calculator exists or at least the maths for it? I imagine though that if they are pretty reliable, when it comes to the general running costs savings, it works itself out in the end.