The Advantages & Disadvantages of Hybrid Cars
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There are advantages and disadvantages of hybrid cars. But if you weigh both, you will see that it is better to get a hybrid car in the long term.
But first what is a hybrid car? By definition, it is any vehicle that uses 2 or more sources of power. These vehicles have already been driving through our streets and highways for more than 10 years. While most manufacturers combine electricity with gasoline, there are some who use solar power and water.
The advantages of using hybrid cars are many.
First, the price of a hybrid car is almost the same or a little higher than cars that use conventional engines but you get more savings in the long term since you don’t have to buy that much gasoline.
If more people use hybrid cars, the country as a whole no longer has to depend that much on foreign oil.
Studies have shown that the hybrid car has better mileage than those only powered by gasoline. To prove a point, the Toyota Prius which is the best hybrid car in the market can go 51 miles per gallon in highway driving and about 60 miles per gallon in city driving. At that rate, you can travel 566 miles before you need to fill up again your gas tank.
Because hybrid cars do not have that much tailpipe emissions, you get to help protect the environment since you are doing your share to reduce the amount of carbon emissions that are released into the air.
Apart from saving money on fuel, one of the biggest advantages of hybrid cars is tax incentives. This is not standard and depends on the fuel efficiency of the car you purchase. If you get a Toyota Prius, you could get tax credits of up to $3150.
In short, the advantage of a hybrid car means you get to save money because of lesser fuel consumption and cleaner due to less carbon emissions.
But there are a few drawbacks to hybrid cars. When the hybrid car’s battery does not work anymore, this has to be replaced. The price of battery could cost from $5,000 to $8,000 and that is a lot of money. You might think that will never happen when Toyota has an 8 year/100,000 mile per year/36,000 mile warranty but this can still happen.
The hybrid car has a hard time accelerating compared to normal cars. To give you an idea, it takes almost 11 seconds for the Toyota hybrid car to hit 60 miles per hour. That’s a long time but since you are not in a race, it’s not that bad.
Hybrid cars use lighter material to make it more fuel efficient. This is because the engine used in hybrid cars is heavier than conventional vehicles. The large battery puts the driver at risk should there be an accident. This is because there is a high chance that the driver or those who try to rescue the victim could be electrocuted.
In both cases, some experts argue that this will not protect the passenger should a major accident occur but road tests in certain vehicles have shown that these are still road worthy.
If the hybrid car uses an electric motor, the recharging time takes awhile before it is full again. One way to overcome this challenge is the development of regenerative braking. What this simply means is that each time you step on the brake this will recharge the car’s battery.
The design of some hybrid cars is strange but if this proves to make it more aerodynamic, then again this is something you can live with.
Most people you ask will tell that you they prefer to buy a hybrid vehicle compared to a conventional one. After all, there are many advantages which make it very appealing to those who are in the market looking for a car.
Perhaps the only problem now is finding the money to pay for it given that the US is in recession but like other things, this too will pass. When that happens, perhaps it is time to consider buying knowing full well the advantages of hybrid cars.
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