Four Hybrid Myths Exploded

I drive a Prius regularly. It’s time to correct a few myths about hybrids:

1. A hybrid’s drivetrain is the most important part of the car

Sometimes a drivetrain is just a drivetrain. The hybrid gets all of its fuel from gasoline, so it’s just a way to drive a bigger car with a smaller engine and save gas. The hype from those who haven’t driven them much is about saving the planet, and using less gas is certainly an environmental benefit. But, really, the Prius is just a well-built practical car with good economics (100k miles, great maintenance record, cheap fuel cost, paid off, etc)—with enough cachet that you don’t look poor when you drive it. If you really want to save the planet, ride a bicycle (which I do, several days a week), walk, or make your own fuel somehow.

2. The Prius is a lousy car

Jay Shoemaker’s recent review of the 2010 Prius totally missed the point of the car. He essentially claims it is a weird car and wasn’t fun to drive. He’s entitled to his opinion, and it’s clear that he shouldn’t own a Prius (Jay should stick with the sports cars and performance sedans that he likes so much). However, for the rest of us, the Prius is an A to B car. It’s a grocery cart. It’s a household transportation appliance.

The Toyota Prius isn’t the car for everyone, but it is a nice little practical car, if that’s what you need. Green-evangelists and automotive pundits miss this entirely, though for drastically different reasons. Boring A to B cars for boring people like myself; they should probably be evaluated by different standard than a fun car that happens to be able to carry people and cargo. The volume and shape of the cargo area is more important than the 0 – 60 time.

3. Hybrids are just like any other car

Like switching from a manual to an automatic, switching to a hybrid drivetrain takes some getting used to. Toyota went to extraordinary lengths to hide this fact, but the fundamentals shine through. My girlfriend, who has driven the Prius for most of it’s 100k miles, is weirded out by the jerks and the abrupt RPM changes that happen when a automatic transmission shifts. It sounds like it’s CVTs and hybrids for us for the “family” cars from here on out. Personally, I’m most comfortable in a manual or a hybrid, since that’s what I’ve driven for most of my miles. No wonder the guy who panned the 2010 Prius didn’t like it.

4. Hybrids are the only “real” way to save gas

In addition to driving the Prius, I’ve owned a VW Jetta TDI. It was a wonderful car (except for the accursed 01M 4-speed automatic transmission), and its mileage approached that of the Prius. My 500cc Kawasaki Vulcan regularly exceeded 50mpg, and it only cost $4500 brand new off of the showroom floor. Also, I hear that a Geo Metro can exceed 50mpg. The easiest way to save gas is just to make the vehicle smaller and lighter.

The term “Hybrid” isn’t code for “saving the world.” Hybrid is code for a smooth efficient drivetrain that some people don’t like because it’s not “fun”, whatever that means. “Hybrid” does mean “I get to drive a bigger on the same amount of scary foreign oil”. Fortunately, the Prius and the Volkswagen TDI series are both small cars — so, if you were going to be driving a Ford Explorer, they do translate to real-world savings.

Volvo deserves its What Car? Green Car award. Saving gas the conventional way is just as valid. “Hybrid” isn’t magic anything, though it does help to save a little gas. The Prius would be a grocery cart with any engine.