| Vol. 8 | No. 1 | March 2006 |
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A Hybrid Story |
Scott Nathanson, national field organizer for the UCS Clean Vehicles Program, relates his recent experience in shopping for a hybrid car:
Last year, my wife and I decided that we needed a second car for our growing family. We wanted a hybrid, and as a three-time Saturn owner I was looking forward to trying its compact SUV hybrid, the Vue. Unfortunately, General Motors (Saturn's parent company) abandoned its plans to achieve real fuel economy gains, instead producing a "hollow" hybrid that improves fuel economy a mere one or two miles per gallon (mpg).
So I turned my attention to genuine hybrids that employ an electric motor powerful enough to allow for a smaller and significantly more fuel-efficient gasoline engine. My options were limited, as the Honda Insight was too small for my needs and the Ford Escape, Honda Accord, and Toyota Highlander hybrids hadn't yet hit the market. The only two models that fit the bill were the Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius.
Weighing the Options
Though the Prius would get better gas mileage (55 mpg as estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency compared with the Civic's 48 mpg), the Civic rated slightly better in crash tests—an important factor for parents like me. Comparing smog-forming emissions was not as straightforward since the EPA gave the Prius an excellent 8 out of 10, but gave one version of the Civic a 9 and another version a 2.
A Honda dealership in my Washington, DC, area informed me that the only Civic Hybrids rated 9 by the EPA are sold in California, where low-emission cars are required by law. I asked UCS Research Director David Friedman why Honda would also build a higher-emission version and he told me that, while hybrid technology may give automakers the opportunity to build vehicles that offer both low smog-forming emissions and high fuel economy, the manufacturer has to make a conscious decision to do so.
I wasn't willing to accept the Civic's worse pollution in exchange for its slightly better safety ratings, so a Prius it would be. As for the six-month waiting lists you may have heard about, I learned that Toyota sends a number of "non-specified" models to select dealerships across the United States, so if you're not particular about your car's color or options package, ask around for a non-specified Prius.
On the Road
We've had our new Prius since January and we're very happy with it. It handles well and, especially in city driving, is surprisingly peppy (0-30 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds, within a half-second of such conventional gasoline models as the Civic, Accord, Ford Taurus, and Toyota Corolla according to Consumer Reports). We're getting close to 50 mpg, and the onboard fuel economy monitor really helps us adjust our driving habits to maximize our miles per gallon.
But the best feature may be the way the gasoline engine shuts itself off when sitting in traffic or at a stoplight, especially considering that Americans burned more than two billion gallons of gas just sitting in traffic in 2003. And, of course, I feel pretty smart these days when I see those gas prices.
For more advice on buying a hybrid vehicle, visit the online UCS Hybrid Center at www.hybridcenter.org.
Editor's note: all 2006 Civic Hybrids receive an emissions score of 9.
Also in this issue of Earthwise:
Dialogue
Can renewable energy standards do anything to lower my home heating costs?
