Shopping for Green Cars Besides Prius or Escape
Non-hybrid Toyota Corolla or Chevy Cobalt Also Easy on Gas
Dec 3, 2008
Hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, which supplement a gasoline engine with an electric motor, are increasingly popular for drivers, stung by US $4.50 a gallon gas last summer, who are finally forsaking their gas guzzlers. But while struggling carmakers are willing to bargain, hybrids still sell for several thousand dollars more than their gas-only counterparts, so car shoppers might want to consider some gas-only models as the overall better buy.
Take, for instance, the 2009 Prius, which comes with a starting price of $22,000 while offering an impressive 48 miles-per-gallon in the city and 45 m.p.g. on the highway. Nice, but sticker prices for some of the fully equipped Priuses seen on Cars.com topped $30,000. And with Priuses in greater demand than other cars, it might be hard to bargain that price down.
Alternatively, the Toyota Corolla, which is similar in size to the Prius and also has a four-cylinder engine, starts at $15,350 for a base model and offers city mileage of up to 27 m.p.g and highway mileage of 35. That may not be as impressive as the Prius’s 48, but someone trading in an SUV should still be impressed. A midlevel Corolla LE series starts at $16,750, still more than $5,000 less than the Prius.
$8,000 Premium for Escape Hybrid
Another comparison can be made between the Ford Escape compact SUV and the Ford Escape Hybrid, for people who still want an SUV. The Escape Hybrid starts at $29,305 for the 4-cylinder front-wheel drive version and offers city mileage in the range of 29-34 m.p.g. and highway mileage in the range of 27-31. The cheapest 4-cylinder, automatic transmission, non-hybrid Escape XLS starts at $21,310 and offers mileage of up to 21 city/28 highway.
So the Escape Hybrid comes with an $8,000 price premium over the gas-powered model. When gas prices were above $4.00-a-gallon, a hybrid driver might have saved enough in gas money to pay the higher sticker price, but at $2.00-a-gallon now, the hybrid math doesn’t add up.
There are other compacts that offer fuel efficiency without the hybrid premium. The Honda Fit, while a bit smaller than the Prius, boasts fuel economy of 27-28 m.p.g. city/33-35 highway, depending on whether it comes with an automatic or manual transmission. Fit prices start at $14,550. The Chevrolet Cobalt starts at $15,660 and offers mileage of 22-25 city/30-37 highway, depending on which of two 4-cylinder engines are chosen.
Midsize Gas-sippers Camry and Malibu
For those needing more room, there are midsized cars to consider. The Chevrolet Malibu starts at $21,605 for a 4-cylinder LS series with mileage of up to 22 m.p.g. city/33 highway. The Toyota Camry offers a 4-cylinder model with up to 21 m.p.g. city/31 highway at a starting price of $19,145. Both the Malibu and Camry also offer hybrids.
Gas Prices a Factor
Of course, there are many variables, the most significant of which is that these are all base prices, not including options. Secondly, there’s the price of gas; the higher it rises, the better the economics of a hybrid appear. But today, at $2-a-gallon, shoppers might do better to walk past the hybrids on the local car lot and consider the gas-only models that may be a better value overall.
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