My Son in Law was asking me about the new Fusion Hybred, wants to get rid of the Mini Cooper.

I don't know anything about them. Anybody have an opinion either good or bad?

Heck I don't even know what constitutes as a Hybred

 

Dump the Cooper, they're junk!

A hybrid is a gas/electric drive combination. There is a small gas engine, an electric engine and a bunch of rechargeable batteries. When you apply the brakes the car uses the inertia of the car to recharge the batteries. Then when you go to take off the electric motor powers the car until either batteries are dead or more power is needed and the gas engine turns on. In town they can get really good mileage. On the highway a good, small diesel will do better. It really depends on which type of driving he plans on doing.

 

Thanks Joe. He has already been through the Bazillion dollar clutch job, and he is ready to move on.

He drives a mixed Freeway (misnomer in Calif.) and surface streets. Most of the "Freeway" driving is stop and go, or under 50 MPH because of traffic.

Any plus or minus to the Fusion that you know about?

 

I haven't heard anything about the Fusion hybrid but New York City has been using Escape hybrids for cabs for a good while. My son who lives there asked a cab driver about the reliability of the hybrid Escape and the driver said his had 220k miles on it with no problems. It still had not even had a brake job.

 

In looking at the value proposition of a Hybrid vehicle they don't seem to make economic sense to me. They usually cost quite a bit more than a conventionally-powered vehicle at the time of sale, they have the added risk of additional componentry to maintain and repair, and tend to deliver only a modest boost in overall fuel economy. When you actually crunch the numbers, I have never been able to make an economic justification for purchasing a Hybrid vehicle based on how I would use it.

IMO -- Hybrids are more about image than anything else. Most who buy them are simply willing to pay a financial premium in exchange for the "eco" statement they feel they are making to others. To sum it up: "Statement" over "Substance"........

 

ddwello - you did not mention resale value.

Hard to forecast, but it might pencil out if they resale at a premium.

 

Possibly -- that's one aspect of a vehicle transaction that I never figure into my cost of ownership calculations since I almost always purchase my vehicles new and then run them into the ground.

 

So nobody has heard of any draw backs on them?

He is a CPA so I'm sure he will crunch the numbers on the Hybred vs. the regular motor. They just bought a new Edge last year and he went non eco-boost, he said the mileage didn't justify the price for the Eco-boost. I'll mention the MPG comparison for the Fusion.

 

In town a hybrid can get better mileage than an equal vehicle. On the highway the advantage is much smaller. Plus in most cases the hybrid model will have more aerodynamic aids to help eek out the best possible MPGs. Another thing to consider is the tax credit for buying a hybrid. At one time it was something like $6500 or so. That in most cases will offset the higher initial purchase price.

 

Mmm tax credit for a vehicle that is worse for the environment until it reaches 100k - my favorite.

Those batteries in hybrids can cost upwards of $8k if they go out. I'd rather just a small 4 cylinder that still gets 35+ mpg

 

Ummm no, three seconds on the interwebs will tell you.

Tasca has a new battery listed at $3300 with a list price of $3500.

The hybrid battery has a 150,000 mile warranty

Battery costs are rapidly dropping as the technology spreads.

I'm the farthest thing from a tree hugging hippie and don't own a hybrid because they do not fit how I drive. But let's not spread blatant lies.

 

I was speaking about hybrids in general, which is why I said "in hybrids" and not "in Ford Fusion Hybrids." I also said "can upwards of" not "they all cost X."

And yes, those cars are worse for the environment until they reach 100k+ miles. But I guess you didn't try to correct me on that part.

 

Nope, there's only so much dumb stuff I can refute per post. You had already reached the limit by that point.

 

Okay, well I've read enough things to support that, so I'll just stand by that statement. So keep going ahead and refuting things that are true when applied to what they were actually referencing