What are the pros/cons other than the obvious great gas mileage?I’m thinking about purchasing a hybrid but it is so expensive to replace the battery that I’m not sure it’s worth it.
We’ve had hybrids since the second (maybe third?) year of the Prius. So we’ve had a 2003ish, and we gave it to my brother and SIL and they have not had any issues with the battery. And that’s before the latest generation batteries. We’ve had three (!!) Priuses since (so, yes, four. How hippie-ish), a Honda Accord hybrid (that is also still going strong; it was a 2004 and my other brother has it), and now we have two hybrid/electric plug-in cars. You might say we like electric cars. 
They’ve all been great. Toyota multiple times, one Honda, and now a Ford Fusion Energi and a Chevy Volt. We’ve never had to replace a battery and the new ones are reportedly great (100,000 to maybe 150K miles)
Which particular cars?
Most hybrids, other than Honda IMA hybrids, have generally good battery reliability (see http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/02/honda-civic-hybrid-battery-reliability-gets-worse/index.htm for a comparison betwen Honda Civic hybrid and Toyota Prius battery replacement rates).
Light braking in hybrids uses regenerative braking, which means less frequent replacement of the friction brake pads. Low speed electric only driving in the city or traffic jams can also reduce wear of engine components. Some hybrids have instrument designs that try to coach you into driving more economically (e.g. displays that turn different colors depending on how economically you drive); more economical driving habits can help you use less fuel in other cars as well.
Some hybrids have worse cargo room than non-hybrid versions of the same car. Hybrids with plug in capability need bigger batteries and may compromise cargo room more. But plug in hybrids allow you to drive a limited range on electricity only, which may be desirable if electricity costs are low for you (or you want otherwise to reduce oil use even further) and you do a lot of short range driving.
I’m on my 2nd Prius.
My first Prius was a 2003, so the 1st generation batteries. That battery went out after 10 years. Technically, the battery doesn’t go out-- one or more cells in the pack stop producing equal amounts of power. Third-party companies will figure out which cell and replace it for a price. We decided to get a new (used) Prius instead. So, now I have a 2010 bought in about 2014. It works great and has plenty of space for me.
It doesn’t snow or freeze here. I don’t know where you are, but the tires on a Prius are probably not great for snow/ice. Someone else can probably comment on that if you are in a cold-winter area.
Our 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, with 140,000 miles still has original battery.
I have a Ford Fusion hybrid. I like everything about it except the weird trunk, which is that way because that’s where the battery is. Before that car I had a Toyota Camry, with the biggest, greatest trunk, so when I saw the Fusion’s trunk I almost didn’t buy the car! If you need a big, flat trunk then I wouldn’t go for a hybrid with the battery back there.
If you have a season of snow and ice, you may want to get another set of wheels with winter tires on them for that season (for any car). Winter tires are better than the usual all-season tires in snow and ice, but worse when there is no snow or ice (but snow or ice conditions, even with winter tires, require extra caution).
We have a Prius V. We needed the extra space of the V. We have 130,000 miles on it and no significant problem up to now. I love the car, but sadly my wife also loves it and therefore I hardly ever get to drive it. We have been putting a lot of miles on it because it is the car we take when going a long way (such as to visit in-laws or to go on university visits). We live in New England so we do get relatively real winters (not Michigan or Iowa winters, however).
One issue (both a pro and a con): It is very aerodynamic, and therefore quiet at high speed. On long down-hills when in mountains, it can creep up to higher speeds than I would like. I had to learn to actually look at the speedometer (which is very easy to see) rather than count on noise to tell me when I am going too fast. Of course I never knew that was how I had been judging my speed, but apparently it was.
When we first got it, it beeped continuously inside the car when in reverse. Apparently someone somewhere was afraid that people would be backing up and not know that they were backing up. We were able to get the folks at the dealership to turn this off (so it only beeps once when we first go into reverse).
The Prius V accelerates smoothly and efficiently from 0 to 80 MPH (assuming that you are in northern Maine where the speed limit is 75), but it does not do this quickly. I have said “0 to 80 same day acceleration”. Note that the V has the same drive train as the regular Prius, but is larger and heavier. I have no problem with the slow acceleration. I like the very smooth acceleration and smooth comfort at highway speeds, and find it a great car to drive.
The one thing that I actually seriously don’t like relates to the sales experience rather than the car: We have gotten hundreds of phone calls trying to sell us something related to the car. First it was the sirius XM service. This came with the car (we didn’t want it) but when it timed out after a year they called pretty much every day for a year or so to try to get us to pay to renew it. Then came the calls for an extended warrantee. I called the dealership and called Toyota to complain but the calls continued. I went into the dealership on a very busy sales weekend and stood in the middle of the sales area and begged them to stop the calls. I blocked the calls on our cell phones. Eventually the calls have declined. However, I will never purchase another Toyota unless I get the dealership to put in writing that there will be NO sales calls at all. Obviously this has nothing to do with the fact that the car is a hybrid.
Volvo has totally redesigned their XC60 SUV for 2018 and they’ll have T8 version which is a plug-in hybrid with an all-electric range of up to 25 miles. This vehicle will be fast (0-60 in a hair over 5 seconds), it will have plenty of cargo space, as well as tons of new safety features. I’m looking forward to check it out when it’s available in the US, supposedly later this year.
http://www.volvocars.com/us/cars/new-models/all-new-xc60/stories/power-without-compromise
For going down long downhills without riding the brakes, doesn’t your Prius V have a B option on the shifter, which can be used similarly to the L option on other automatic transmissions or shifting to a lower gear on manual transmissions?
For the telemarketing calls, say “put me on the do-not-call list”.
“For going down long downhills without riding the brakes, doesn’t your Prius V have a B option on the shifter,”
I am not sure. However, if you brake lightly, it doesn’t actually use the brake. It uses the electric engine as a generator, and re-charges the battery without creating any wear at all on the brakes. This is a very good feature, but the driver has to note to use it. Note that the difference between an electric motor and a generator is timing, and when a computer is handling the timing it is not hard to produce one thing that can be both a motor and a generator as required.
“For the telemarketing calls, say “put me on the do-not-call list”.”
I did do this every time. It didn’t do any good. I am very unhappy about the Toyota sales experience.
I just got a Rav4 hybrid 6 months ago. It took some getting used to the lack of rumble or growl from the engine. The whole cabin is very quiet. The vehicle can coast a lot further - there’s less friction in the wheels. I had to change the way I used the gas pedal in order to use the hybrid more efficiently. I have to remind myself to take my foot off the gas, because the vehicle doesn’t need as much gas.
@ucbalumnus I am looking at a Malibu hybrid or Ford Fusion. I am concerned about the lack of trunk space, but I think that is more of a me issue rather than a car issue. I have to get used to the idea that I am an empty nester. I am an admitted lead foot, so I think I drive too heavily for hybrid. The $4k battery replacement scares me. I am also considering a Jetta, which isnt a hybrid but gets really good gas mileage.
I was thinking of that for my wife. From one Calvin to another: Great minds think alike.
I had a third gen Prius that I reluctantly sold last year when I found myself with more cars than I needed and the Prius had by far the best resale value.
It was routine maintenance only over the 7 years that I owned it. Exceptionally reliable and nice to drive. Never even heard of anyone having battery problems with them before now.
If there is a specific item you want to put in the trunk, bring it with you to test fit in the trunk when you go look at the car.
Being a lead foot driver will tend to mean getting worse fuel economy than rated in any car, hybrid or not.
Yes, a hybrid teaches you to drive very energy efficiently, even when driving a traditional gas engine. Our other car is a small wagon, non-hybrid (couldn’t afford one at the time that could carry our kayaks), and I’m super-aware of using the accelerator as gently as possible. I track the MPH all the time, to get as good mileage as I can.
Thanks everyone, you’ve given me much to think about. I test drove both the Malibu and Fusion and like them both. I probably like the look of the Fusion better but the inside of the Malibu better. The Fusion has the dial gear shift and I dont like it! It also has windshield wipers that move in opposite directions which wig me out. I get a discount at Ford and GM, which is why I’m looking at those two models.
I’ve lived with snow my whole life and never changed tires on our cars so I’m not worried about that issue. The move to Chicago is crazy expensive, between taxes, tolls, and other things so I figured a hybrid would help and I wanted to get rid of my Kia. It’s a good looking car but the Optima doesn’t grip the road well and the tires spin when there is the least bit of moisture. The passenger seat also sits way lower than the drivers seat and you can’t adjust it. I get car sick when I ride as the passenger for too long so I’m getting rid of it.
I may still see what kind of deal The Jetta dealership will give me then make a decision.
If the tires are close to worn out, they have worse wet traction. Use a quarter coin and put Washington’s head in the tread. If all of Washington’s head is visible, the tire’s wet traction is significantly reduced. (You can do this with a Lincoln cent as well, to check if the tire has enough tread for minimum legal requirements.)
@ucbalumnus clearly I know worn tires lose traction. It’s not an issue of worn tires. This has happened since I got the car. My friend purchased an Optima and she had the same issue. She went and purchased four new tires and still had the same issue. It’s almost as if the tires always spin too fast when you take off.