Disclaimer: If this has been discussed in detail before excuse me but finding it here is like finding a needle in a haystack. I did do a quick search but I was not going to read every post on every topic.

Thursday, for the first time I drove a Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Consumer Reports claims a 0-60 time of 7.4 seconds. The weight penalty is 275 lbs. on the Lexus RX, which is a similar vehicle. The combined horsepower increase is roughly 50 over the gas engine alone. There were several impressive issues to note. The transmission is CVT and has no shift points. Second, the vehicle seems very fast for its type. We own a RX 330 and the hybrid was slightly quicker.

Now the lack of rationale for a hybrid is not my question. But how does an environmentally cleaner vehicle with an extra 50-horsepower, combined with a weight penalty of 275 lbs., and with an increase of about 30% in gas mileage sound? The additional cost I estimate from Toyota's prices would be $4,500. I am interested in your opinions. Thanks

 

I will never buy a hybrid vechile, because the "saving" from better gas mileage is just not there. Hybrids cost a good premium more, they don't get significant savings over the "normal" versions, I am guessing insurance is more, and at some point the battery/batteries will need to be replaced, and I am sure it will not be cheap. Truthfully the *only* advantage to hybrids is they are cleaner for the environment. I am not sure if it's true, but I remember reading something about a single volcano eruption outputs more CO2 than all the cars on earth combined. Not sure if that is true or not, but it would not surprise me.

 

^ +.75

you dont save money with hybrids, you only save the environment.

Ever wonder why the govt was giving tax breaks? to help balance the cost of ownership. Sure, getting great mpg now would rock, but in a few yrs when your battery cells die and need replacement youll be paying out the ***. Not to mention, a oem cell may cost over a grand or so, which isnt chump change

Hybrids also add more parts that can break, and similar to rotarty engines, you have to find someone that knows how to work on them. That leaves you taking it back to a Dealer to do repairs, which is very costly.

 

no point to a hybrid Z - honda is already going to axe the accord hybrid - its 2 different driving styles sports vs econ - if someone isn't already trying to max the mpg in their Z now (and who is ?) then you won't get any benefit having a hybrid Z
my wife has a civic hybrid (42 mpg not trying / 46 driving econ mode) but if you dive sportily in it (as sportliy as possible that is ) it'll drop to 32mpg and you can basically get that with a non hybrid civic

side notes - insurance is same/ got a 2k$ tax write off / batts are warranteed to 100k ( 80k on 06's) & she got her's in 03 before the rush and talked em down because the demand wan't there yet approx the same as a loaded regular would have been [of course people are paying more than list for priuses now and waiting months to get em]

 

Road & Track (May 2006) did a comparison of hybrid vs regualar engines between of the Ford Escape, Honda Civic, and Toyata Camry. To offset the price of the hybrid price increase, it would take 101,195 miles for the Camry, 93,679 for the Escape, and 180,000 for the Civic!!! This was done based on fuel cost around $2.70/gal. Note: But as they pretty much said in the article, no one really buys a hybrid for fuel savings alone. And like with any new technology, repairs are going to be more expensive and harder to find places qualified to work on them.

As for a hybrid Z, I wouldn't see much benifit. Fuel savings wouldnt be there and I like being able to tinker with my car. Im and Engineer and I would be scared to work on a hybrid. Think of the massive wiring diagram!!!

 

I would have to say no. The savings on fuel just wouldn't make up for the extra cost of the car, IMO. It would also limit the aftermarket parts of the car.

 

Hybrids are a rip-off, it usually takes at least 125K for them to pay off if you achieve the EPA numbers which nobody does. Plus, you have to replace the batteries after 80-100k miles. In a sports car such as the Z weight is the enemy and a 200-300lb increase is huge.

 

horrible idea, no focking way. sports cars and the environment were never meant to get along!

 

It's good if you do a lot of city driving, but even then I personally would never buy one.

 

Hybrids? Eh, they're cool and clean for the environment. I think it would be great if most economy cars were hybrid as a standard option with no markup. You get the perks of slightly better fuel economy and a cleaner environment...

However, since current hybrids are marked up, generally expensive as compared to their base counterparts and the advantages aren't really there... It's pointless... If there were a hybrid Z, I think it would come in Touring trim and be in excess of $40,000., it will be slower and tip the scales at like 3,600lb... And who buys a Z to save on gas? It's like Lexus with the LS430h or whatever it is... A V8 with a hybrid motor? I guess its a good idea but to me if you're looking at V8's, gas mileage isn't too high on your list of priorities same with a sports car or any car that's purchased for the purpose of having fun or power.

 

Theoretically, having an electric motor could be a good thing since electric motors can generate lots of torque. As an added benefit the torque they deliver is instantaneous. Down side is extra weight.

 

Ok. Take that idea, put it in a box, seal it tightly, and throw it in the mother ****ing ocean...

 

Other things being equal, a hybrid car normally outperforms it's non-hybrid sibling because, as njsho said, electric motors generate lots of torque instantaneously. If the trend continues, hybrid technology will be standard fare for all cars, just like air conditioning and electric windows. I expect to see all sorts of performance hybrids on the market in a few years.

 

Or you could just build a Hydrogen fueled car. Then you'll actually get a weight savings since you'll be basically straight electric with the fuel cell stack powerplant (IE no more large engine up front). That particular technology is improving every day and it will not be too long till they can get more power out of smaller stacks.

 

A 200Z Turbo 4 would be the only way to get 32+ MPG out of the Z Platform.

 

Not to mention that hybrids usually weigh more than their gas counterparts, this is somthing Z does not need.

 

Some of you make sense. However, I was not interested in the rationale for or against a hybrid. Please put your prejudice against a hybrid behind you for the purpose of answering my question. Practicality is not why one buys a Z. Good value and performance are the issues. Let me put my question another way. Let's say the Hybrid Z has a weight of 3,500 lbs. That is a practical guess because my 350Z Enthusiast AT is 3,210 lbs. So 275 lbs extra would keep it under 3,500 lbs. Let's say for a 350 hp Hybrid Z the lbs. to horsepower ratio is 10 to 1. For my 2005 350Z AT it is 11.18 to 1. With a CVT and the extra torque the Hybrid Z would accelerate at a faster rate than a standard 350Z. The price would be about 35K. Again thank you for your responses.

 

I kinda outspent myself with the Z, so I'll be holding onto it for another 10yrs probably. But when I pick up my next car, if Hybrid technology is a little more established, and prices comparable, I'll go that way.

 

I have given execution of this idea more thought. If the components take the place of the spare tire and the car has runflat tires the weight gain would be about 235 lbs instead of 275. Therefore the power to weight ratio would be 9.84 lbs. for each horsepower.

 

I see where you are coming from, but for those of us that are FI...
I like my Twin Turbo's and with my 502 whp, I am pushing 7.96 lbs per whp on my VERY heavy 4,000 lbs girl. (Yes my baby is a fat girl, but she is completely loaded, trust me.. )