Mostly highway commute - does a hybrid make sense?

cabriggs

I was at a Honda dealer today looking at an Accord. I asked the salesguy about the Accord hybrid and when I told him my commute is mostly highway (28 miles highway, 5 miles city), he said stay away from it. He said that without a sufficient amount of non-highway driving, running on the batteries and recharging them, the gas engine will have to run the whole time and you'd be disappointed. He said he's seen people trade them in after three months for a non-hybrid because it wouldn't even deliver on the given highway mpg number. Does that match other peoples' experiences?

Mr_Shiftright

I don't agree with that unless you're talking about California freeway speeds of 70 mph+. But if you run at 55 mph, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to hit the mid 40s MPG. But it is true that the car really shines in city driving.

cabriggs

Speed limit is 65 here. I usually cruise right at 70.

kyfdx

cabriggs said:

Speed limit is 65 here. I usually cruise right at 70.

I'd get a diesel, instead..

cabriggs

I wondered about diesel. On average, diesel fuel pricing here is about 10% more than regular gas, which really eats into the 20% increase in efficiency.

kyfdx

cabriggs said:

I wondered about diesel. On average, diesel fuel pricing here is about 10% more than regular gas, which really eats into the 20% increase in efficiency.

That's true... everything I drive takes premium, so diesel doesn't look too bad..

In theory, all highway driving doesn't favor a hybrid as much as city or mixed driving, but most of them still get great mileage..