John LeBlanc
But despite the potential for
reducing fuel costs, does driving a hybrid vehicle really save money?
What are the real financial economics of "going green?"
To find out, we looked at three
popular vehicles that offer gas and hybrid versions: Ford Escape, Saturn Aura
and Toyota Camry.
We then estimated the complete
costs of ownership over a seven-year lifespan, which is how long most Canadians
typically own a vehicle from new.
Based on driving an average of
24,000 km per year (typical of most leases), we made sure to include all those
often
forgotten financial factors like destination charges, financing, taxes, government
energy rebates, insurance
– as well as the cost of fuel.
Because the majority of Canadians
finance their new vehicles, our gas-versus-hybrid cost estimates first involved
a
"virtual" zero-down, 48-month factory lease with 96,000 free km.
All factory finance rates and residuals were based on March 2008 numbers, which may change in April.
We then "bought" the vehicle
at its lease buyout value with a bank loan at 7.75 per cent annual rate –
2.5 over prime
– for a final three-year term.
Because all three automakers
offer three-year/60,000 km bumper-to-bumper and eight-year/160,000 km warranties
for the unique hybrid components, with actual costs heavily dependent on individual
use, we left this out of our cost estimates.
In regards to insurance costs,
for our purposes, we used a 40-year-old male living at the Star's Yonge
St. address.
(Surprisingly, the differences were within tens of dollars per year in favour
of the gas-only models.)
Automakers themselves like to market hybrids against thirstier V6 gas models.
"The Camry Hybrid offers the
same level of performance as the V6 gas models," says Toyota, a claim Ford
Canada
also makes for its' Escape.
But growing concerns about the
economy and continually rising fuel costs mean many consumers today are choosing
thriftiness over performance.
Therefore, we've compared similarly equipped four-cylinder models against the hybrids.
One thing to keep in mind: in
the case of Ford and Toyota, the hybrid version includes costly options not
on the gas version.
Hybrids are expensive to develop, and adding high-margin options can help
recoup some costs.
If you're counting pennies more
than kg of CO2 saved, even the Camry Hybrid – the most fuel efficient vehicle
here
– ultimately costs an estimated $1,298 more over seven years to own than
its conventional gas counterpart, mainly
due to its initial purchase price and a higher end-of-lease buyout.
There's no argument: Drive a
more fuel-efficient vehicle, and you'll cause fewer emissions.
But as gas-vs.-hybrid cost comparisons prove, driving a hybrid does not equate
to saving money.
After 168,000 km, an Escape Hybrid
would emit an estimated 26,530 kg less CO2 than the gas XLT model
– the greatest savings of this trio. But there is a real, measurable cost
to "going green."
At $1.50 a litre for gas, for
each kilogram of CO2 saved, it costs an estimated 53 cents in the Ford hybrid.
The Saturn works out to 14 cents and Toyota 7 cents.
But realistically, it would take
European-like gas prices of $2 a litre before even a highly fuel efficient
vehicle like the
Camry Hybrid would start paying a return.
Even then, after 96,000 km, the amount would be about $900.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the economics of hybrids, there's no free lunch.