With gasoline and diesel
fuel prices staying low (and uncharacteristically consistent) as the
summer progresses, data analysts at Edmunds conducted a recent crunch of
the often-discussed
payback times for the nation's two competing fuel-saving drivetrains:
hybrid-electric and diesel vehicles.
The latest round goes to diesel.
There are two factors currently working in diesel's favor. First, diesel
fuel prices
have dropped precipitously since last summer's explosion to US$4 per gallon
(and beyond) and normalized to
pricing quite near regular unleaded gasoline.
Second, the price "premium" for
diesel technologies is low — and in a few cases, combines with federal tax
credits to make the diesel-powered vehicle actually cheaper than a comparable
gasoline-engine variant of
the same model. For those vehicles, diesel-engine payback time is immediate.
Conversely, Edmunds.com analysts
point out that as gasoline prices stay low, hybrids struggle to justify their
typically higher initial-cost premium. The average premium for all hybrids
is US$4,981, with premiums ranging
from just a few hundred dollars (Toyota Camry Hybrid: US$289) to big-bucks
upcharges such as the
GMC Sierra Hybrid (US$7,493) and perhaps the ultimate hybrid, the Lexus LS
600h L (US$15,969)
from Toyota's upscale division.
The average diesel-engine premium, meanwhile, currently is just US$2,360.
Using current gasoline and diesel
fuel prices — US$2.53 per gallon for gasoline and US$2.54 for diesel
— hybrids can't touch the payback times for diesel-powered models.
With a 15,000-mile annual driving
figure, the lowest hybrid payback time is slightly more than six months
for the Camry Hybrid. But most hybrid models take longer to recoup their
initial extra cost at today's gasoline
prices. One typical example is the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: Its US$4,175
premium over a conventional Fusion
requires 8.1 years to achieve payback, say Edmunds.com data analysts. A Honda
Civic Hybrid: 13.3 years.
The longest hybrid payback time: the already mentioned Lexus 600h L — 70.3
years at current gasoline prices.
And one intriguing "special"
comparison comes between Toyota's redesigned 2010 Prius and Honda's
all-new Insight. Consumers and hybrid enthusiasts have argued about each
car's "value" compared with the
other, but judged strictly by their price in relation to their EPA fuel economy,
the Prius costs US$4,030 more
than the Insight and would require 26.2 years of driving to recover its "premium"
over the price of the Insight.
Thanks mostly to markedly lower
cost premiums and the widespread availability of tax rebates, diesels
currently are a much better payback proposition. Current market conditions
also mean many diesels are
selling for less than MSRP.
Those looking to maximize payback
will, in most cases, shop Mercedes-Benz:
Generous tax credits have diesel-powered variants of the GL- and R-Class
currently with True Market Value
figures less than their gasoline-engine counterparts. A diesel-powered 2009
GL320 CDI is a giant US$2,745
less than the GL450 (which uses a gasoline V8), leading to a payback immediately
upon purchase of the
diesel model.
Other diesel payback times include:
Volkswagen's popular Jetta TDI, at 4.1 years to pay back its US$1,760 premium;
BMW's 335d, at 5.6 years to pay back a US$2,558 premium;
and BMW's X5 xDrive 35d at 4.6 years to pay back its US$1,732 premium.
The longest diesel payback time is 20.6 years for Mercedes' E320 Bluetec.