Possible new ower

8.5 X 2 X 5 X 50 = 4250 miles a year commuting

4250 /55 X 3.50 = $270.46

Now add your non commuting miles and try with your current MPG.

From an economic point of view, it rarely makes sense to buy a new car unless you drive it a LOT. (I do 30,000 miles a year)

 

I think a Prius c would be perfect! The distance, the speeds, and the even the hill(s) will add up to great mileage for you. Also, if you like to actively try to improve your mileage, your commute will actually become fun--much more so than if you had a straight high-speed freeway commute.

 

JimboPalmer was calculating fuel costs so you could compare with your current vehicle:

(8.5 miles each way to work) X (2 round trip to/from work) X (5 weekdays/week) X (50 weeks/year (assuming 2 weeks of vacation)) = 4250 miles a year commuting

(4250 miles/year) /(55 mpg average in the c) X ($3.50/gallon) = $270.46 total cost for your commute to/from work each year

55 mpg average might be a bit of an overestimate depending on where OP lives - better in warmer climates, worse in places with non-mild winters.

For your commute, if I were driving I'd expect ~60mpg going to work and ~45 back when the temperature is ~50 degrees or higher. Rain, snow, cold weather, badly-timed lights, etc. will lower that, but that happens with any car.

 

You should get 60-70 mpg depending on how much you hypermile given your route.


Test drive the hybrid, and try your route.

 

Yeah, once I made the decision to "someday" buy a Prius c, "someday" got here in a hurry.

 

It's a great car for what it is. I came from a V6, 306hp to the back wheels and I love this car as much and more somtimes than my last car. I ride on freeways quite a bit and the only main drawback for me is getting it up to speed without completly mashing on the gas, but don't get me wrong, it can get up there if you plan accordingly .

I fill up each Friday (approximately 250 miles each week) at slightly under $20 which is a huge savings from my $80 - $90 a week at ~235 miles. I can't stand getting under 1/2 a tank too often, lol.

I do drive pretty aggresively and with a few mods, so I'm sure I could get better mpg, but I'm happy. As far as upkeep, things are pretty dirt cheap in comparison to my last car. Tires are 1/3 of what it cost me before, and parking is a none factor with the size of this car. My 98 Tacoma I sold to a friend 3 years ago is still going strong at 300K with the orginal clutch lasting until 178K...can't beat Toyota for longevity. Damn, I should've kept that truck, I totally need one now.

 

Then compare to the mileage you get on your current car and see what your yearly savings are...or compare vs the expected MPG of other new cars you are looking at. Then figure out how many years it will take you to gain back the difference in price between the hybrid and whatever else you are looking at. Honestly though, if you don't do a lot of extracurricular driving on top of 4250 a year you aren't going to save much by spending the extra money to get a hybrid.

I drive about 400 miles a week or 1600 a month, and save a little over $150 a month in gas over what I was previously driving. I replaced the vehicle I was driving because it had a big maintenance number coming up, needed new tires, and the AC was broke, all in all I figured it'd cost me about $2k for maint and repairs this year on it. That extra $150 a month goes a long way towards offsetting the cost of a new vehicle, even with a short 48 month loan. Compared to the $2k maint and repairs that means I come out ahead in year 1 by buying a new C, possibly pay a little extra in years 2-4 (Toyota Care helps offset this) and then when my loan is done save a metric crap load in years 5 and on.

Compared to other new vehicles I was looking at though, the gas savings would have been closer to $100 a month, and the C cost about $5000 extra, so it'll take me at least 4 years to save the difference between the C and the other cars I was looking at (counting the fairly negligible interest rate I got, a higher interest would make the cost difference a lot more significant).

So you can see that counting the moderately high mileage I drive that it still takes a few years to make the amazing gas mileage of the C really come to fruition. A low mileage driver might not ever over their ownership of the vehicle make up the cost difference, at which point you need to look at other factors like expected resale values (most Prii hold their value extremely well).

 

$20 for 250 miles... must be more than half the tank then. Ouch, you do drive pretty hard. What kind of MPGs are you getting?

 

I keep seeing all these people saying they drive so and so miles and I keep getting jealous...
I'm filling up every 8 days at ~500 miles per tank.

 

I don't know what routes I'll have to run for any given day. I have to make sure I can go over 100 miles on any given day at work, just in case it's a long day. If the tank starts to get low I have to top it off. Some weeks I rack up a lot more miles than others.

 

My average shows 46. As of late (last two months) I have been mashing on the gas and speedy take off's from a stop. I need to get back into the mellow mode, but these damn Cali latte sipping yuppie b#$@@# in their lame nice person Audi's will take every opportunity to roll over you if you don't drive aggressive. I don't have the patience to deal with that and give them a run for their money. And if I can't win I ususally hug the line and act like every other oblivious nice person here. It's been awhile since I've had to take a driver's test, but I'm guessing they don't cover use of signal lights anymore.

I'll pop a few zoloft and prosac pills and let you know if my mpg average increases.

 

Okay, I really did my best to avoid my fast and the furious driving style today (minus a few corners) and hit 54mpg average. Bad habits die hard, so I've got some nice mellow music (Lana Del Rey/Eli Leib) on the iPod and see if I can't keep it up. I also happend to hit an all time high on f-bombs driving today so there is some give and take with the compromise.