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New SUV - Any hybrid experiences?

phade

By phade,
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phade Mentor

phade

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I am buying my wife a new SUV for Christmas. We typically have three vehicles in our household, with the third being the general "back-up" in the form of the oldest vehicle we have, opting to keep it vs. trading in, for the newest one.

We unexpectedly and unplanned "sold" our back-up hybrid Ford Escape to an older lady in town who was in need and a financial log jam, about 8 months ago. My wife has a newer minivan for her daycare business, but we're both ready for that thing to be used solely for the business or as back-up duty. She enjoys driving SUVs.

I am no longer a GM or Dodge customer - hard pass right now. Also not excited about the market conditions to buy, but it is what it is. Looking in the mid-size category and hoping to get her into a hybrid if at all possible. Also considering the Rav4 Prime with the tax credit potential, although I wish it were larger. I have a 4Runner.

Anyone have good experiences so far with any hybrid SUVs? 

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Trial153 Rising Star

Trial153

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My wife has Highlander hybrid, came off an x3 and before that a Honda Pilot and then went to the Toyota. So far she likes it a lot, the drive the interior the features. It’s pretty user friendly and it’s been very reliable so far. We had it for a recall and they gave her a loner Rav 4, 2021 I think ..it only had few hundred miles on it and it was nice vehicle, I was surprised at the room and creature comforts in the trim level. It drove just as nice as the highlander, with slightly less get up and go.
As for the hybrid, for me it took a bit getting used to however it does drive nice. Gas mileage she averages about 27 ish…, I have no idea if that is good or not compared to a non hybrid as mileage really isn’t on my radar.
Personally I wanted her to get Lexus GX but she didn’t anything that big.

One thing I know is from a reliable standpoint your hard pressed to do better then Toyota or Honda.

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Jeremy K Veteran

Jeremy K

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My buddy looked at a hybrid jeep and was telling me on cold days you have to use fuel til you get up to temperature and then hybrid becomes an option . He lives too close to work for him to ever really use the hybrid option every day because of this. He decided to pass.

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phade Mentor

phade

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3 hours ago, SportsmanNH said:

My son has a new sport model Toyota Rav 4 hybrid XSE .  He loves it !  Lots of power and 34 MPG.  Was tough to find one though. 

Is it a plug in hybrid? If so that is the Prime. I found one on a lot not sold in wNY. Otherwise they’re not available. The one is “speeding ticket” red and dealer started out saying it had a $5K dealer add on adjustment. LOL.

Highlander hybrid is on the list to look at too.

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phade Mentor

phade

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3 hours ago, Jeremy K said:

My buddy looked at a hybrid jeep and was telling me on cold days you have to use fuel til you get up to temperature and then hybrid becomes an option . He lives too close to work for him to ever really use the hybrid option every day because of this. He decided to pass.

Our Hybrid Escape treated us very well. I forget exactly where but it the motor would carry us through the mid 20mph and the engine kicked on right at 30mph. We averaged over 30 mpg with it from beginning to end when we gave it to the lady. 2009 model year. The engine would kick on in colder mornings or when heat and defrost was on, but overall it seemed to do very well on gas consumption. I wasn’t excited about a hybrid but for typical use I was won over.

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SportsmanNH Experienced

SportsmanNH

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44 minutes ago, phade said:

Is it a plug in hybrid? 

Its not a plug in .  He is in California .  From what he told me the engine charges the battery . Runs on the battery when its going slow like stop and go traffic Runs on gas when higher speeds and power needed. I just called him to confirm there was no plug . He said if the battery is getting low the gas engine kicks in to charge it even if you are in traffic . Battery charge lasts for over an hour in stop and go traffic which is the norm for LA traffic . Tells me he actually gets 36 MPG . The gas engine kicks on at about 30 MPH

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Bigfoot 327 Enthusiast

Bigfoot 327

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Well, I have a 2021 RAV 4 XSE with 14K miles. My gas mileage is currently 45.5 mpg. Most of my driving is under 60

MPH. Gas mileage drops off rapidly if you drive over 70 mph (common here in the south) or buy distressed gas. Only car I have ever owned where I get better MPG than the EPA numbers (38 and 41 MPG). Dealer tried to pull the $5K over MSRP BS! My trade in was a Camry Hybrid that got 52 MPG. So I demanded  a $5K premium on my trade!

Car has plenty of power. 2.5L 219 combined net Horsepower. All wheel drive. Heated seats, heated steering wheel, power lift gate, moon roof, radar cruise, lane departure feature, digital rearview mirror with Homelink, blind spot monitor and about 30 other features. Like ceramic window tinting and a 10 year 250,000 mile power train warranty. Yes, we like it. No, it's not for sale.

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stubborn1VT Proficient

stubborn1VT

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7 hours ago, Bigfoot 327 said:

Well, I have a 2021 RAV 4 XSE with 14K miles. My gas mileage is currently 45.5 mpg. Most of my driving is under 60

MPH. Gas mileage drops off rapidly if you drive over 70 mph (common here in the south) or buy distressed gas. Only car I have ever owned where I get better MPG than the EPA numbers (38 and 41 MPG). Dealer tried to pull the $5K over MSRP BS! My trade in was a Camry Hybrid that got 52 MPG. So I demanded  a $5K premium on my trade!

Car has plenty of power. 2.5L 219 combined net Horsepower. All wheel drive. Heated seats, heated steering wheel, power lift gate, moon roof, radar cruise, lane departure feature, digital rearview mirror with Homelink, blind spot monitor and about 30 other features. Like ceramic window tinting and a 10 year 250,000 mile power train warranty. Yes, we like it. No, it's not for sale.

That's some impressive mileage, especially for an AWD.  I'm somewhat surprised by the MPG of some of the hybrids.  My girlfriend's Subaru AWD gets 30+mpg, so not a huge difference.

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JJBat150 Enthusiast

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Good info on this thread.... Wife is currently driving a 2008 GMC envoy; she loves the size of the vehicle, but with it's ago it's getting ready to start causing high repair bills.  Our plan is to start looking next summer for a replacement, but she's pretty particular on wanting something around that same size (she absolutely hates driving my 15 Chevy Equinox -says it's too small).

Her drive to work is <5 miles, and with other driving, she's lucky to put 10-11K a year on a vehicle.  For those of you driving hybrids, what's the "tipping point" in regards to annual mileage where the  hybrid option off-set annual fuel / maintenance costs ?  Also, with such short driving distances, is there an economic benefit ? 

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biggamefish Community Regular

biggamefish

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@phade my wife and I just picked up the rave4 plug in hybrid. It is a true electric vehicle for 50 miles then it will switch over to gas. I was skeptical but it is really nice. We have put 6000 miles on the car so far and I think she is in her 3rd tank of gas. She plugs it in overnight and then at hew work. 

If you have any questions about it or want pics let me know. 

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phade Mentor

phade

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1 hour ago, JJBat150 said:

Good info on this thread.... Wife is currently driving a 2008 GMC envoy; she loves the size of the vehicle, but with it's ago it's getting ready to start causing high repair bills.  Our plan is to start looking next summer for a replacement, but she's pretty particular on wanting something around that same size (she absolutely hates driving my 15 Chevy Equinox -says it's too small).

Her drive to work is <5 miles, and with other driving, she's lucky to put 10-11K a year on a vehicle.  For those of you driving hybrids, what's the "tipping point" in regards to annual mileage where the  hybrid option off-set annual fuel / maintenance costs ?  Also, with such short driving distances, is there an economic benefit ? 

Alot of people look at the fuel cost. I think that is what most people expect. At some point there is a delta against expected cost of service/use vs. an estimated cost of gas. But in reality, it is also HOW those miles are used. 10K miles in a short trip, urban setting vs. wide open 70MPH on highway are not the same. 

I'm looking more at reliability long-term. Alot of ICEs in today's market are very reliable. 

I have a younger guy at work who bought a Rav 4 Prime in September. He has a commute of about 25 miles round trip. He uses non-ethanol gas, and just put in his second tank of gas. I back tracked the math on that for me, as I have a 60 mile round trip work commute (depending on backroads), and with 40 of it covered by the Plug In component, I'd be using about 40% of the gas I normally do now, also adding in non-work miles. That ballpark places me at $1.8K-2K per year gross savings.

In her scenario I bet the savings would be more on a PHEV because she would likely go alot of work trips without ever hitting the ICE hard. The PHEV have tax credits that make them look real nice. 7500 Fed tax credit and a 1000 instant NY rebate.

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BizCT Grand Master

BizCT

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2 hours ago, Jeremy K said:

I thought about an electric car because they have charging stations at work . I did recently just come out in another thread and admit to liking veggie lasagna better then red lasagna though. The combination of the 2 would crush my fathers soul.

wtf is "red lasagna"? you mean regular with meat?

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Jeremy K Veteran

Jeremy K

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16 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

wtf is "red lasagna"? you mean regular with meat?

I wasnt sure what to call it ,I was guessing using the term red lasagna was enough key words to let the reader know it was the lasagna with meat ,next time I'll include the recipe so everyone knows what I'm talking about . Ya lugnut

Edited by Jeremy K
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Just Lucky Proficient

Just Lucky

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Look at the 2022 Hyundai Tucson. Price is good, alot of technology, midsize, maintenance included, and best manufacturer warranty on the market. It is not the same powetrain as previous models. Also Hyundai have been producing and making vehicles, while others have been delayed.

If interested in full electric the kona is smaller, very responsive and price point is good. 

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