New possible owner.......mega miles a year worth it?

[nv rick]

I haven't done 80 mph yet, but at 70 mph mine freeway cruising that includes hills, mine gets about 42 mpg (44 on the car's display).

Between home (Pahrump) and Las Vegas, there is an inconvenient mountain range which involves a 3,000 foot elevation change. On the trip to and from LV, I generally average upper 30's to low 40's. On the west side of the mountain, the speed limit is 70; on the east side it is 65. I always drive at or a little above the speed limits and keep the a/c on all the time, whether it is 100+ or in the low 30's. I don't know that driving at 80 would knock 10mpg off, but even when I've driven 75mph for sustained distances, I didn't lose much mpg.

Around here, if you go just about anywhere, you will see a lot of elevation change, and my lifetime average is 38.5mpg. When driving around in the valley here, I will get upper 40's and low 50's, so if I lived at a lower elevation with no mountains around, I would imagine my lifetime would be quite a bit higher.

[acdii]

First Gen Honda Insights were 6 speed manuals, so there are manual Hybrids out there, just not any made today.

 

As for highway efficiency, even at 80 MPH, the FFH will still be good for MPG, so I say go for one, you will like it, and they do make good highway cruisers with the SE Luxury package. Don't worry about the HVB, its a myth uneducated consumers believe in when told they fail a lot by sales people who just want to sell what they have in stock. Failure rates are extremely low, I thin in the 7 years I have been driving Hybrids, I know of 3 that were replaced, and were done so early in the cars life due to a defect, and not because they wore out. There are hybrids out there as taxi's with over 300K on them on the original packs.

[Texasota]

Don't worry about the HVB, its a myth uneducated consumers believe in when told they fail a lot by sales people who just want to sell what they have in stock. Failure rates are extremely low, I thin in the 7 years I have been driving Hybrids, I know of 3 that were replaced, and were done so early in the cars life due to a defect, and not because they wore out. There are hybrids out there as taxi's with over 300K on them on the original packs.

 

There is at least one model that has a very high failure rate for the hybrid HVB:

 

http://consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/02/honda-civic-hybrid-battery-reliability-gets-worse/index.htm

[hybridbear]

1) Highway driving typically involves less charging and discharging of the HVB which means less charge cycles per mile.

 

2) With no wind and mild temps we've typcailly seen about 45 MPG at 65 MPH & 36-38 at 75 MPH. Your MPGs on the highway will likely be slightly worse than in the Fiesta, but the Fusion is a much larger vehicle.

 

3) SE Hybrid or Titanium Hybrid will have Sirius. I'm not sure about the S Hybrid. Texasota has one, maybe he can let us know. The Ford website also has a trim level comparison tool which should answer that question.

 

4) The little Honda two-door hybrid that was recently discontinued came with a manual, I'm not sure what the model name is anymore.

 

5) The first salesman had some hidden agenda to so strongly discourage the hybrid. While the hybrid's main advantage is in city driving, it does still have a small advantage in highway driving as can be seen in the EPA estimates for highway mileage.

 

6) Hybrids can have a wider highway MPG advantage if you're driving through the mountains. On the downhill stretches you can charge the HVB and recapture some of that energy. A regular gas Fusion would just go into DFSO mode (Decel Fuel Shut Off) where the ICE is on but no fuel is being injected.

[Texasota]

Sirius. I'm not sure about the S Hybrid. Texasota has one, maybe he can let us

My S Hybrid did not come with Sirius.

[Hybrider]

The main overriding reason I chose the SE version of the FFH over the S version was because the S version does not have the SiriusXM as an option. The secondary reason I chose the SE was so I could get the spoiler and the sporty wheels. It seems almost kind of silly now to have gotten the sportiest looking version of the FFH since I drive it like a granny, but it sure does look racy when it is parked. :arrive_alive:

[darrelld]

When gas prices were up, the difference was much less than 40%.

NOW however........today I noticed that gas was about 2.25 and diesel was 3.25. YIKES.

That's pretty close to 45%.

At the moment I'm glad that I do not have a diesel but that might not last too long.

 

I wonder why gas went down so much and diesel hasn't hardly budged ???

 

P.S. It would be nice if you trimmed your quotes just a bit. :)

 

Diesel prices usually always increase in the winter months due to home heating oil demand. The fracking boom tends to produce low-octane naphtha making it more compatible with regular gasoline production.

 

I have little doubt that diesel powered vehicles can be more efficient at highway speeds if geared properly. My Passat's DSG transmission produced rpms at 80 mph above the peak operating optimum range of 1700-2200. For that you need something with a 7-9 speed gearbox and nothing below 40k has that right now that I am aware.

 

The other long term problem I see with diesel vehicles produced after 2009 is the cost of replacing the DPF filters. Unless prices come down you are looking at the cost of a hybrid battery to replace your DPF at 100-200k miles. If you do a lot of city driving don't expect the DPF to last that long especially with short ~10 mile commutes.

Edited January 11, 2015 by darrelld

[Easy Rider]

 

My Passat's DSG transmission produced rpms at 80 mph above the peak operating optimum range of 1700-2200.

 

Vehicles are designed, for the most part, to operate the best when within LEGAL limits.

You need to slow down. ;)

Both for efficiency and for safety.

Speed really DOES kill.

[darrelld]

Vehicles are designed, for the most part, to operate the best when within LEGAL limits.

You need to slow down. ;)

Both for efficiency and for safety.

Speed really DOES kill.

 

I was driving 5 mph under the legal limit of 85?

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/which-states-have-highest-speed-limits-n188686

Edited January 11, 2015 by darrelld

[acdii]

HB, thats the Insight that was discontinued.

 

Texas, that one is well known, and Honda accelerated the issues with an update, but then I dont really consider Honda's as Hybrids.

 

One other thing about newer diesels, you have to use Urea in them, so that is an added cost per mile.

 

I still believe the Hybrid to be a better choice even with a lot of highway driving, the more miles you put on them, the shorter the actual payoff(except for the MKZ, no premium on the hybrid).

[Easy Rider]

I'd prefer to leave preaching out of this forum.

Who exactly was "preaching" ??

A quote would help follow.

[Easy Rider]

 

I was driving 5 mph under the legal limit of 85?

 

That doesn't change the facts.

Maybe .00001 percent of the roads in the US have a speed limit that high.

Regardless of the limit, going faster burns more gas.

Going faster takes longer to stop in an urgent situation.

Going faster does more damage in a crash that can't be avoided.

[mwr]

Who exactly was "preaching" ??

A quote would help follow.

I was referring to:

----------

You need to slow down.

Both for efficiency and for safety.

Speed really DOES kill.

----------

But it looks like that post was deleted.

[md13ffhguy]

Who exactly was "preaching" ??

A quote would help follow.

C'mon man!

[Easy Rider]

I still believe the Hybrid to be a better choice even with a lot of highway driving,

You are probably right.

 

Short term for sure with diesel fuel selling at $1 more than regular. Maybe long term too.

 

Payback is a little trickier though. To get that quicker payback, you have to get significantly higher mileage.

If you drive on the highway in a manner that the difference shrinks down close to nothing, then the payback goes back UP again.

[Easy Rider]

 

You need to slow down.

Both for efficiency and for safety.

Speed really DOES kill.

----------

But it looks like that post was deleted.

It was. Just now.

And without warning or comment from whomever did it.

I think that was uncalled for.

Apparently we can only have adult discussions if they don't offend anybody.

[Easy Rider]

C'mon man!

And that was pretty much worthless.

If you have something to say, then SAY it, in plain english.

C'mon yourself.

[md13ffhguy]

And that was pretty much worthless.

If you have something to say, then SAY it, in plain english.

C'mon yourself.

You honestly did not know who he was referring to as preaching? Again, I say, c'mon man!

[acdii]

Your post was removed for inflammatory comment, your posts above are border line as well. Please stay on topic and leave the comments non topic related out. Thank you.

[BoomerGer]

Well, I also am considering a new Fusion Hybrid, but I'm also considering the CMax as well. And I have been considering this for a few months, now. One of the questions I asked the service manager at my local dealership was if they had any problems with the battery breaking down or showing any problems. Before, I had a '07 Escape hybrid. I was concerned about the high mileage vs the life of the battery. He said he has had quite a few costomers who have the Escape Hybrid that have had no problems with mileage of over 200,000 and one with over 300,000 miles to it. And he said he had not heard of any of the newer Ford hybrids having any problems with the battery. My concerns with hybrids is they have no spare tire. Nor do they seem to have the ability to tow a small utility trailer. Hey, I can always get a spare tire to carry around, especially on the CMax, by purchasing a hitch and hitch mounted bicycle carrier and modify it to carry a tire much like carrying a Continentle Kit on a bigger car. And the size of the Fusion would seem to be better supportive of towing a small utility trailer for large, odd loads, like an electric wheelchair, or a trip to the dump. The trailer certainly is not heavy, and as I have said before, it's not like I am going to the local tractor pull to participate in a 50,000 lb dead weight with no wheels! Anyone one here pull a light trailer as I have described with any problem with a Fusion?

[Easy Rider]

Your post was removed for inflammatory comment, your posts above are border line as well. Please stay on topic and leave the comments non topic related out. Thank you.

Thank you for the explanation.

Don't you think this would have been better in a private message ??

 

P.M. sent also.

[hybridbear]

HB, thats the Insight that was discontinued.

The modern Insight has come with an automatic. It's this one, the CRZ...and Honda hasn't yet cancelled it.

[hybridwannabe]

The modern Insight has come with an automatic. It's this one, the CRZ...and Honda hasn't yet cancelled it.

 

Yes I just noticed they have a manual in the CRZ. Interesting car, but if the Fiesta is too small for me for long trips, the CRZ will definitely be too small haha!! It looks like a tiny thing!

[lolder]

Many of us here understand the Ford/Toyota eCVT full series-parallel hybrid cars. The design and durability of them is superior to all the other type hybrids that do not use that technology. If you're going to get a hybrid, only get the Ford/Toyota type.

[mwr]

In what ways is our FFH hybrid design superior to, say, the hybrid design in the Honda Accord?