why I bought my hybrid
By Karina | August 1, 2007
I mentioned in my Tiny Choices Survey that I drive a Honda Insight. It’s the first new car I’ve ever owned, and I thought I’d write a little about the thought process that went into buying this hybrid.
There’s a simple answer and a long answer. The simple answer is:
- I wanted to double my gas mileage, and I was getting 30+ mpg in my old Civic.
- I wanted to drive a car with a manual transmission
The long answer is (behind the jump):
When I moved to NJ from Pittsburgh, as much as I tried not to, I had to start driving to work for the first time in my
life. I was driving a 1993 Civic hand-me-down from my family (bought new by my stepmother, driven by my stepsister, briefly by my stepbrother, more briefly by my brother, then my other stepsister. I’d had the Civic for several years and many thousands of miles - I would tell you exactly, but the speedometer broke, so I don’t know. I assume there were over 200,000 miles on that car. It was a little beat up, heavily rust damaged, the clutch was going, the bumper was falling off, and I had to replace parts every 6 to 8 months to the tune of a few hundred bucks a pop.
But it still wasn’t broken. It was an old friend, and more importantly, it was still DRIVABLE. That was the first decision I had to make. I am not used to getting rid of a car that still works - I’ve always finished off the life-cycle of my vehicles. Actually, I wasn’t sure if it was better to finish out the use of the old vehicle, or to buy the new one, considering the resources that go into car manufacturing. [[If only I’d asked Pablo! he addresses this question over here.]]
When I learned that Honda was redoing the Civic Hybrid, though, I decided to put myself on the waiting list. I’d heard the redesigned the engine and so I waited, eagerly, to find out what the changes were. It was promising at first: they improved the efficiency of the engine - but they didn’t put the improvements into FUEL efficiency, instead they increased the power of the automobile. And I couldn’t get behind that! So I started looking at the Insight.
Originally I’d poo-pooed the Insight for a simple reason: It’s a 2-seater! that’s not practical! but then it started to grow on me. To start with, it comes in a manual transmission. to my knowledge, there isn’t another hybrid on the market in a manual transmission anymore. I LOVE a manual transmission. it’s just more FUN. and when you have to commute to work via car every day, fun counts. it keeps you from passing out at the wheel while you’re driving down the NJ Turnpike. And I’ll also note: the Insight has a 3-cylinder engine. That’s really small. The manual transmission helps a LOT when you need to accelerate with extra zip - say, for example, on a highway on-ramp.
So with the strong draw of the manual transmission, I started to really examine the 2-seater reluctance. If I commute 60 miles a day (by myself), how much of the time do I really need a back seat? I did a back of the envelope estimate and determined I was driving approximately 90% of the time by myself. So once I the hurdle of the do-everything car paradigm, getting the Insight made more and more sense. It turns out that in real life, I only wish I had a back seat maybe once a month. Maybe. And one or two times a year I’ll rent a car if I have guests.
so all that, on top of the fact that the only way I could double my gas mileage over my old friend Civic, makes this sound like a really simple decison, right? But I do want to emphasize that I drive 30,000 miles a year. The average American drives 12-15,000 miles a year. so while I’m 
getting 60+ mpg in my sporty Insight (which is probably about 2x as good as the average American), I’m driving 2x as much as well. So it all pans out in the wash. I may be driving a super-efficient wee hybrid, but in the end, I’m using just as much gas as the average American. (which is why I off-set, and that is a whole’nother post.) So I hope y’all don’t think I have a huge amount of hybrid street-cred. I could do better if I lived closer to work, or if I committed to taking the train to and from work, despite the length and cost of the trip. But I do think I made the best decision for my needs. And you know what? I LOVE my Insight. it is so cool! like a space ship! kids love it! it’s fun to drive! it’s unusual! and it gets really great gas mileage!
Topics: Transportation |
I think what I love most about your Insight is the huge digital display on the dashboard which tells you your current MPG. It is amazing and inspirational to be in a car which is getting 65MPG!!
even if you feel like you’re cheating when you get over 100 mpg going down hills!
When we bought our hybrid I had been reading up on global warming (Tim Flannery’s The Weathermakers and Elizabeth Kolbert’s Field Notes from a Catastrophe) and we were saving for a new car. With the tax rebates we realized that if we could afford a new car, we could afford a hybrid (the tax rebate made our civic hyrbid the same price as a regular civic). To me it is a no brainer - if you are buying a new car, buy a hybrid!
What will be really great is when there is enough used hybrids so that its an option for people who can’t afford a new car. With the way Priuses have been selling, I bet that won’t be long!
So, the reason I don’t have a hybrid - and I’m taking the risk at getting jumped on, though this isn’t the time or place for this debate - has to do with the union-labor American car issue and the fact that I just can’t (or won’t) buy a foreign car. Fortunately, my 2003 Ion (which is so close to being completely paid for) is running fine and barely used. I was hoping that Detroit came out with something better than the hybrid SUV, which we (when there was a “we”) briefly considered, but nixed when we realized it wouldn’t quite fit bicycles in the back.
Stacey - we’d never jump on you! you evaluated your priorities and made a tiny choice! that’s what it’s all about!
Brdgt - I know they’re making a lot more priuses these days, but the value for the used ones doesn’t seem to be dropping very quickly! I would love to see more used hybrids out there, but I think there has to be a big increase in manufacturing first. hopefully there will be a bunch of new-generation hybrids in the next couple of years to keep the numbers up.
Jenn - my favorite part is on hills when I get over 100 mpg! the downhills, anyway. the uphills drops mileage to under 50 mpg and that’s not as fun.
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