The whole point of having a fuel efficient vehicle is to cut down on costs, many are turning to hybrid powered cars for better mileage and they assume their saving money in the long run. However, if one ever prices the electric motor or battery charging system for a hybrid in the face of mechanical failure, they will certainly be shocked to find out the cost of these hybrid components. It is a known fact that a hybrid’s batteries never appear to last longer than 100,000 miles. The cost of this hybrid repair can be anywhere in the neighborhood of $3000 to $5000, in addition to this it is also commonly known that battery issues create havoc for conventional vehicle’s charging systems, how will these issues affect a hybrid? Weak batteries put a major strain on components such as alternators and starters, now one might come to the conclusion that it may be a better idea to stick with gasoline-only conventional cars.
Hybrid cars do get better gas mileage than some of the vehicles that will be outlined in this article, but the cost of parts and the margin for mechanical error is much less. Besides, the conventional gasoline sippers have proven power plants that have been around for a number of years; this means two things: One, the engines and transmissions when compared to hybrid cars have had many years for the manufacturers to work out all the kinks and bugs in the driveline; two, the cost of parts is very low because these vehicles are very common (unlike a hybrid car) and the drivelines have been on the market for a number of years. This means that over time the non-hybrid parts depreciate and the larger number of non-hybrid vehicles on the road will ultimately lower the cost of those parts. Hybrid vehicles are new to the ball room, they haven’t quite settled into the market and proven themselves reliable for all users; for instance, if you commute a considerable amount in your hybrid you could be changing your batteries with well over 100,000 miles in just five short years. Imagine, your warranty has run out and you’re still making payments on your hybrid; and now you have a $2500 dealer or mechanic shop bill hanging over your head. Below is a list of non-hybrid cars that have proven themselves in the automotive industry as having reliable engines and transmissions as well as fantastic fuel economy.
1) Volkswagen Golf TDI–city 37/44–highway
2) Volkswagen Jetta TDI–city 36/41–highway
3) Toyota Corolla–city 32/41–highway
4) Toyota Yaris–city 34/40–highway
5) Honda Civic–city 30/40–highway
6) Honda Fit–city 33/38–highway
7) Toyota Scion xA–city 31/38–highway
8) Ford Focus–city 27/37–highway
9) Toyota Matrix–city 30/36–highway
10) Nissan Sentra–city 28/35–highway
11) Acura RSX–city 27/34–highway
12) Honda Accord–city 26/34–highway
13) Chevrolet Malibu–city 24/34-highway
Source: http://www.whybuyhybrid.com/top-fuel-efficient-non-hybrid-cars-in-2006
