Are hybrid cars reliable?

The thing that worries me about hybrids is there is a lot of complexity under the hood and years down the road raplacing the batteries can be very expensive.

For most people it takes years of driving before the savings in fuel costs offset the higher price of hybrids. Of course the higher the price gas goes the quicker investing in hybrids pays off.

I test drove a 1st generation Prius and wasn’t impressed. Acceleration was so sluggish I felt like it would be scary to drive with agressive drivers on the expressway. When I drove 70 MPH the poor Prius sounded like the engine was straining for all it was worth. I understand the the newer Prius’ have much better performance but nobody will ever mistake it for a sports car.

Another thing to consider is a diesel. Diesel engines get about the same millege as hybrids on the expressway. Diesels don’t get as good millege in city driving as hybrid gasoline cars but Diesels handily beat the millege that conventional gasoline cars get. Diesel engines are actually simpler than gasoline engines and with proper maintenance can last a very long time. Diesel engines can also burn biodiesel which is a fuel made from vegetable oil. Right now biodiesel is hard to find and expensive but I’d rather pay $5/gal and have some of the money go to our farmers than pay $3/gal and have all the money go to Multinational Corporations and the Middle East.