Would you buy an eco-friendly vehicle

[Tundra_Hick]

With global warming in mind and assuming you don't have a significant loss of performance, would you buy an alternative fuel or hybrid vehicle?

[Cyberbilly]

Originally Posted by Tundra_Hick

With global warming in mind and assuming you don't have a significant loss of performance, would you buy an alternative fuel or hybrid vehicle?

Sure, I'd buy one assuming it had all the same qualities in terms of performance, reliability, cost of ownnership, and availability of fuel as a conventional vehicle.

[Tundra_Hick]

What if the performance was slightly less?

[Cyberbilly]

Originally Posted by Tundra_Hick

What if the performance was slightly less?

How much is "slightly?"

[Burger Steak & Eggs]

Originally Posted by Tundra_Hick

assuming you don't have a significant loss of performance, would you buy an alternative fuel or hybrid vehicle?

Yes.

[Burger Steak & Eggs]

Originally Posted by Tundra_Hick

What if the performance was slightly less?

No.

[Snakeii]

Lets just compare the Highlander. You are looking at spending another 4-8,000 more from a gas Highlander to the Hybrid, depending if you want to compare it to the Sport and regular gas model.

Mpg: 18/24 vs 31/27

$2.40 per gallon
100,000 miles

City Hwy
Gas: $13,333 $10,000
Hybrid: $7,742 $8,889

Save: $5,591 $1,111

So, essentially in 100,000 miles it has the potential to pay for itself if you only drive in the city and go with the plain jane gas model. But of course you have to figure in the extra expenses of getting a hybrid vehicle fixed, and the hassle of finding someone that actually has experience fixing it. Then of course the dealership BS of them trying to raise the retail price on it just because its a hybrid and hard to locate vehicle. Good ole excuse of supply and demand.

Personally Id hold off for a few more years until the prices of the hybrids go down, or possibly if I did mostly city driving and had a dealer lined up already that knew their stuff. Most dealers I find are incompetent enough to work on a gas vehicle let alone something that is more complex.

I test drove the Highlander Hybrid while down in Charlotte, it had plenty of pep and it rode nice. If I didnt want a truck, with better towing cap, etc, Id consider one if the price was right and I was using it a lot to commute at city speeds. Id learn as much as I could about the hybrid system so I could work on it myself, otherwise, it would be a totally useless vehicle if it were to die out in the middle of nowhere.

[Tundra_Hick]

From what I have found on the net, the Highlander gas and hybrid have pretty similar 1/4 mile times. In fact, the hybrid has been a little faster.

To answer your question, the amount of performance loss I meant was around 1 second 0-60 and 1 second 1/4 mile times.

[Snakeii]

Originally Posted by Tundra_Hick

From what I have found on the net, the Highlander gas and hybrid have pretty similar 1/4 mile times. In fact, the hybrid has been a little faster.

To answer your question, the amount of performance loss I meant was around 1 second 0-60 and 1 second 1/4 mile times.

I was actually fairly impressed in its handling and power. It does have a v6. What was pretty cool is the display that showed which system(s) were being used at that exact moment. It would get old to look at after a while but at least you could tell how much gas you could give it before the engine completely took over.

[Burger Steak & Eggs]

Those electric motors generate serious low end torque. The best part is, the torque peak is at zero rpm.