Why don't Hybrids get more love?

[Octantis]

To each their own. People have their reasons for buying things. If we can't agree on the best flavor of ice cream (its chocolate btw) then we won't agree on this.

I drive 60 miles a day commute on combo highway and local roads. My car at the time was a 2014 Ford Focus that was giving me 35mpg. It was impossible to justify getting worse mileage at a greater price just to run the vehicle until the wheels fell off. In general trucks before Mav were incredibly expensive, had poor mileage, and some utility. Seemed silly to accept the first two just for the last one.

When the Mav came out it checked all the boxes. Cost effective (cheap isn't an option anymore), great mileage, and some utility. Yeah I can't haul a travel trailer but I can get a bed full of loose mulch and some plywood. EB would have killed the great mileage and I probably would have still checked it out but the Hybrid was the obvious choice.

And in 10 years the EV thing will have figured itself out. Gas infrastructure took forever to be ubiquitous I would expect the same from EV.

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[bbhaag]

it's pretty hard to charge an EV from your 5th floor apartment. Or even your first floor apartment. really. Sure you can plug up an EV to a 110v outlet and get a trickle charge overnight. But a lot of people don't live in a house. Cities are full of high density residential, apartment complexes. At present the infrastructure doesn't really exist for EV charging in apartment parking. Which is ironic given that inside city driving is almost the ideal scenario for EVs.

While this is true if you live in a densely populated area like New York, Chicago, Paris, London, Tokyo, ect you should probably be taking public transportation anyway or an alternative method of transportation besides an automobile.

Not saying people who live in these areas shouldn't own vehicles but given the cost of owning a vehicle and the cost of living in these densely populated urban areas alternative methods of transportation seem like a better idea than either hybrid or electric vehicles.

 

[LSchicago]

Gunnison, CO. One of the coldest spots in the continental US of A. We See -40° below almost every season here, and -20° to -30° almost nightly December - February. Lots of snow and ice too, so I need AWD. Period. Nothing against hybrid Mavericks, they just won't cut the mustard for my needs.

Needing AWD is different than worrying about a battery.

 

[TheWizziard]

Click Bait

You start a thread with: "Why don't Hybrids get more love?"

and provide no support for the statement.

 

[TrailMaster]

Needing AWD is different than worrying about a battery.

This is true. I both need AWD, and worry about hybrid batteries being subjected to countless freeze/thaw cycles. Sorry if this bothers you.

 

[Old Ford Guy]

this forum explicitly states no politics, and bans people for talking about politics, which I think is a great policy.

I want to talk about trucks, not politics. but let me just state that, no it's not valid for you to assume that everyone or even a simple majority (50.1%) agree with those statements.

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now I will answer the question posed by your thread title "why don't hybrids get more love" and ignore everything else you said.

the hybrid maverick is unquestionably a great vehicle. it deserves all the accolades, high demand, all of it. for many, it's all the truck they need. for others it's a prius with a bed. there is literally no competitor that offers what it offers.

but the ecoboost awd maverick is a better truck in every single measure except miles per gallon. that is literally the only advantage the hybrid maverick has over it.

ecoboost awd mavericks are better at:
- towing
available 4k towing, and I assure you even without it, an ecoboost outperforms a hybrid in hilly terrain if you're at/near 2,000 pounds.

- off-road capability
tremor being the best, fx4 being good and obviously just having awd makes it better than a hybrid.

- winter / severe weather capability
same as off-road advantages. can you get through the winter in hybrid maverick, or any fwd vehicle? of course, it's mainly about having the right tires.

- driving pleasure / on-road high performance
an ecoboost awd Maverick is not a Mustang or Focus RS, but it's fun and surprisingly capable on road. regenerative braking alone makes it hard to enjoy a hybrid if you want to drive spiritedly.

thank you for your reasoned response. i too am here to talk about Maverick truck stuff, politics is not what i come here for.
you make several good points disagreeing with me while seeming to acknowledging my basic premise that Hybrids make more sense right now as we transition to that utopian future of a near 100% electric vehicle world. we already today as you read this have a way to DRAMATICALLY reduce both fossil fuel dependency AND tailpipe emissions. a all electric vehicle fleet by the way is never gonna happen in our or anyone else's alive today lifetime barring some dramatic innovations which i suppose could happen.
i did not mean to come off as too 'political' but rather pragmatic. our current situation vis a vee our (human beings) continued existence here on planet Earth as we currently know it now.
i would argue that the signs of so called 'climate change' seem undeniable to any objective observer but that's a discussion for another thread.
i have no doubt that there is a large percentage of folks that highly value or need ICE vehicles. and their towing capabilities and performance advantages FAR more than MPG.
if you routinely tow a boat or other big stuff you probably are'nt that person considering a Hybrid or EV in the 1st place, i get that.
i'm speaking to that vast majority of folks who just need to get to work and back; go on a milk run or the occasional road trip and who like the truck like aesthetics and versatility you can get with a Mav.

my argument is about the how battery electric hybrids would and do work just fine for a large portion of the driving public right now, while also leveraging our existing fossil fuel infrastructure while we build out the needed electric vehicle infrastructure to wean America off of gasoline/diesel powered vehicles as much and as soon as possible .
there are many use cases for ICE vehicles, towing capacity among them of course and just plain performance benefits as well.....but.....i was attempting to address how much sense Hybrids make in so many ways for most folks.

off roaders and others who value that kind of stuff as well as better performance also will obviously want a vehicle with different attributes than you can get from a Hybrid Mav. but that does not mean that Hybrid power train technology should not be a larger piece of our transition to a less fossil fuel dependent future.

 

[LSchicago]

This is true. I both need AWD, and worry about hybrid batteries being subjected to countless freeze/thaw cycles. Sorry if this bothers you.

It doesn't bother me. Very few people in the US live where it is commonly -40 every year, actual temperature. And that is what garages and programmed starts are for. I wouldn't want to start any vehicle cold at -40 air temp.

 

[stoptothink]

I did not think of that, but is that 40% of Americans?

Last census suggests ~67% of families live in singe family homes. It's also very area dependent. I live in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, but there isn't a single single family home within ~3 miles of my townhouse. There also are only 3 public charging centers in the area, and they are constantly down. The large majority of those in my area can't drive an EV.

Also, keep in mind that 110v would be fine for some people, but what about people with longer commutes? There are tens of millions of drivers in this country for whom an EV is not a realistic option yet.

 

[stoptothink]

While this is true if you live in a densely populated area like New York, Chicago, Paris, London, Tokyo, ect you should probably be taking public transportation anyway or an alternative method of transportation besides an automobile.

Not saying people who live in these areas shouldn't own vehicles but given the cost of owning a vehicle and the cost of living in these densely populated urban areas alternative methods of transportation seem like a better idea than either hybrid or electric vehicles.

I live in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, there are zero single family homes within a few miles of my townhome. Public transportation also isn't really an option here. This isn't just an issue in super densely populated areas.

 

[Rock]

All of you are being far too mature and reasonable. This is the MTC, that crap doesn’t belong here!

I believe there are many hybrid people who chose because of AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming = overall warming of Earth's climate caused or produced by humans).
So, I'd like to hear their Mav comments.

 

[Ktowntimmy]

I bought a hybrid Maverick because I prefer driving trucks. I’ve been driving trucks since the 80’s...and I’m frugal (aka cheap). When I ordered mine, hybrids and EBs were the same price.

 

[bbhaag]

I live in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, there are zero single family homes within a few miles of my townhome. Public transportation also isn't really an option here. This isn't just an issue in super densely populated areas.

Well I wouldn't exactly call a townhouse a direct comparison to a 5 story apartment complex.......

 

[colinl]

you make several good points disagreeing with me while seeming to acknowledging my basic premise that Hybrids make more sense right now

Hybrids will *always* make more sense than a Battery Electric Vehicle. There are just far too many use cases in the United States, especially rural and long-distance driving, and towing, that BEVs are poorly suited to address. Range and charging time are not going to meet the needs for a lot of people, in fact those that can live with it are in the minority.

The only reason BEVs are doing anything is because of financial incentives and pressure from investors to try to get car companies' stocks to rise like Tesla. If we just had electric vehicles we would have a stock that grows like Tesla, right? It's amazing to think people are that naive, and have that shallow of an understanding of why Tesla has been successful, and if they can keep it up (hint: they won't), but it's true.

The fuel used in a hybrid vehicle is what might change in the future. It might be CNG or hydrogen, or even hydrogen separated from water.

 

[LSchicago]

Last census suggests ~67% of families live in singe family homes. It's also very area dependent. I live in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, but there isn't a single single family home within ~3 miles of my townhouse. There also are only 3 public charging centers in the area, and they are constantly down. The large majority of those in my area can't drive an EV.

Also, keep in mind that 110v would be fine for some people, but what about people with longer commutes? There are tens of millions of drivers in this country for whom an EV is not a realistic option yet.

I live 3 miles west of the Chicago city border (Village of 10,000), but mostly all single family homes by me. No multi unit buildings for at least 3 blocks, and I will not buy an EV at this stage. Hybrid sounded absolutely perfect for my daily driving needs. So far, working very well. Will be better in the snow than anything I owned the last 11 winters too. (3 RWD's) Maybe I'll consider an EV in 10 years. Maybe not.

 

[TrailMaster]

It doesn't bother me. Very few people in the US live where it is commonly -40 every year, actual temperature. And that is what garages and programmed starts are for. I wouldn't want to start any vehicle cold at -40 air temp.

For those of us who do live in such climates, it is a factor. I have no garage, hence I ordered an engine heater. It's not that I want to start my vehicle at -40° air temp either, but sometimes I have to. At least the engine will be warmed up before I start it remotely.

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