Hybrid for predominantly highway driving?

[nick112288]

So it's time for a new vehicle. My 95 Ram is still running good, but it's seen better days.

Front suspension needs rebuilt, interior is in pieces due to various electric fixes, plus diesel is getting expensive!

I was already considering a hybrid, so the Maverick hybrid coming along, and at its price point, made me steer away from the typical mainstream models and towards it. The pickup style is just more useful to me than a sedan or hatchback.

Thing is most of my commute is highway. First part of my day is 5 miles of 35 to 45mph state route with no stops, then 3 miles of 35 to 50 with stop lights, 30 miles of highway, then about 2 miles of city streets when I get into town to work.

Weekend trips with the family or quick trips in to town are handled in my wife's van. Those quick weekend trips to the store would be done in the Maverick when purchased, so it would see a bit more in town mileage vs my current truck.

So I've been doing lots of reading and learning, but would I really benefit as much from the hybrid with mostly highway use?

Couldn't care less about the power of the Ecoboost over the hybrid. 160hp in a 26 year old 3/4 ton automatic truck gives a new definition to slow!

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[TCK]

My commute is all highway, hybrid still is well above the car it is replacing so I went that way.

 

[James D]

Eco for the hwy by far! MPG hwy is not much different even with way more power, more fun to drive in sport mode, safer passing, more towing with 4k, AWD much safer when wet or snowing and not forced to chain up.

Plus hybrids are sold out anyway.

 

[WesM]

Well if we go off the EPA ratings, you would see 4-5mpg more on the highway with the hybrid. Either way you will be waiting till next fall to get a Hybrid if you have not ordered yet, so lots of other people should have numbers by then.

 

[nick112288]

Eco for the hwy by far! MPG hwy is not much different even with way more power, more fun to drive in sport mode, safer passing, more towing with 4k, AWD much safer when wet or snowing and not forced to chain up.

Plus hybrids are sold out anyway.

About the only thing out of that which I would see any benefit is maybe passing power.

That's even a maybe. Speed limit around here is 65, and I have no need to go faster than that so only people I'm passing is those going really slow.

Couldn't care less about towing 4k. The only time the Maverick even being a truck would come in to play is when I load the bed with gardening supplies or lumber.

AWD was never a consideration. It hasn't been bad enough where I live that my rear wheel drive pickup with no added weight in the bed couldn't make it from A to B. If I can't accomplish the same thing in a FWD vehicle I don't need to be out.

 

[TCK]

Eco for the hwy by far! MPG hwy is not much different even with way more power, more fun to drive in sport mode, safer passing, more towing with 4k, AWD much safer when wet or snowing and not forced to chain up.

Plus hybrids are sold out anyway.

Yeah. Coming from a Honda Fit .California where gas is now $5 a gallon. Never towed anything .

 

[BostonMaverick]

So I've been doing lots of reading and learning, but would I really benefit as much from the hybrid with mostly highway use?

Couldn't care less about the power of the Ecoboost over the hybrid. 160hp in a 26 year old 3/4 ton automatic truck gives a new definition to slow!

If a large part of your commute is highway, I would just buy the truck with features you like and not worry about the engine. Either engine will provide far better MPG than your RAM. If you drive the EcoBoost like a hybrid, you will be pleasantly surprised with its fuel economy in my experience. I would only suggest the hybrid if you spend a lot of time in heavy, stop and go traffic during your commute.

 

[TE37Mav]

If you need one soon ecoboost might be your only choice. Hybrids are sold out and it’ll be awhile before you find them at a dealer from someone who didn’t want it.

 

[flyjum]

Hybrid will still get better MPG even on the highway. But it will get nearly double the MPG around town vs the ecoboost. If you get the ecoboost I would go for the AWD without the 4k package.

Without question the hybrid will be the more reliable drivetrain. Its nearly identical to the Prius and I have seen multiple with over 750k miles.

Edit
If you havent already ordered the hyrbid is out of the question unless you wait until summer of 2022 to order it.

 

[nick112288]

Hybrid will still get better MPG even on the highway. But it will get nearly double the MPG around town vs the ecoboost. If you get the ecoboost I would go for the AWD without the 4k package.

Without question the hybrid will be the more reliable drivetrain. Its nearly identical to the Prius and I have seen multiple with over 750k miles.

Edit
If you havent already ordered the hyrbid is out of the question unless you wait until summer of 2022 to order it.

Time frame isn't an issue. I don't need anything immediately. Current truck isn't going anywhere even when I buy a vehicle, and if it breaks down before a new vehicle we have an old spare vehicle I keep for backup use!

 

[MakinDoForNow]

So it's time for a new vehicle. My 95 Ram is still running good, but it's seen better days.

Front suspension needs rebuilt, interior is in pieces due to various electric fixes, plus diesel is getting expensive!

I was already considering a hybrid, so the Maverick hybrid coming along, and at its price point, made me steer away from the typical mainstream models and towards it. The pickup style is just more useful to me than a sedan or hatchback.

Thing is most of my commute is highway. First part of my day is 5 miles of 35 to 45mph state route with no stops, then 3 miles of 35 to 50 with stop lights, 30 miles of highway, then about 2 miles of city streets when I get into town to work.

Weekend trips with the family or quick trips in to town are handled in my wife's van. Those quick weekend trips to the store would be done in the Maverick when purchased, so it would see a bit more in town mileage vs my current truck.

So I've been doing lots of reading and learning, but would I really benefit as much from the hybrid with mostly highway use?

Couldn't care less about the power of the Ecoboost over the hybrid. 160hp in a 26 year old 3/4 ton automatic truck gives a new definition to slow!

Good report on your commute. I do not think that you will have "predominately" as much highway milage as you may think you have as some of it may be closer to city than you believe. The 5 miles of 35-45 even with constant speed will allow the ice to run at optimum rpm and store some current in the battery and may even shut down occasionally. Any places where speed drops even 5 mph if you coast brake or lightly Regen only brake will save more charge and will be real close to city driving mpg. The 3 miles 30-50 with stops is almost perfect city driving. The 30 miles of highway can vary mpg greatly depending on speed and if there are any speed changes that can be treated as mini hills to Regen some. Probably not enough to matter but might help make 30 mile more interesting. A slightly larger tire may help mpg but be careful it's a balancing act. One thing certain your cash back credit card you purchase gas with will think you have found another when you divorce your 3/4 ton.

 

[Old Hickory Trojan]

Gas prices are going nowhere but up.....and iit is going to be a longtime problem might want to consider that...but if you need to tow and plan on taking it offroad might be more important..

 

[Darksider]

Go hybrid, there is no doubt that it is better mpg all around. It is actually a powerful engine for the size of the vehicle. The fwd will be do anything an awd will do since these are not offroad trucks (besides the fx4 package).

You will have great luck buying one off a lot. Find a dealer that will sell at msrp or something you are comfortable with. Once these start shipping there will be many cancelled orders so dealer stock is going to easy to get. Just have to be on your toes and know what your dealer is going to add on. You will likely get a hybrid before most on this forum going this route.

 

[Dechion]

Based on your posts I think the hybrid would be the way to go. I ended up going that way as well, for similar reasons. I'll have a bit more city driving than you, but not much.

Assuming one drove their Maverick for 100,000 miles getting the EPA combined gas mileage and that gas stayed costing what it cost me last week when I filled up ($3.50/gal) the savings would be pretty substantial.

100,000 miles @ 37 mpg = 2702 gallons
100,000 miles @ 23 mpg = 4,347 gallons
For a difference of 1645 gallons.

At $3.50 a gallon thats about $5,757.

Add in the cost of the ecoboost upgrade of $1085 (not including AWD or 4K towing, just the engine change) and we are up to about $6,812 in additional costs for an ecoboost over the first 100K.

For almost 7 grand in expected savings I figure I can rent a full size truck from Uhaul on the rare occasions I might ever need to do something my hybrid Maverick can't handle. In your case you could just take your Ram out for some exercise.

The savings are obviously subject to change based on current gas prices, actual mileage, and whether you use the 91 octane the manual reccomends for the ecoboost, this is just a working number. Personally I believe its on the low end and savings will be higher as prices just go up over time.

If you are OK with waiting and don't plan on needing the 4K towing or AWD it makes the most sense to me to go hybrid.

Either way, I hope you enjoy your Maverick.

 

[staryoshi]

Ecoboost, you're in Indiana

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