Why don't Hybrids get more love?

[colinl]

Those things you listed are meaningless to me. If I need to tow something heavy I'll use my Dodge Ram 4x4.

of course everyone has their own preferences, needs, priorities and budget.

but the things I listed are objectively true about the ecoboost awd and hybrid Maverick. two very different trucks, both very strong in the competitive marketplace. one has no peer, the other is a value proposition.

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[Samus]

I bet there are a lot of factors that go into the lack of "love for hybrids." One of the main for me is price. They used to be multiple thousands more dollars to get a hybrid over a non-hybrid. The hybrids are getting closer to parity, but I assume most people looking for an affordable vehicle are looking at saving the most money, so it puts them into a full ICE rather than a hybrid.

The only reason I own a PHEV is because I bought used. I would never have purchased a brand new Chevy Volt as they were $35k-$40k. I am lucky now, that I can afford a brand new Maverick. But I have a trade valued at $15k (hopefully) and I'll have a down payment of about $10k, so my loan is not going to be outrageous.

I honestly think Hybrids make way more sense right now than full EVs. You have to consider people who cannot charge at home, and that is a significant portion of the car-buying public. Then we have to consider electric grids. so on and so forth. Hybrids and Plug in Hybrids can fill that gap until everything is ready for a majority of the population to make the switch. Even then, there will be a portion that just does NOT want to go electric as well.

Just my $0.02 anyway

 

[FJM]

They currently don't make an AWD hybrid, and because of the extreme cold where I live I am concerned about the batteries freezing up. If a FWD hybrid fits your bill, by all means snatch one up and save some gas money.

Same here, I’m in upstate ny and winters are not good to us here.

 

[Exranger]

Not mentioned here but just as important is burning a cleaner fuel like compressed natural gas. This burns in ICE engines and is about 90% cleaner than gasoline. We have a 102 year supply already in the ground, made in America, no foreign dependence. The cost is much less. I was paying $1.50 per gallon equivalent. This was in CA. Some states were as low as 80 cents.

I used CNG from 2016-2023 in 2 vehicles, both factory built to run on this fuel. A 2012 Honda Civic and a 2004 F150 7700. Both vehicles had commuter stickers for HOV lanes to drive w/ one occupant.

The civic had the cleanest ice engine ever tested by the EPA. The exhaust smelled like a stove. I feel we missed the boat by not pursuing this option as a crossover to full electric. Any ice vehicle with a computer can be converted to natural gas.

The reason I ended up with the MAV is in 2021 CNG strangely went to $5.28 per gallon, tripling overnight. I went from $28 fill up to $85. I sold the civic and continued driving the F150 until the MAV came in.

I agree that hybrids are a good choice as a transition to EV. We have a fusion energi PHEV. I love how quiet it is when running on electric only. Then it gets 42 MPG.

 

[MaveRichard]

You do realize the EcoBoost is a "mild Hybrid" right?

I think about 75% of new vehicles are mild hybrids. Which means no idle with automatic start & stop, saving gas.

I guess it depends on how you define a mild hybrid. Usually they would require an electric motor to provide some assistance with acceleration or regenerative braking, as well as a larger electric/battery system. EcoBoost has neither.

Stop/Start technology is generally part of a a mild hybrid, but the inclusion of it does not define a vehicle as a mild hybrid.

 

[CTYankee]

At the end of the day, I only care about functionality and price/performance. The current hybrid Maverick doesn't offer the functionality I want (AWD) so I went EB.

In the past, it's been a simple calculation. All other things being equal, how much more expensive is the hybrid and how many years of gas would that difference cover? I'm not interested in needing multiple years to reach break even. As prices have gotten closer, that may not be as significant anymore, so a hybrid could factor into a future purchase.

 

[jorl]

until EV's are up to date(charge stations,battery range) HYBRIDS are the only way to go(IMHO)

 

[Mav_RICK]

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.

One thing you are missing on the hybrid is that the ICE runs (at least with my driving) only about 60-70% of the time. That’s less wear on the engine which is a definite advantage as long as the hybrid component holds up. Less brake wear as well.

I agree the EB is a superior choice for many situations.

 

[Saltwater Cowboys]

In the past, it's been a simple calculation. All other things being equal, how much more expensive is the hybrid and how many years of gas would that difference cover? I'm not interested in needing multiple years to reach break even. As prices have gotten closer, that may not be as significant anymore, so a hybrid could factor into a future purchase.

I've done that calculation every time I've purchased a new vehicle over the past 10 years. Never did a hybrid make economic sense until now. Now that hybrids are approaching parity, hopefully PHEV's are soon to follow. I don't see full-on EV's as a worthwhile choice in my lifetime unless they go to some kind of fuel cell concept where swapping the battery for a fully charged one takes 10 minutes.

 

[Mav_RICK]

Free enterprise rocks. Everyone who wants a hybrid is buying a hybrid. So hybrids are getting exactly the amount of love they merit.

The whole Toyota narrative about hybrids saving the world - that was PR because at the time that was what Toyota had in their product portfolio. Now Toyota's narrative has changed. Everyone is selling you a narrative. Everyone who buys a hybrid or ecoboost or BEV on this or any other site is also selling a narrative - how and why they are the most brilliant auto purchaser on the planet. And why everyone else should buy exactly what they bought.

Most engineers despise hybrids, because they are the worst of both worlds. The unnecessary complexity of two powertrains just introduces more failure paths. Engineers look at hybrids as a necessary evil on the path to electric vehicle sanity.

I think I have right to care who is buying EVs because I am helping them pay for it. That is the insane part of EVs. Get rid of the EV tax rebates and then I would care less who buys them. BTW I’m not against them I just don’t like being expected to help pay for one that I don’t actually own.

 

[MavTime]

There is nothing political about the free market capitalism involved in hybrid and EV demand and sales anymore than the small car demand in the late 70s, it is just silly when people start harping about narratives and such when it comes down to frugality and use. Car companies are always 6 years ahead of wherever we are, but they have been ignoring the demand for a hybrid truck for 10 years or more. We bought a Prius in 2008 and had to hear all the scary comments about the battery dying, but the thing went over 200k and could go another 100k easily. At the time Toyota could have just put that engine in a small FWD truck and it would have been a goldmine, but we were still in a big truck boom. It is very cyclical, we are shaved animals and always want what's on the other side of the circle. And Ford probably tested demand with the Hybrid as a standard feature, but then saw their chance to cash in on the demand by making it an option. That's capitalism and marketing, hit the customer where they like being hit. I know EVs are superior in most ways and would have probably considered an EV Maverick as I prefer a normal car feel with buttons and not the moon-buggy minimalist interiors of Teslas, but I can only buy what the car companies put out there and we have been waiting for a small Hybrid truck for way too long.

 

[Tiger Dude]

Because they were unobtainium. More love? More people ordered them for 2023 model year than could be made, I'd say there's plenty of love.

Some people have legit use cases for AWD & 4k towing, that's fine. I'd have gotten a hybrid if I thought it would've shown up. I got my EB on March 1 and was happy to get it.

 

[Speed2000]

Most new cars with ICEs emit less pollution out of the tail pipes than they take in through the air box. I bet you can't even commit suicide by locking yourself in the garage with the engine running anymore.


Jeremy Learns To Love The Porsche 911 | Top Gear - YouTube

 

[wax87]

I bought a Hybrid because I think the technology makes since, Electric motor at Low speed and High Torque demand and ICE engine at High speed low torque demands. Burning less fuel is also important to me, but if I needed a truck to do more truckie things I would have bought the EcoBoost.

 

[colinl]

Most new cars with ICEs emit less pollution out of the tail pipes than they take in through the air box. I bet you can't even commit suicide by locking yourself in the garage with the engine running anymore.


Jeremy Learns To Love The Porsche 911 | Top Gear - YouTube

lol try it and see. make sure your will is current, first.

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