The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Owning A Hybrid Car

Hybrid cars are gaining in popularity as people become more and more conscious about the adverse effects of driving cars that run on fossil fuels. The continuously rising costs of gasoline have also led to the generation of an ample amount of interest in these fuel saving cars and vehicles. Like almost everything in life, hybrid cars also come with their own advantages ad disadvantages.
Some of the most common advantages of hybrid cars are:
· Hybrid cars are really environment friendly, especially when compared with gas guzzling normal vehicles. Some hybrid car manufacturers claim that their cars produce eighty per cent lesser emissions than gas engine vehicles. Therefore, using hybrid cars is a great way of doing your own bit for the environment.
· Almost all hybrid cars come with eight year warranties as compared to conventional cars which generally have warranties ranging from three to five years only.
· Hybrid cars are much cheaper to run than conventional gas engine cars. Since hybrid cars use both battery power as well as the gas engine for running the vehicle, the gas engine needs to run less and therefore consumes less fuel. As a result, most hybrid cars give you fuel economies that are at least 15%-30% higher than conventional vehicles. Hybrid cars can save you a lot of money especially if you are into stop and go city driving.
· When you buy a hybrid car in the United States, you become eligible for tax deductions on your car purchase. As a result, you may end up saving at least $2000-$7000 as tax deduction for “Clean Fuel Property” when you are buying your new hybrid car.
· In many states, you are also allowed certain other perks like free parking or HOV lane driving as a single occupant when you own a hybrid car.
At the same time, there are certain disadvantages involved with owning hybrid vehicles:
· The most prominent disadvantage that you face when buying a hybrid car is that a hybrid generally costs several thousand more than its regular gas version. On the other hand, due to current high demands you might also be required to pay a certain premium way above the sticker price for buying a hybrid.
· A hybrid gives almost the same mileage as a regular gas vehicle when you drive on highways. This is because the battery cuts in only at low speeds and while stopping and decelerating, something that does not need to happen much during highway driving.
· It generally takes years of regular driving to balance the additional cost of buying a hybrid vehicle by saving on fuel. However, you can actually save a lot of you have a transport or taxi business or if your cars have more than average mileage per year.