Which type of car is the right one for you?
Gas prices are widely getting higher since 2020, and new sustainability laws said higher MPG rules are going into effect around the country. It’s so amazing, then, that around 60 percent of Americans have preferred buying an electric or hybrid vehicle. Choosing whether to get a hybrid car vs. an electric car can be complicated. Starting costs are seriously different, and so are the yearly maintenance, car insurance, and fuel costs.
To guide you in making the best option for your wallet, your family, and planet Earth, The Zebra has put all possible things that you need to know about the difference between hybrid and electric vehicles in one place.
Types of cars
Before diving into the average ownership costs, understanding how electric and hybrid cars work is hard. The way they work affects the whole thing, from their starting purchase price to their maintenance costs.
Most gasoline-powered cars use internal combustion engines.
When you turn on the car and press the accelerator, the fuel pump goes towards the fuel from your gas tank via a filter to eliminate any debris to avoid clogs in the rest of the engine. Once the filtration is done, a fuel injector pumps the gas into one of the engine’s cylinders. Pistons in the cylinders work to start the gasoline, which makes mechanical energy to propel the wheels of the car.
Hybrid cars
Hybrid cars, as you understand from the name, use both electric and gasoline-powered engines. At any time, the electric engine may be working or they may work in tandem. In a few cases, the gas engine may also charge the battery.
Initial costs
Gas cars have the lower initial cost, while electric vehicles are quite expensive. Also, state and federal governments give rebates and tax incentives to make buying a hybrid or electric vehicle low-cost.
Gas cars:
Explore MSRP for the ten most common gasoline-powered cars in the US and found that the average starting cost of a gasoline-powered vehicle is 33,797 dollars.
Hybrid cars:
The av. The initial buying price of a hybrid is 39,040 dollars. Also, if you buy a plug-in hybrid model, you’ll also be required to purchase charging equipment and possibly incorporate a charger in your home.
Similar to electric vehicles, many hybrids passed tests for tax incentives to reduce the starting cost. The $7,500 plug-in tax credit may bring the price of your plug-in hybrid nearly around 2,000 dollars lower than the av. starting cost of a new gas powered car.
Maintenance
Maintenance for gas cars:
The major maintenance costs associated with a gasoline-powered car are for oil changes and replacement parts such as batteries, brake pads, and spark plugs. You’ll also be required to follow your vehicle’s regular maintenance.
The gasoline-powered car maintenance price is between 35 dollars to 75 dollars, depending on the kind of oil you use. You can wish to do an oil change 2-3 times a year depending on how much you drive. This amounts to anywhere from 70 dollars to 225 dollars a year.
Every four or five years, you’ll need a new car battery, which can range in price from $45 to $250.
Brake pads last about 40,000 miles, after which you’ll need to replace them, which can cost anywhere from $150 to $300 per axle, depending on your car.
Roughly thirty thousand miles, you’ll require to change your spark plugs, which costs about 10 dollars per spark plug. Every cylinder requires a spark plug, so for a V6 engine, you’ll need 6 spark plugs (about $60), and for a V8 engine, you will need 8 (about 80 dollars).
Maintenance for hybrid cars:
Hybrids contain electric and internal combustion engines and define that they have all the maintenance costs of both types of cars. You’ll still need regular oil changes and change parts such as spark plugs, batteries, and brake pads on roughly the same maintenance schedule.
However, because there are 2 engines in a hybrid, some of the parts are difficult to get to when changing them, which can lead to higher labour costs.
Average fuel costs
The av. The cost of fuel in August 2022 was $4.09 per gallon. 1 tank of gas for a typical gasoline-powered car costs around $58 and lasts about 340 miles, which amounts around $0.17 a mile. Since the AV. An American driver drives approximately 14,263 miles in a year; that would be a total yearly cost of $2,425.
Hybrid vehicles have much greater miles per gallon than gas cars. Like the 2022 Honda Insight, a popular hybrid, it has an estimated combined MPG of 52. That means one tank of gas should get the average driver about 728 miles, which would be $0.08 per mile. The AV driver would spend 1,137 dollars per year on gas. If they have a plug-in hybrid, the driver would also be required to calculate for electricity.
Pros and cons of gas cars
If you’re looking for a familiar car or one with a lower up-front cost or more speed, a gasoline-powered vehicle is probably the best for you based on its pros and cons.
Pros of gasoline-powered cars:
- Lessen the front costs than a hybrid or electric car. Gasoline-powered cars are more pocket-friendly to purchase than hybrid or electric vehicles, and they don’t need extra initial expenses such as an at-home charging station.
- More available models than hybrids and electric cars. Car manufacturers have a vast amount of time to create a variety of tried-and-true models, so there are more alternatives than hybrid or electric cars.
- Higher top speeds than electric and hybrid cars. If you’re looking for top speed, there’s no comparison between gasoline-powered engines and electric and hybrid vehicles.
- Easier fillups than electric cars. Gas stations are all along American roadways, so if you require a gas station, opportunities are there’s one at the next exit. Fill-ups take a few minutes, and then you’re back on the road.
- Longer range than electric cars. Most gasoline-powered cars today can go anywhere in between 250 and 350 miles per tank, giving you a wider range of travel than electric cars.
Cons of gasoline-powered cars:
- Least environmentally friendly option. While every new model is more fuel-efficient than the previous, gasoline-powered cars use fossil fuels, generate emissions into the air through the tailpipe, and contribute to toxic waste from used oil.
- Higher regular maintenance costs as compared to hybrid or electric vehicles.Due to all the moving parts contained in a gasoline-powered engine, there are more options for things to break over time, needing more maintenance that adds on.
- At the mercy of changing gas costs higher than hybrid cars. As gas costs fluctuate, it becomes more difficult to plan for fuel costs reliably. Supply chain issues, bad weather, global strife, and inflation all wreak havoc on gasoline prices, and when prices jump, you may encounter a rude surprise next time you need to fill up.
- It is not convenient to power. Unless you store gasoline at home, which is not recommended because of safety issues, you can’t fill up your gasoline-powered car at home. This means waking up soon enough to get gas before stopping on your way home.
Pros and cons of hybrid cars
If you’re trying to search for a car that equals environmental friendliness with a reasonable up-front price, a hybrid car is a decent choice.
Pros of hybrid cars:
- More environmentally friendly than gasoline-powered cars. When your electric engine controls the car, you will use less fuel, limit harmful emissions from your vehicle, and decrease your contribution of toxic waste.
- Quieter than a gasoline-powered car. As long as your electric engine controls the car, a hybrid is quieter than a gasoline-powered car.
- Longer life of engine parts than gasoline-powered cars. You’ll incorporate each engine less than if you only had one engine. As a result, you are unable to put your internal combustion engine through as much wear and tear, making it last longer as compared to gasoline cars.
- Less “range anxiety” than electric cars. A hybrid can automatically or manually switch between energy sources, meaning your gasoline engine can take over if you run out of battery power on a long road trip.
- Tax incentives are present to offset slightly higher starting costs. If you purchase a plug-in hybrid, you may pass for federal and state tax incentives to make the cost difference between a new hybrid and a new gasoline-powered car much less—and in some situations, eradicate it completely.
Cons of hybrid cars:
- Less environmentally friendly than an electric car. While a hybrid is more environmentally friendly as compared to gasoline-powered cars, it isn’t as environmentally friendly as an electric car.
- Maintenance can be more costly than the other two options. While entire maintenance costs for the car’s life span are lesser, hybrids have critical mechanicals that may be more costly to fix than a gasoline car.
- Lower top speeds than gasoline cars. If you’re searching for speed, a hybrid has a lower top speed than gasoline cars. They also have an absence of sports-tuned suspension systems.