For past three to four years; Pakistanis have been really inclined towards hybrid cars and the assumption is that they are electric cars thus they are fuel efficient. Let me shed some light on this; there are six common hybrid options available in Pakistan so I will go to each one of them separately.
Second generation Toyota Prius (XW20)
This generation of Prius is powered by a 1500cc engine and was in production from 2005-2009; Prius is the first mass production Hybrid and the fuel average with normal city driving that it gives is around 15-16 km / liter however Toyota claims it to be 20+ km / liter but the published average is always calculated under ideal circumstances. Now if I consider any other 1500cc Toyota (JDM Corolla) then the fuel average on get on that is between 11-12 km / liter which means approx there's a difference of 4km / liter. Now the battery provided with the car has a warranty of 250,000 kms or 10 years and then the new one costs approx Rs.300,000/- locally. Now lets say you drive your car for approx 100 kms a day (anything less than that you shouldn't worry about fuel efficiency). So anyways; you are consuming approx 6.6 liter petrol instead of 9 liter petrol that will be consumed in petrol car. thats a saving of Rs.257/- in today's prices of petrol. By using the car for 100 kms it'll be 36,000 kms driven during 1 year which means Rs.93,805/- saved in fuel expense and it'll take you approx 7 years to run your car for 250,000 kms with total saving of Rs.651,423/-.
Third Generation Toyota Prius (XW30)
XW30 came in production in 2010 and is still the current generation Prius; XW30 is powered by 1800 cc engine and when you drive it on daily basis it'll give you approx 17-18 km in city driving where Toyota claims it to be 21. Now again the battery comes with same warranty of 250,000 kms or 10 years. So here we all know 1800cc Altis can never go to this kind of mileage and thus without further ado I will put my verdict for Prius.
Verdict - Prius is fuel efficient and green as well. There is a reason Prius holds its position as number one hybrid vehicle worldwide.
Seventh Generation Honda Civic Hybrid
Honda Civic Hybrid comes with a 1300cc engine compared to the 1800cc engine of its petrol counterpart. The difference of Honda Hybrid is that at moderate speeds it only runs on electric and doesn't use petrol at all. Now Honda claims Civic gets 20.8 km / liter fuel average however when I used it personally the car didn't give anything above 13.5 km / liter whereas Honda CIvic Petrol 1800cc engine gives the fuel average of approx 9km / liter. Civic Hybrid feels under powered too due to its small engine however if you want to calculate the fuel efficiency of this then it'll be a saving of Rs.381 / 100 kilometers but in return you are getting an under powered car.
Verdict - Civic is fuel efficient however if given a choice I would opt for something different; either petrol Civic or Prius
Second Generation Honda Insight
In first glance Insight looks a lot like a Prius however it is not; Its a hybrid vehicle offered by Honda. Insight runs with a 1300cc Hybrid engine which Honda claims provides fuel efficiency of 16.9 km / liter, I haven't been able to personally check the car so lets just assume it provides approx 16 km / liter as fuel average.
Verdict - Insight is a direct competitor of Prius, Prius is more economical so if you're a relaxed driver who wants a car with better resale and fuel economy then Insight isn't for you; however the stats show that insight is more fun to drive and offers better handling and breaking so it is definitely the option for our younger crowd.
Honda Fit Hybrid
Fit joined the hybrid race very late (2010) and is powered by the same 1300cc engine. Fit is the only Hybrid Hatchback available locally at the moment and there's a lot of interest shown in Fit since it started coming to Pakistan. Unlike other Hondas Fit works like Prius' technology i.e. parallel power system, which means battery and power both work simultaneously. Honda claims fit provides the fuel average of 30.3 km / liter however with personal usage the mileage turned out to be around 22 km / liter which is still pretty great for other 1300 hatchs don't go above 15 km so there's a saving more than any other seen in this thread i.e. Rs.217 / 100 kms.
Verdict - Fit is definitely a worth buying hatch for it provides looks, fun to drive honda factor and fuel efficiency.
Honda CRZ
This pocket rocket is my personal favorite and thats why I saved it for last; my opinion can be biased but CRZ is the only sports hybrid available to the power hungry Pakistanis. This cute little thing runs a 1500cc Hybrid engine under the hood and at the moment it is the only Hybrid that is also available with the option of 6 speed manual transmission in Pakistan. The road test of CRZ was recorded as 10.5 seconds for 0-60 mph. Tests claims that Manual variant offers 13.1 km / liter while the automatic (CVT) offers the fuel average of 12.4 km / liter
Verdict - I love it so yes I'll definitely buy it if I'm in market for a pocket rocket.
Happy Reading
OA
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