Brand new TCH owner, still on my first tank. I've been eyeing hybrid vehicles for a while now and finally took the plunge with the TCH. I like to look at numbers and have been waiting to see a 'payback' period of around 3 years before I would buy one. The TCH was the first to make enough sense...for me anyway. Here is how I roughly estimated the payback period: 80mi round trip to work => ~20.8Kmi/yr. A 2007 Camry XLE 4cyl w/traction control looks like the closest comparable model (+/- a few features). Using MSRP: XLE $26,170; TCH $28,080 (w/moon roof); cost difference: $1910. Estimated MPG: XLE 27; TCH: 39. Fuel cost/yr @ $3/gal & 20.8K/yr: XLE $2311; TCH $1600, a difference of $711. Purchase price difference - tax credit ($1910-$650) = $1260. Purchase price difference divided by fuel savings ($1260/$711)=years to payoff: 1.77yrs.

I will drive this car for 12+ years (hope it lasts that long!) so this was a no-brainer. Now if gas prices keep going up it pays off that much sooner.

 

Sounds good. I like logic, which is lacking in this forum.

 

Wow! 1.77 years looks pretty good! When I did my numbers way back when, I think I figured roughly 2 to 2.5 years for mine.

I think that payback also should be compared to what your second choice car would be. If you didn't buy your TCH, what would have been the car you purchased? So, in my case, I was originally going to purchase an Acura TL. The Accord Hybrid was just an impulse buy. Hey, it was by the register! But anyways, looking at it like this, I've already met my payback period! Out the door, the price of the HAH was just about $4,000 cheaper than the TL.

 

I did a similar analysis. Mine is in CDN $ and l/100km but you'll get the idea. All prices are MSRP, taxes in.

Camry Hybrid (B package) = $42102 -Federal Tax rebate of $1500 -Provincial Tax rebate of $2000 = $38602 final cost of hybrid

The closest non-hybrid is the LE fully loaded with the C package and Leather package (but I think the Hybrid still comes out ahead in features).

Hybrid at $38602 - Camry LE (C + leather) at $36240 gives a difference in cost of $2362.

Cost of gas assuming 25000 Km per year (which is my average), and using EPA ratings (which I know are inflated but if I use them for both cars it should still be valid). Also assuming a 50/50 mix of city/highway. Also assumin $1.00/l (it currently is between $1.03 and $1.10 depending on the day).

Cost of gas for 1 year:
Camry LE EPA 8.15 l/100Km combined x 250 = 2037.5 l x $1.00 = $2037.50
Camry Hybrid EPA 5.7 1/100Km combined x 250 = 1425 l x $1.00 = $1425

Hybrid savings for 1 year = $612.50
Number of years to re-coup price difference = $2362 / $612.50 = 3.8 years.

That's a very conservative estimate, since I really do about 90% city driving, but since I plan on keeping this car a minimum of 10 years (more like 15), it's a clear winner. (Incidentally, running the same numbers at 90% city driving works out to 2.5 years). I know I'm not factoring in the difference in costs of maintenance, but it should'nt have that huge an effect.

 

A coworker has a V-6 SE and gets low to mid 30's on the highway, so my pay back would be much slower since I would have gotten a V-6 if I had not got the TCH. I also drive the highway about 90% of the time so the city mileage is not as important.

Either way, I think your 27 estimate is kinda low for the 4 cyl XLE version.

 

one thing is the pay off period, but did you all ever think that by using the tch and not another only gas powered car you have 80 % less emission...

that is a pay off for the environment since the first minute...

I am so glad to hear toyota sold 24 k units of prius in may 07....

and so sad honda will discontinue the hah...

best wishes

FLORIAN

 

I don't know how people get 35mpg with v6 engine, the best tank I ever got on my 2001 v6 Accord was 30 mpg and normally I would get 27-29, no matter how hard i tried. I also travel a bit few times a year and rent all different cars, including latest model subcompact 4 cylinders and I think the best I ever got even in those small cars, mostly highway driving, was 35 mpg and yes I keep track of those things. If your friend got 35mpg from V6 I would suspect he/she would get much better mpg from hybrid as well, since I usually get 40-41 mpg on my TCH and I would drive 120 mph at all times if I had better faith in my radar detector.

 

There is a person here with both the TCH and an XLE V-6 who confirms the V-6 does sip gas on the highway. It drinks it more in the city though.

I think it has to do with the adaptive transmission that is a 5 speed I think.

 

This seems relevant, so I'm re-posting it here from the thread "A year ago...":

"Well, it's been only 10 months for me, but I thought the following comparison might be of interest. I compared the fuel usage of my previous 1993 Camry V6 LE (3.0 liter, 185 hp) for the 10-month period July 2005 through May 2006, to my 2007 TCH (187 total hp, and about as peppy as the V6 was) for the comparable 10-month period July 2006 through May 2007. This period includes last summer, fall, and winter. My driving is largely in-town, short-trip (maybe 2/3rds of the total mileage) and 1/3 on the highway. This is what I found:

Camry V6 — 12 296 km / 1 463 L => 11.9 L/100 km = 19.8 mpgUS = 23.7 mpgIMP

Camry Hybrid — 13 857 km / 963.4 L => 6.95 L/100 km = 33.8 mpgUS = 40.6 mpgIMP

That's a 42% overall reduction in gasoline usage (i.e., a 42% improvement in fuel efficiency) from switching to the hybrid. I'm impressed! Yes, the hybrid's FE drops dramatically in winter stop-start driving here in Ontario, but so does the FE of regular vehicles.

Stan

P.S. I had a block heater fitted at the end of last year, after I saw how long it took for the car to reach operating temperature when the weather was cold. In two-and-a-half hours the block heater raises the block temperature by ~30 degrees Celsius above the ambient temperature. This makes warm-up very much faster, reduces ICE wear, provides cabin heat sooner, and at 10 cents/kWh costs me only ~10 cents per day — definitely less than the cost of the fuel saved."

Stan

 

That's a big FE increase going from the 1993 Camry V-6 to a 2007 TCH. But with the advances in the last 14 years I wonder how the FE of a new 2007 Camry V-6 would compare with your 1993. I would have to think it's significantly better.