Hybrid Owners Say EPA Mileage Estimates Hard to Reach

Oct 16 - The News & Observer

Amy Branch paid $50,000 for a Lexus hybrid SUV in part because she wanted to save money on gas.

But after a month of driving, she was still getting less than 25 miles to the gallon, not the 31 estimated by the EPA.

"I took it back to the Lexus dealer to ask if I was doing something wrong," said Branch, a sales executive at SunGard Data Systems. "I love the car, it's beautiful to drive -- but I wish I was getting better gas mileage."

Six years after being introduced, hybrid vehicles -- which use electric motors as well as internal combustion engines -- are no longer a rarity on the highway. And now with gas prices hovering around $3 a gallon, more and more people -- including President Bush -- are pointing to hybrids as a way to reduce fuel use and dependence on foreign oil.

But while hybrids spew out less emissions and get better mileage than many vehicles that use only gas, they also cost more. Now owners are learning the high EPA mileage estimates are tough -- if not impossible -- to duplicate. Most owners won't recoup the extra cost despite savings on gas expenses, experts said.

"If the promise is they will save money, they probably don't," Walter McManus, director of the Office for Study of Automotive Transportation at the University of Michigan. "They haven't proven they're the answer yet."

For drivers who keep their cars four years or less, McManus said gas prices will have to reach $6 a gallon before drivers will recoup the extra cost. "It's unrealistic until the cost comes way down or the price of fuel goes up quite a bit for them to pay for themselves," he said.

Sticker prices generally run about $3,000 to $5,000 more than comparable traditionally powered vehicles. At Leith Honda, a 2005 Civic hybrid lists for $21,110, or $3,000 more than a regular Civic, said Brad Manning, Internet sales manager. At Fred Anderson Toyota, a hybrid Highlander SUV lists for about $33,000, or $7,000 more than a nonhybrid, said Tom Burton, general manager. And Branch said she could have saved $9,000 by buying a nonhybrid Lexus.

But showroom prices are expected to tumble as production increases and sales rise more.

Sales of hybrids have risen from a puny 17 vehicles in 1999 -- the year Honda introduced its two-seater Insight -- to a projected 221,966 this year, according to J.D. Power and Associates.

By 2010 that number is expected to triple. Last month Ford promised to increase its hybrid production tenfold to 250,000 cars and trucks over the next five years. Toyota, meanwhile, has said it wants hybrids to make up 25 percent of its U.S. sales by the end of the decade.

Sales have been boosted by federal tax deductions (next year the deduction becomes a tax credit), the desire to be more environmentally friendly and the promise of better gas mileage.

But some buyers are still searching for the big gas savings indicated on the EPA stickers.

Raleigh real estate developer Rick Marshall paid $31,500 this spring for new Honda hybrid Accord because he didn't want to waste resources or add to pollution. But he was also drawn to the EPA estimates of 29 mpg in city driving and 37 on the highway.

"The highest mileage I recorded was 28.66, including a lot of highway driving, and most times in the city, I've gotten 22 or 23" mpg, Marshall said. "I'm dissatisfied with the mileage and I'm especially dissatisfied they misrepresented the mileage."

Part of the problem is outdated testing procedures by the Environmental Protection Agency, according consumer groups and transportation analysts.

EPA "tests don't account for several key elements, like rapid acceleration and air conditioning," said Jim Kliesch, research associate for the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, an advocacy group in Washington.

A study of 2000 to 2006 model cars and trucks in the October issue of Consumer Reports found that gas-powered vehicles delivered 9 percent fewer miles per gallon than EPA stickers claimed. Diesels and hybrids got 18 percent less, according to the magazine.

The EPA is aware of problems with the ratings and will propose changes this year, said John Millett, an agency representative in Washington. The agency put out its fuel economy ratings for 2006 vehicles -- using its old testing procedures -- and again the top 10 was dominated by hybrids.

Not all hybrid owners mind not meeting sticker estimates, because the cars still get better mileage than the ones they replaced.

Victoria Cumbee, who works for the state Wildlife Resources Commission in Raleigh, loves her 2004 Toyota Prius, even though it sometimes gets 6 mpg less than the EPA estimate of 55 mpg of combined highway and city driving. "I'm just trying to do the right thing for the environment," said Cumbee, who commutes to work from Zebulon. "It's got relatively low emissions and great gas mileage." Her old Toyota Camry got 27 mpg to 30 mpg in combined city and highway driving.

Wake County's motor fleet includes 20 Honda Civic hybrids, which get about 35 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the highway. That's less than the 47 city mpg and 48 highway mpg estimated by the EPA, but fleet director Tom Kuryla is still pleased. "They're replacing a Crown Victoria, getting maybe 15 mpg, or a Ford Taurus, getting 18 to 20 mpg in town," Kuryla said. "I'm ecstatic."

Uma Shankar, a scientist who commutes from Raleigh to Chapel Hill, gets combined mileage of 43 miles per gallon with a 2002 model Toyota Prius. The EPA says it should be 48 mpg but she's not bothered. "I'm laughing all the way to the gas station," she said.

HYBRID FEATURES:

Hybrid vehicles cut fuel use and emissions more in urban environments, where the engine cycles on and off in traffic, and idling time is reduced. Hybrids commonly include:

Idle stop: Turns off the engine when the vehicle is stopped.

Regenerative braking: Charges the battery when the vehicle is slowing down.

They may also include:

Motor assist: The electric motor draws extra power from the battery to boost the internal combustion engine, such as when accelerating or going uphill. Allows a smaller engine without sacrificing performance.

Engine-off drive-EV mode: The electric motor propels vehicle at low speeds.

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