Choose Your Hybrid Car.....Carefully

Some of the most important considerations while shortlisting a hybrid car are design, warranties, and emissions controls.

Design
Most hybrid cars are designed with advanced aerodynamics — the way the car travels and how the air affects the efficiency of that travel. For example, the Honda Insight (discontinued in 2006) was designed using the classical teardrop shape: The back of the car is narrower than the front. The rear wheels are partially covered by bodywork to provide a smoother shape, and some parts of the undercarriage of the car are enclosed with plastic panels. These tricks result in a very low drag coefficient of 0.25. A hybrid car also uses special tires that are both stiffer and inflated to a higher pressure than conventional tires. They result in about half the drag of regular tires.

Warranties
Hybrid car warranties vary from car to car and are usually split — the power train has one kind of coverage whereas the rest of the car has another. For instance, the Prius has an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on the battery and hybrid systems and a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on everything else. Watch out for battery replacement costs. If the battery is defective or you find yourself having to replace it for any reason, the cost is very high — usually $2,000 to $3,000 — although the warranty should protect you from this. Be sure to review the warranties of any car you’re considering to purchase.

Emission Control
Emissions are a major concern for consumers and the government these days. Many states put emission guidelines into place, meaning that automobiles need to drive cleaner than ever before. To help reach various goals of reducing pollution from emissions, the CDMV (California Department of Motor Vehicles) instituted two levels of emissions ratings. The CDMV rates vehicles as ULEV (ultra-low emission vehicle) or SULEV (super ultra-low emission vehicle). Vehicles can also have no rating if they don’t fall into either of these categories. Additionally, the federal emissions rating ILEV (inherently low emission vehicle) applies to cars that are electric-only.
ULEVs operate about 50 percent cleaner than the average gas-engine car. This means they produce about 50 percent less pollution from emissions. Hybrid cars are one way to reduce the amount of pollution produced from burning gasoline.
SULEVs produce only about 1 percent of the hydrocarbon emissions of gas-engine vehicles produced before the year 2000. They also incorporate alternate fuel, gas, electric, and other technology. Because of the credits offered toward Zero Emission Vehicle mandates in California (the higher standard AT-PZEV [Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle] rating) and certain northeastern states, Honda equips its hybrids in these markets with a zero evaporative emission fuel system and additionally warrants the emission control system for 150,000 miles, making them the cleanest-running category of vehicles outside of fuel cell and battery electric vehicles.

Hybrid cars are currently an option for reducing gas and pollution. In the future, hybrid cars may become more common. As gas prices continue to increase, interest in hybrid vehicles will become more and more widespread.