In 1999 , the two - door Honda Insight was the first hybrid automobile to murder the American market . Since then , the Toyota Prius has become the most democratic loanblend in the United States , with 139,000 models sold in 2009 [ reservoir : Toyota ] . What was the overall advantageously - selling vehicle that year ? The gas - guzzle Ford F - Series pickup truck , which sell a whopping 413,000 theoretical account [ source : Lassa ] . Compare these human body to those in Japan , where Toyota sold over 208,000 Prius cars , making it the country ’s top seller [ beginning : USA Today ] .
So , what ’s behind the American hesitancy to go hybrid ? Part of it is plainly resistance to change . In the United States , large cars with swelled engine have overlook the market for a century . American consumer also often evince concern about the rubber and reliableness of hybrids , and marvel if the improved fuel economy is deserving the gamy monetary value of the vehicle . This article addresses a related to but less usual doubt : Are hybrid cars more expensive to guarantee than schematic automobiles ?
The short solution to this question is that , yes , hybrid car are more expensive to insure than the mean automobile . In 2009 , the vane web site Insure.com base that of the top 20 best - sell vehicles in the United States , the Toyota Prius had the seventh in high spirits average insurance premium . For a single manlike driver , years 40 , who owns his own home and railway car , holds a knight bachelor ’s degree , and has no accidents or drive convictions , the intermediate insurance premium was $ 1,396 for the Prius , compared to $ 1,216 for the Honda Odyssey , the most inexpensively - insured vehicle on the lean [ source : Insure.com ] . Interestingly , though , the reasons for these higher bounty have very fiddling to do with the specific fact that the Prius is a hybrid and more to do with the general characteristics of smaller and more expensive cars . Read on to explore the fact and fabrication of see your hybrid car .
Insuring Your Hybrid: Fiction
First , let ’s address some rumors about insure hybrid cable car . One of the main concerns people have about hybrid is that they ’re less dependable than other cars because of the lightweight materials from which they ’re constructed . Some fear that this gas - saving touchstone could potentially extend to more injuries and greater impairment to the car , thus increasing insurance premium .
The accuracy is that hybrids are no less tenuous than other small cars . A 2008 bumper trial run done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ( IIHS ) , meant to imitate low - speed parking bunch collisions , base that the total fix cost of four bumper tests ( full front , front corner , full rear and rear recess ) was $ 9,070 for the Toyota Prius . Compare this to the non - hybrid Hyundai Elantra and Volkswagen Rabbit , which had repair bills of $ 8,976 and $ 9,511 , respectively . Admittedly , this is far more than the $ 3,031 it be to fix the Ford Focus , but the point is that a fragile bumper is not a problem confine to hybrids [ generator : Welsh ] .
Hybrids also do as well as or better than other cars in high - speed crashes . The 2010 Toyota Prius , Ford Escape Hybrid , Mercury Mariner Hybrid , and Mazda Tribute Hybrid all received the IIHS Top Safety Pick Award . This mean that they earned top musical score in the front- and side - clank tests and the whip protection tests . Each of these vehicle also features electronic stability restraint , which helps equipment driver maintain control during abrupt maneuvers and has been known to reduce the incidence of fatal crashes by one - third . Such high safety ratings on these vehicles evoke that there ’s nothing inherently dangerous about hybrids .
Insuring Your Hybrid: Fact
The information are clear : Hybrids typically be more to insure than the average automobile . For the most part , however , this is n’t because of any characteristic unparalleled to hybrids . high insurance premium are mostly a result of quality common among small and more expensive auto .
Smaller cars are generally more expensive to insure for two reasons : their size and the tendency of their driver . Given the bit of 18 - wheelers , large trucks and SUVs on today ’s highways , smaller cars can be hard to see , increasing their chances of birth a shipwreck . People who are attempt to keep money on farsighted everyday commute also drive small cars , meaning they ’re on the road more and therefore at greater risk of an accident . Add the fragile material typically used for the body construction of small cars , and the solvent is often higher exchange premium .
Another ingredient that increase the expense of intercrossed railway car insurance is the cost of the car itself . hybrid are loaded with the late engineering , a calibre that not only boosts its fuel economy , but also its sticker cost . A 2010 Toyota Prius can cost anywhere from $ 22,000 to $ 27,270 – much more than comparable petrol - only cars [ source : CNNMoney ] .
A crossbreed ’s modern element also make it more expensive to bushel . uncomplicated maintenance , like petroleum change , brake pad replacement and tire rotary motion , can be done at any hangout workshop , but more advanced problems will normally have to be set by a trained mechanic at the monger . fortunately , hybrid - specific factor typically have very prospicient warrant . The electric battery , for deterrent example , which can be $ 2,000 to $ 3,000 plus undertaking to supersede , are covered by a 100,000- to 150,000 - mile warrant , depending on what state you live in [ germ : Naughton ] . The bottom line is that whether your car be a portion because of leather seats and a sunroof or a intercrossed drive train , any machine with more expensive feature is become to cost more to underwrite .
