Prius, Civic Hybrid Owners Save Money, Consumer Reports Now Says
Consumer Reports now says it made an error when calculating the cost of owning a hybrid: Owners of the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrids do save money, the magazine said today.
Last week, the organization released a statement ahead of its well-read April auto issue, which hit newsstands today, that said owners of the six most popular hybrid vehicles would pay more than buyers of comparable gasoline-only vehicles over their lifetime of ownership.
Late today, however, Consumer Reports issued a statement acknowledging ``a calculation error.''
``We deeply regret the error,'' said Rik Paul, the magazine's automotive editor, said in the statement.
The new calculations show that owners of the Toyota Prius will save $400 and owners of the Honda Civic will save $300 when compared with gasoline-only counterparts. Owners of four other hybrids -- the Honda Accord, Ford Escape, Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX 400h -- will still end up spending $1,900 to $5,500 more during five years of ownership and 75,000 miles, Consumer Reports said.
The initial report surprised Northern California hybrid owners.
``I find that hard to believe,'' Timothy Tsai of San Jose wrote in an e-mail to the Mercury News.
Readers such as John Grebenkemper, who has a doctorate from Stanford University, told Consumer Reports it had made a math error in calculating depreciation.
MercuryNews
Last week, the organization released a statement ahead of its well-read April auto issue, which hit newsstands today, that said owners of the six most popular hybrid vehicles would pay more than buyers of comparable gasoline-only vehicles over their lifetime of ownership.
Late today, however, Consumer Reports issued a statement acknowledging ``a calculation error.''
``We deeply regret the error,'' said Rik Paul, the magazine's automotive editor, said in the statement.
The new calculations show that owners of the Toyota Prius will save $400 and owners of the Honda Civic will save $300 when compared with gasoline-only counterparts. Owners of four other hybrids -- the Honda Accord, Ford Escape, Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX 400h -- will still end up spending $1,900 to $5,500 more during five years of ownership and 75,000 miles, Consumer Reports said.
The initial report surprised Northern California hybrid owners.
``I find that hard to believe,'' Timothy Tsai of San Jose wrote in an e-mail to the Mercury News.
Readers such as John Grebenkemper, who has a doctorate from Stanford University, told Consumer Reports it had made a math error in calculating depreciation.
MercuryNews
posted by Ottawa Gas Prices | 8:51 PM
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