Overhyped Hybrids: Green Cars That Guzzle Gas

Sept. 25, 2007 Special to ABCNEWS.com — -- Interested in an energy-efficient auto? You're in luck. That's because nearly every major car company has a hybrid line, or has plans to introduce one soon.

But enter the showroom, and instead of seeing green, you may be seeing red. Many of the market's hybrids — cars which combine gasoline engines with battery-powered electric motors — forsake fuel-efficiency in the name of power and performance.

The average gas mileage of hybrid models available in the U.S. is 33 miles per gallon (combined city and highway). But Chevy's newest Silverado hybrid truck gets only 16 mpg. The newest Lexus LS 600h L hybrid sedan clocks in at 21 mpg, the 2007 Saturn Vue hybrid at 26 mpg.

See pictures of the least efficient hybrids at our partner site, Forbes.com

This contradiction is not lost on consumers. The most recent 2006 J.D. Power and Associates Alternative Powertrain Study found that only 50% of new-vehicle shoppers are currently considering a hybrid — down from 57% the year before.

"In the 2006 study, we found consumers often overestimated the fuel efficiency of hybrid-electric vehicles," said Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies at J.D. Power. "The decrease in consideration of hybrids in 2007 may be a result of their more realistic understanding of the actual fuel-economy capabilities."

In fact, the fuel economy of many new hybrids is almost indistinguishable from that of their conventionally powered counterparts. (The Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency list info on hybrid vehicles at fueleconomy.gov, including numbers that have recently been updated to reflect actual gas mileage — not just numbers from ideal-condition driving, which are often used in marketing.)

Take the GMC Sierra Classic 15 Hybrid. Its V8 engine and hefty 5,000-lb. weight keeps its gas mileage to 16 mpg — only one mile per gallon more than GMC's non-hybrid version.

Few would consider a truck that guzzles that much gas a friend of the environment--or the wallet. The Department of Energy estimates that Toyota Prius owners will spend an average of $900 on gas per year. The Classic 15 hybrid is expected to swallow over $2,600 in gas per year.