[theedman]

I really think this is a best-case scenario for a hybrid. You get EV-ish efficiency in the city, a decrease in wear on mechanical parts, especially things like brakes, and no range related issues that come with a BEV - if using hybrid SUV's as a datapoint, modern hybrid systems even get better MPG on the highway then their gas counterparts.

It's clear that if you buy a consumer vehicle, the extra cost a hybrid pays quickly off over the course of ownership, and maintenance isn't nearly as expensive as it was when the came out 20 years ago.

I totally get why hybrid 18-wheelers don't exist - there's very little stopping involved, so the benefits of the regenerative braking, and the off-the-line electric efficiency are null, but USPS trucks have to stop hundreds of times per trip.

Modern day hybrids are fuel efficient, generally more powerful then their gas counterparts, and are bullet-proof enough to be used as taxi cab fleets in NYC. Someone's going to say that you need to haul a bunch of stuff. The F150 Hybrid gets 25mpg vs the 20mpg of the gas. It really doesn't make sense to me.

[DeRock]

> no range related issues that come with a BEV

The average USPS route covered by these vehicles per day is 20 miles (and median is probably even lower). Range isn't a concern for the vast majority.

[_0w8t]

I had for few years Yaris hybrid from Toyota. It turned out maintenance was costly due to a design bug. Yaris had advanced regenerative braking similar to Prius. As the result the brakes did not get hot. In turn under rainy Norwegian weather that lead to accumulation of water that was not evaporated as with normal brakes. That lead to extensive rust within a year. This was not problem as I learned in Prius or for that matter in electrical cars. Those were sufficiently heavier to offset this. But Yaris was light.