What do you think of Electric and Hybrid cars?
Discussion
Yeah, I know - they've been around a while, it's old news. However, I'm still not 100% sure what I think of these, and as I don't know anyone who drives electric cars or hybrid cars I don't really have any real opinion of them.
So - have you driven on? I don't think I would trust the battery to get me everywhere, so I would definitely want to go for a hybrid rather than a full electric. Also - how different are the mechanics of it? Does it require different maintenance? More often than not if I break down I can deal with it, and I would feel very helpless if an electric car was so different from those I am used to that I couldn't just deal with it myself.
Please share your thoughts and experiences with me!
So - have you driven on? I don't think I would trust the battery to get me everywhere, so I would definitely want to go for a hybrid rather than a full electric. Also - how different are the mechanics of it? Does it require different maintenance? More often than not if I break down I can deal with it, and I would feel very helpless if an electric car was so different from those I am used to that I couldn't just deal with it myself.
Please share your thoughts and experiences with me!
Previously hated them
Drove an early prius, petrol head and I thought it was a pile of poo
Now, I have one as a works car. My opinion changed. As a commuter car it's very good. Quiet, smooth, auto and costs me 8-10p a mile fuel (gives me 65-78mpg) where I claim 45p. So it generates money for me. I bought cheap and used.
Liberates me from doing 20k a year in my xfr. Picked up a buckled alloy, numerous dinks and scratches, curbed alloys and a puncture. Plus fuel costs as it does 19.4mpg.
I now keep that for the times I enjoy like evenings and weekends.
Therefore suits me just fine. Image is an issue for some people. Other issue is price when new. If my company bought on fleet id have one if on list as bik means less of my money going out each month. Private? Don't get people who buy new to save money on fuel. Find it nuts. Used hybrids are pretty cheap so buy cheapest used.
As for the drive, numb but not more numb than the average family hack. Think they are fine as a used family car and great as a works car.
Drove an early prius, petrol head and I thought it was a pile of poo
Now, I have one as a works car. My opinion changed. As a commuter car it's very good. Quiet, smooth, auto and costs me 8-10p a mile fuel (gives me 65-78mpg) where I claim 45p. So it generates money for me. I bought cheap and used.
Liberates me from doing 20k a year in my xfr. Picked up a buckled alloy, numerous dinks and scratches, curbed alloys and a puncture. Plus fuel costs as it does 19.4mpg.
I now keep that for the times I enjoy like evenings and weekends.
Therefore suits me just fine. Image is an issue for some people. Other issue is price when new. If my company bought on fleet id have one if on list as bik means less of my money going out each month. Private? Don't get people who buy new to save money on fuel. Find it nuts. Used hybrids are pretty cheap so buy cheapest used.
As for the drive, numb but not more numb than the average family hack. Think they are fine as a used family car and great as a works car.
I'm a bit ??? about the ops comment about trusting batteries to get anywhere.
why?
Batteries are pretty good - I bet you've got 3 or 4 battery powered items in front of you now.
"But they go flat"
Well yes, if you don't charge it. Just as you'll run out of fuel if you forget to fill it.
They're not for everyone, but they make a hell of a case for themselves as company cars.
If I lived within 10 miles or so of work I'd have a Twizzy in a second. If I had 85k to spend I'd seriously consider a Tesla model S - had a go in one a few weeks ago and found it to be a deeply impressive package.
why?
Batteries are pretty good - I bet you've got 3 or 4 battery powered items in front of you now.
"But they go flat"
Well yes, if you don't charge it. Just as you'll run out of fuel if you forget to fill it.
They're not for everyone, but they make a hell of a case for themselves as company cars.
If I lived within 10 miles or so of work I'd have a Twizzy in a second. If I had 85k to spend I'd seriously consider a Tesla model S - had a go in one a few weeks ago and found it to be a deeply impressive package.
My dad has the Lexus CT 200h, and I must admit, it's a very nice (non PH) car. He bought one for his daily and he seems to love it. He puts about £40 in petrol in it once every 3-4 weeks, and gets about 60mpg.
He did say that in the winter the batteries don't perform as well as they do in the summer heat.
It's also quite a good looking car. It doesn't look like they're trying to make it too futuristic, almost like a normal car, other than the blue aurora around the L badge.
He did say that in the winter the batteries don't perform as well as they do in the summer heat.
It's also quite a good looking car. It doesn't look like they're trying to make it too futuristic, almost like a normal car, other than the blue aurora around the L badge.
Bought a Nissan Leaf this month to be my wife's running around car. She does 4k miles a year so electric makes sense.
And with Nissan so desperate to shift metal I negotiated a deal that I couldn't refuse. Will save around £1500 a year in running costs and is a hoot to drive. What's not to like if you do low mileage?
And with Nissan so desperate to shift metal I negotiated a deal that I couldn't refuse. Will save around £1500 a year in running costs and is a hoot to drive. What's not to like if you do low mileage?
keith2.2 said:
I'm a bit ??? about the ops comment about trusting batteries to get anywhere.
why?
Batteries are pretty good - I bet you've got 3 or 4 battery powered items in front of you now.
"But they go flat"
The reason I'm not sure I would trust the batteries is because I've always lived in reasonably rural areas - as in drive two hours to get the weekly shopping and the closest filling station is an hour away. If it was to break down or run out of power I'd either be waiting 2+ hours in the middle of nowhere for someone to pass by and help, or waiting 2+ hours for the AA. why?
Batteries are pretty good - I bet you've got 3 or 4 battery powered items in front of you now.
"But they go flat"
katec said:
The reason I'm not sure I would trust the batteries is because I've always lived in reasonably rural areas - as in drive two hours to get the weekly shopping and the closest filling station is an hour away. If it was to break down or run out of power I'd either be waiting 2+ hours in the middle of nowhere for someone to pass by and help, or waiting 2+ hours for the AA.
You should look at the Vauxhall Ampera then. Drive is primarily via the electric motor (can do 35-50 miles batter alone depending upon how you drive) but you have the range extender petrol engine as well, which can actually drive the car at motorway speeds even with the battery empty. Best of both worlds.Richard
katec said:
The reason I'm not sure I would trust the batteries is because I've always lived in reasonably rural areas - as in drive two hours to get the weekly shopping and the closest filling station is an hour away. If it was to break down or run out of power I'd either be waiting 2+ hours in the middle of nowhere for someone to pass by and help, or waiting 2+ hours for the AA.
Well obviously, if you live miles from anywhere and nowhere near recharging points, then an EV is probably not for you.100 years ago you would have had the same issue when upgrading from your horse and cart to a petrol driven car.
The Synergy Drive powertrain of the Prius and its similarly-powered variations within the Toyota family (Auris hybrid, Lexus 200H etc) is an extremely clever thing, sophisticated in thinking but simple in engineering and parts count, and as bulletproof as any car engine/transmissions system out there over the last decade. It's an excellent piece of engineering and remarkably efficient.
I would definitely consider a predominantly electric car at some point, but not as an only car unless I were to stop doing lot of 200 mile journey sectors. I would be more likley to go series-hybrid (e.g. BMW i3 range extender type of thing) than full electric, especially if the i3 range extender took four gallons of petrol instead of two. Several times in the Prius I've wondered why we can't have a car which pulls the drivetrain out, turns it around and sticks it behind the driver in a 2-seat rear drive coupe or targa configuration - a hybrid successor to the mark 1 or mark 2 MR2. I'd find that an interesting car.
Mrs LT spends a lot more time within 30-40 miles of home and finds our Mark 3 Prius very convenient and economical. It's a great urban / suburban car but I find it much better on the motorway and on country lanes than a lot of people would have you believe. I can appreciate its qualities while accepting that they are very different from those of my other two cars, which are old-school petrol manual things of some antiquity.
I would definitely consider a predominantly electric car at some point, but not as an only car unless I were to stop doing lot of 200 mile journey sectors. I would be more likley to go series-hybrid (e.g. BMW i3 range extender type of thing) than full electric, especially if the i3 range extender took four gallons of petrol instead of two. Several times in the Prius I've wondered why we can't have a car which pulls the drivetrain out, turns it around and sticks it behind the driver in a 2-seat rear drive coupe or targa configuration - a hybrid successor to the mark 1 or mark 2 MR2. I'd find that an interesting car.
Mrs LT spends a lot more time within 30-40 miles of home and finds our Mark 3 Prius very convenient and economical. It's a great urban / suburban car but I find it much better on the motorway and on country lanes than a lot of people would have you believe. I can appreciate its qualities while accepting that they are very different from those of my other two cars, which are old-school petrol manual things of some antiquity.
I've been sceptical of hybrids up to now, but having tried one of the current models that's no longer the case.
I was surprised at how good the Toyota HSD setup is. So much so that I've ordered an Auris hybrid as a company car.
Factor in the boot space of an Auris estate, the amount of standard kit and that it's a comfy, easy, pleasant thing to drive, and it's pretty much the ideal company car for me.
It's not a sports car, though. If you're looking for an exciting drive and/or outright performance, look elsewhere. It's also got the wrong badge for a lot of people!
Sad as it might sound I'm actually very much looking forward to taking delivery of the Auris hybrid and getting rid of the crude, noisy diesel VW...
(Oh, and in answer to the last post... In my case saving the planet is of no concern. Money saved by having the hybrid = money to spend running something with at least 8 cylinders!)
I was surprised at how good the Toyota HSD setup is. So much so that I've ordered an Auris hybrid as a company car.
- It's incredibly quiet and refined, other than under hard acceleration, but even then it's better than any four pot diesel
- Pootling about in town on battery, in silence, is very relaxing
- The HSD transmission is the smoothest I've ever known. It doesn't actually change gear as such; as Lowtimer said above it's quite a brilliant yet simple device
- It's not actually slow. Neither is it fast, but I'd say its performance is generally on a par with a conventional 1.8 petrol engine or 1.6/1.7 diesel in the same size car
- In my hands over a long-weekend test drive it averaged 64mpg
- It costs less than my monthly "car voucher" (i.e. the amount the company pay toward the lease)
- The BiK tax is £90 a month as opposed to £160 for my current diesel Passat
- As it's a 1.8 petrol in the eyes of HMRC it attracts a fuel rate of 16p per mile, so I'll actually make £40 or so a month from that!
Factor in the boot space of an Auris estate, the amount of standard kit and that it's a comfy, easy, pleasant thing to drive, and it's pretty much the ideal company car for me.
It's not a sports car, though. If you're looking for an exciting drive and/or outright performance, look elsewhere. It's also got the wrong badge for a lot of people!
Sad as it might sound I'm actually very much looking forward to taking delivery of the Auris hybrid and getting rid of the crude, noisy diesel VW...
(Oh, and in answer to the last post... In my case saving the planet is of no concern. Money saved by having the hybrid = money to spend running something with at least 8 cylinders!)
Edited by Jonny_ on Sunday 9th November 09:55
Jonny_ said:
Sad as it might sound I'm actually very much looking forward to taking delivery of the Auris hybrid and getting rid of the crude, noisy diesel VW...
I have an old Prius but recently rented a Passat Bluemotion for a business trip. I was shocked by the incredibly agricultural nature of the engine and VW interior quality seems to have fallen far below that of a 5 year old Toyota. A hugely disappointing heap of crap - even a 2nd gen Prius is better for refinement and economy.Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff