Rabid lunatics.....
Discussion
I'm a fan of Rob Llewellyns 'Fully Charged' show on YouTube. Try and catch most of them, mostly just for interest. Last one I watched was a review of the updated Golf hybrid done by Jonny Smith.
OK, so the review was fine, but the toxic tirade against hybrids it seemed to generate(!) was what really struck me.
OK, I confess I thought they were stupid when the Prius first came to light. For a long time I didn't really get the whole EV thing as most of them available were frankly crap. Time moved on, they got better, I questioned some of my prejudices.
Wind forward and late last year I bought a hybrid. I'd have rather bought a Model S TBH, but couldn't bring myself to spend quite that much my finite capital on one. I'm retired now, so it matters.
At the risk of upsetting some, I'll say that I find most of the current crop of hybrids and EVs frankly hideous things to look at, inside and out. This is very subjective and NOBODY can tell me I'm wrong, although they are of course welcome to their own view. That fact alone reduced my potential shopping list for a pure EV to 1.
So, I opted for an MB C350e. It had a specific set of things to do, pretty high on that list was to look nice (to my eyes), be well equipped and comfortable and to perform fairly well when asked to, but to waft along when that mood takes me. On the whole, it does those things well FOR ME.
So far I've not done all that many miles, but the ICE has run barely half of those miles, even though the car only has a small battery at 6.5kWh. I'd love it if it had twice that, but it is what it is. Overall, I'm happy with the economy it returns plus the fact I don't have to worry if I want to do a longer trip. The lack of a fast charge capability is disappointing and makes destination charging pointless, but I think I understand why they didn't bother. The bulk of my driving is short trips and it does those almost entirely as an EV.
So, to the point....why do so many people seem to want to murder me because I didn't buy a pure EV?
What is really quite sad is that a lot of the anti-hybrid arguments seem to be pretty much the same as the anti-EV arguments - badly thought out comments about complexity, weight, efficiency. Please guys, think it through before ranting.
I suppose its just the usual problem of allowing a public forum to people who don't think before they type but for some reason, I confess I expected better from people who champion EVs.
Ho hum.
OK, so the review was fine, but the toxic tirade against hybrids it seemed to generate(!) was what really struck me.
OK, I confess I thought they were stupid when the Prius first came to light. For a long time I didn't really get the whole EV thing as most of them available were frankly crap. Time moved on, they got better, I questioned some of my prejudices.
Wind forward and late last year I bought a hybrid. I'd have rather bought a Model S TBH, but couldn't bring myself to spend quite that much my finite capital on one. I'm retired now, so it matters.
At the risk of upsetting some, I'll say that I find most of the current crop of hybrids and EVs frankly hideous things to look at, inside and out. This is very subjective and NOBODY can tell me I'm wrong, although they are of course welcome to their own view. That fact alone reduced my potential shopping list for a pure EV to 1.
So, I opted for an MB C350e. It had a specific set of things to do, pretty high on that list was to look nice (to my eyes), be well equipped and comfortable and to perform fairly well when asked to, but to waft along when that mood takes me. On the whole, it does those things well FOR ME.
So far I've not done all that many miles, but the ICE has run barely half of those miles, even though the car only has a small battery at 6.5kWh. I'd love it if it had twice that, but it is what it is. Overall, I'm happy with the economy it returns plus the fact I don't have to worry if I want to do a longer trip. The lack of a fast charge capability is disappointing and makes destination charging pointless, but I think I understand why they didn't bother. The bulk of my driving is short trips and it does those almost entirely as an EV.
So, to the point....why do so many people seem to want to murder me because I didn't buy a pure EV?
What is really quite sad is that a lot of the anti-hybrid arguments seem to be pretty much the same as the anti-EV arguments - badly thought out comments about complexity, weight, efficiency. Please guys, think it through before ranting.
I suppose its just the usual problem of allowing a public forum to people who don't think before they type but for some reason, I confess I expected better from people who champion EVs.
Ho hum.
EV owners tend to fall into two categories IMO.
a) The ones who see the potential of the tech and appreciate it on it's own merits. They might do it for economic, environmental or just because they like the idea of EV propulsion - whatever the reasons they are generally rational people who choose to be early adopters of tech which we'll probably all have in 20-30 years time. I'm okay with these people, they've made a sensible choice for sensible reasons - which I can understand.
b) The self-righteous stuck up variety. This lot started off buying Prius's/Priuii (what is the plural of Prius anyway?) to rub other's noses in it at every opportunity and show the world how holier-than-though they are. Now a lot of them have gone to EVs. If you raise any issue with their new superior purchase, you are a dinosaur. If you question some of the practicalities of range, etc. you may as well be a heretic. I think these people are (insert profane descriptors here) and thus worthy of all the ridicule they get.
For the foreseeable future, ICE tech is not going to go away. Hybrid tech is not going to go away. BEV tech is not going to go away. Anyone who proclaims otherwise is probably trying to convince themselves as much as they are other people.
a) The ones who see the potential of the tech and appreciate it on it's own merits. They might do it for economic, environmental or just because they like the idea of EV propulsion - whatever the reasons they are generally rational people who choose to be early adopters of tech which we'll probably all have in 20-30 years time. I'm okay with these people, they've made a sensible choice for sensible reasons - which I can understand.
b) The self-righteous stuck up variety. This lot started off buying Prius's/Priuii (what is the plural of Prius anyway?) to rub other's noses in it at every opportunity and show the world how holier-than-though they are. Now a lot of them have gone to EVs. If you raise any issue with their new superior purchase, you are a dinosaur. If you question some of the practicalities of range, etc. you may as well be a heretic. I think these people are (insert profane descriptors here) and thus worthy of all the ridicule they get.
For the foreseeable future, ICE tech is not going to go away. Hybrid tech is not going to go away. BEV tech is not going to go away. Anyone who proclaims otherwise is probably trying to convince themselves as much as they are other people.
- Personally I could see myself getting a hybrid vehicle along the lines of an Outlander PHEV or similar - probably the best compromise between the two worlds. It would also help if they made more EVs/Hybrids 'normal looking' - rather than some weird frog-that's-sat-on-a-cactus styling (cough - Nissan LEAF).
LandRoverManiac said:
...*Personally I could see myself getting a hybrid vehicle along the lines of an Outlander PHEV or similar - probably the best compromise between the two worlds. It would also help if they made more EVs/Hybrids 'normal looking' - rather than some weird frog-that's-sat-on-a-cactus styling (cough - Nissan LEAF).
Jaguar Land ROver have recently announced that there will be an Electric/Hybrid version of every car in their range by 2020. SO you should be just fine. 
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