hybrid car

sebastianj

Does any one has any experience of hybrid cars, part electric part petrol? are these any good? any pitfals? please help if you can, thanks in anticipation.
sebastian

withabix

Honda Insights are rubbish.

The wife has one as a company car.

sebastianj

thanks,
Mazda or Toyota the same? what you don't like about Honda?
seb

withabix

The Honda is completely gutless. All that happens when you press the accelerator is that the noise gets louder.

The entire car is built from compromises.

It is just about driveable if you turn Eco mode off and put the gearbox into 'Sport' mode (although they were joking when the called it 'Sport').

Doing that turns it back into a 1.3 litre automatic petrol-only car and dispenses with the electric guff.

Oh, and don't expect to use the air conditioning. It appears to be connected to the brakes....

The Toyota Pious is supposed to be a bit better - I think it has a 1.5L engine, doesn't it?

spinybif_2

I have a Prius, 1.8 petrol engine. Very comfortable, average 60 mpg with very little effort. If you want power for acceleration you have it but fuel consumption rockets. Lots of toys to play with, only issue so far has been a dashboard rattle which dealer has sorted. Other things to watch are low profile tyres expensive and easy to damage alloy rims on curb, cannot tow a trailer of any sort.

UncleZen

The Prius is nice to drive, quick and seamless transition from hyrbid to petrol.
Very impressive. I dont have one, but my Mum does and she's averaged about 54mpg since she got it 12,000 miles ago (she has a heavy right foot).

Personally I think there should be more hybrids on the road, whether full hybrids like the Prius or partial, especially on Petrol engines. I think its the only way to go whilst all-electric cars are in their infancy.

interstellaflyer

My boss used to have a Prius, used to being the operative word, didn't keep it long, says' it all really.

neilmcl

Diesel electric hybrids are the way forward. In fact nothing particularly new but having a diesel that not only powers the car when appropriate but more importantly generates electricity, is the the best solution to a hybrid.

Lithian

You have to go into these with some expectations, if you wish to drive hypermiler style then these types of cars can give you the mpgs, if you want to drive normally then they are just slow average cars.

Also different companies have different goals with the electric powertrain. Some can turn of the combustion engine and run on electricity for a while, some only really show a benefit with town driving, some do well on a motorway.

Oh, also watch out for CVT gearboxes if you aren't used to them, the noise the engine makes isn't especially related to road speed

I'd question what your goals are first, if its just to save £30/year on VED and doing 5000 miles/year around town then don't bother.

jaydeeuk1

If its the electric one based on a lotus elise, then go for it, looks immense fun to drive. If you want decent mpg, get a diesel, and if you don't mind looking like someone who bought a 'green' (lol) car because the tree hugging media told you to, then get a prius.

cootuk

If you do major miles on the motorway, get a diesel, but beware DPF and dual flywheels.
Hybrids like the Prius are best round town where the stop/start and regen have most effect. if you need a family car then good, but if you only need a small car then get a smaller car.
On motorways, my 1.5l Prius does in the 50s mpg, round town mid 50s once warm. Short journeys in any car kill mpg unless fully electric.

The Prius isn't slow, 0-60 in 10.5s unlike some of these "Blue" type cars that take 16s., with plenty of torque up to illegal speeds.
Just remember, all these people that advocate getting a diesel - if it has a DPF and you don't hit the regen cycle on it, then it will block up and leave you having to go for runs trying to get it to regen.

So many people talk such utter guff on here whilst never having driven a hybrid. If you need petrol, then can you get a smaller car? If you need Focus/Golf size, then weigh up purchase price vs annual mileage and mpg.