Would a hybrid save me money?

wongataa

-pete- wrote: »

The cycling takes about 45 minutes (plus time to get changed and catch my breath!) driving is less than 20, obviously traffic and roadworks can play their part but the roads are pretty big so generally I'm always moving in the car.

Really? You only cycle at about 4.5mph? With a bit of practice that speed would rise. 3.5 miles in 20 minutes (what you say you do in the car) is 10.5mph average. That is a reasonable speed to cycle at.

-pete-_2

OK my time was out (its been a while since I've done it), its 30 to 35 minutes including time to cool down etc. Yea, that's a pretty big difference but when I only get to see my kid for about an hour a day including time for dinner / baths / bedtime those 10 to 20 minutes are our playtime and are extremely precious to me at this age. A bike is not practical so please stop suggesting it.

The entire point of this thread was that our old car is too small for us and we want to replace it with something a bit bigger. If we can get something that can just run on an electric motor (meaning no fuel cost in the day-to-day) and doesn't cost a whole lot more to buy and maintain then that would be the ideal.

Herzlos

I don't think you're doing enough miles to save more in fuel than you'd spend on the hybrid, but you may be able to get away with an older hybrid for your £200/month budget and it'd at least save you going to the petrol station every few weeks.


Whilst you don't want to consider it, an electric bike may be the better option depending on routes. I can cycle (manual bike) from my home to the train station faster than I can drive it, before you even consider parking. If you encounter much traffic on your 3.5 mile drive, you might find you can go faster on a bike.


Though you'd need the bigger car anyway.