Hybrid or petrol

pallyman

Hi,i am considering getting a mobility car & have been looking at a Renault captor plug in,I live in a ground floor flat so probably cannot have a charger fitted but there are charging points nearby, ie Tesco,Lidl & a couple of council ones in town.Would it be worth it or would i be better of sticking to just petrol or diesel.Thanks..

Bigwheels1111

Keep to one fuel, that’s my advice.
I’ve been thinking about what’s next. I have a 5008 diesel.
Would go full electric but no charging available where I live.
Looked at Toyota Corolla touring sports , 1.8 petrol hybrid that around town should give 55 mpg if not more.
Plug in is a joke in my opinion, heavy battery that does not go very far.
Even stranger is the vw that uses a petrol engine to charge a battery that drives the wheels.

Grumpy_chap

If you don't, and can't have, home charging then I would stick with a straightforward petrol (or diesel) car, which might include conventional "self-charging" hybrid if that is the car that suits.

Herzlos

Do you have parking adjacent to the flat? If you do have somewhere you could fit a home charger then I think Motability will fund getting one fitted for you.

If you can't then I'd probably just stick to the petrol model.

Alanp

I have just ordered a Toyota Yaris cross hybrid it can drive around on electric or petrol switching between the two 

Goudy

Renault do a couple of different Capturs, one is a plug in and another is the standard hybrid or what is known as "self charging" so you don't plug them in.

I have had a couple of self chargers on loan from my dealer, the same powertrain but in the latest Clio "e-tech" and I have to say it's pretty good, I've been tempted by it for a while as I can't plug in at home either.

The latest full "self charging" hybrids have improved recently, the manufacturers have got a better handle of recapturing or genertating electrical energy for the least effort and the drive has certainly improved.

Renaults version uses two motor/generators so has different strategies to charge the battery and power the car as it can use the motor/generators in different combinations with or without the ICE.

It does away with the CVT gearbox that usually accompanies hybrids for a "dog" gearbox, like a rally car uses. It's much more efficient and does away with some of the engine fuss and mooing of normal CVT hybrids.

I got the same sort of mpg as my current 2020 1.3 Clio automatic on long runs (high 50's) but where it really shone was in the city with all the stop start traffic. It tended to run mainly in full electric mode, with just short spurts of ICE kicking in for a few moments here and there. It was very hard to tell what is was doing, was it running on ICE or just topping up the battery and running on electric.

There is obviously a bit of a price difference between a straight ICE and the hybrid versions and you need to work out if you will get that back from fuel savings, if that bothers you.

SiliconChip

Goudy said:

It does away with the CVT gearbox that usually accompanies hybrids for a "dog" gearbox, like a rally car uses. It's much more efficient and does away with some of the engine fuss and mooing of normal CVT hybrids.

For those, like me, who have never heard of a dog gearbox, this is what Renault have to say about the one that they've developed for hybrid use.

https://www.press.renault.co.uk/en-gb/releases/2849 

Other articles suggest that such a gearbox requires precise changes at the correct revs and if that doesn't happen there will be rapid wear on the cogs, so I won't be surprised if the owners of such vehicles face big repair bills in the future.

Stubod

I was very sceptical about "self charging" hybrids...but then I got one as I could not find an alternative smal SUV that I liked so I ended up with a Kia Niro and love it!

Currently averaging aroud 60mpg, auto box and adaptive cruise control and 7 year warranty. The car manages the switch between IC and electric and it is seamless. I will certainly be considering another one as and when it is time for a change. 

Goudy

SiliconChip said:

Goudy said:

It does away with the CVT gearbox that usually accompanies hybrids for a "dog" gearbox, like a rally car uses. It's much more efficient and does away with some of the engine fuss and mooing of normal CVT hybrids.

For those, like me, who have never heard of a dog gearbox, this is what Renault have to say about the one that they've developed for hybrid use.

https://www.press.renault.co.uk/en-gb/releases/2849 

Other articles suggest that such a gearbox requires precise changes at the correct revs and if that doesn't happen there will be rapid wear on the cogs, so I won't be surprised if the owners of such vehicles face big repair bills in the future.

As the gearbox changes automatically, precise changes at the correct revs are set by the software.
If you think a dog box can handle 500+ hp in a rally car, 140hp in a Clio or Captur shouldn't overly tax one.

Though the technology is borrowed for motorsport, this version is heavily revised for passenger car use for smoother operation.

There are also less parts like less cogs in these gearboxes and perhaps the biggest reason for failure on any gearbox, it has no syncros to wear away.

Biggest maintainence cost of a normal gearbox? A friction clutch. Even DCT's ustilise a clutch of some sort, which will eventually wear.
These gearboxes don't use a clutch, wet or dry.

So less wearable parts and less parts altogether. I would say it's likely to require less maintainence and be as reliable as any other gearbox.