Hybrid cars- what do you think? (1 Viewer)

[seremify007]

Just wondering what the guys on BoS think of hybrid cars.

I personally think they're amazing in terms of fuel economy (no duh) but they also happen to be surprisingly modern after sitting in a few Priuses now. Also impressive is that they can look like perfectly normal cars (e.g. Toyota Camry Hybrid and Honda Civic Hybrid).

Currently considering whether to trade in my Honda Civic (current shape; before the facelift) and get myself a Prius for daily driving. Not very sporty I know but I wouldn't mind getting the 'smug' feeling (South Park reference).

 

[x.Exhaust.x]

Just wondering what the guys on BoS think of hybrid cars.

I personally think they're amazing in terms of fuel economy (no duh) but they also happen to be surprisingly modern after sitting in a few Priuses now. Also impressive is that they can look like perfectly normal cars (e.g. Toyota Camry Hybrid and Honda Civic Hybrid).

Currently considering whether to trade in my Honda Civic (current shape; before the facelift) and get myself a Prius for daily driving. Not very sporty I know but I wouldn't mind getting the 'smug' feeling (South Park reference).

They're pretty good for the greenies lol. I heard it cuts 25-30% on emissions, and have a great fuel economy as well. But by the sounds of it, I don't think they'd be great 'performance wise'. Don't quote me on this though.

And go for the prius, since you already have that mitsubishi .

 

[Graney]

For previous generations, various diesel small cars achieved better fuel economy than any existing hybrid vehicle.
though I'm not aware if this has changed with more recent generations of hybrid cars. Diesels also keep improving.

There's that ad running frequently in Aus, for a focus tdi I think? that highlights how the ford outperforms the prius in economy.

They're fairly mediocre when looked at from this perspective.

The hugely increased initial purchase price means it will take dramatic increases in fuel prices for you to ever break even or come out ahead financially if you buy new vs. buying a comparable conventionally powered car.

The impact of the chemical composition and processes involved in manufacture and disposal of batteries and additional energy expenditure in assembly of hybrid drivetrain also raise some questions about relative environmental impact.

 

[seremify007]

But at least they're still better than plug-ins which are an irony in itself.

I'm considering the CR-Z when it comes out to replace my aging Honda Civic FD1. It looks like fun but is very unsporty (at least in performance figures). Honestly a bit concerned that it's power is less than my Civic 1.8L (90kW vs. 103kW) and it looks like it lacks practicality, but then the interior looks pretty slick. I love the article in SMH this weekend about how it's described by Honda as a "sporty car not a sports car". But then according to the reviews, the chassis balance and the light weight nature of the car make it fun to drive in the twisties- just not up hills.

 

[zombie omie jay]

Golf tdi mate

any Diesel

I was in a prius the other day and they are horrid cars overall

 

[Havox]

Prius = boring to drive and not very environmentally friendly (shock horror, our electricity comes from coal). I'd get a Golf TDi

According to Top Gear, not economical either...
YouTube - Prius More Enviromentally Damaging Than BMW M3

 

[zombie omie jay]

Lol the prius charges is own batteries mate, coal fired power stations are irrelevant

A volt or something, yeah

 

[terminator69]

The taxis in melbourne are priuses. Blew my mind.

 

[Jimmy Recard]

*some taxis

 

[Chromatic]

Personally, hybrid cars are gay, but each to their own

 

[seremify007]

It makes sense that taxis use hybrid or fuel efficient vehicles though. That being said, as a regular taxi user, I do wonder how efficient they actually are when it comes to driving. Sometimes they appear slow but then they tend to dart around and accelerate almost unnecessarily? It also made me wonder what it must be like to drive an LPG vehicle. One thing I have noticed is 90% of taxis I sit in have the fuel indicator warning light on or the gauge on empty... yet they don't seem to care at all!

 

[Chromatic]

It makes sense that taxis use hybrid or fuel efficient vehicles though. That being said, as a regular taxi user, I do wonder how efficient they actually are when it comes to driving. Sometimes they appear slow but then they tend to dart around and accelerate almost unnecessarily? It also made me wonder what it must be like to drive an LPG vehicle. One thing I have noticed is 90% of taxis I sit in have the fuel indicator warning light on or the gauge on empty... yet they don't seem to care at all!

Taxi-wise, I agree, much better for the environment as well

 

[Graney]

It makes sense that taxis use hybrid or fuel efficient vehicles though. That being said, as a regular taxi user, I do wonder how efficient they actually are when it comes to driving. Sometimes they appear slow but then they tend to dart around and accelerate almost unnecessarily? It also made me wonder what it must be like to drive an LPG vehicle. One thing I have noticed is 90% of taxis I sit in have the fuel indicator warning light on or the gauge on empty... yet they don't seem to care at all!

Drivers can fuck around cause they don't pay for their own fuel I think?

Do you mean the standard petrol tank gauge? Cause that doesn't show how much gas is in the tank... There's an LPG gauge that's a row of LED's under the steering on most systems I think?

My dedicated LPG car shows full on it's LPG gauge all the time. Even when it fails to proceed from lack of fuel. It's really cheap to drive, at least until the guvment introduces fuel excise on gas.

 

[zombie omie jay]

yeah the actual fuel gauge will indicate empty because usually they wont have any petrol in the tank, extra weight i guess. lpg gauge is different.

graney what lpg car do you have

 

[seremify007]

Drivers can fuck around cause they don't pay for their own fuel I think?

Do you mean the standard petrol tank gauge? Cause that doesn't show how much gas is in the tank... There's an LPG gauge that's a row of LED's under the steering on most systems I think?

My dedicated LPG car shows full on it's LPG gauge all the time. Even when it fails to proceed from lack of fuel. It's really cheap to drive, at least until the guvment introduces fuel excise on gas.

Based on various conversations with taxi drivers, it would appear the drivers pick up the car at the designated point (usually 3am or 3pm; and conveniently enough, a petrol station) and it is to have a full tank of petrol. Then when they return the car at the end of the evening it's also supposed to have a full tank. In other words, the driver of the night pays for what they use (in addition to paying a rental fee to the owner of the taxi). This is different to the various networks which offer the service of telling drivers where the customers are, etc...

What I find interesting is that some of the guys who have been doing the rounds for many many years own several taxis which they rent out. On top of this, they also have their regular customers and offer business cards if you seek regular journeys!

As for the LPG gauge (back on topic^^), my mistake. I didn't realise there was a separate gauge. It makes sense because the taxi drivers never seem too concerned when the fuel gauge reads empty. My guess is that it means absolutely nothing then.

 

[Graney]

Gas

 

[Jimmy Recard]

lol unlucky
so gutless with petrol i can only imagine how bad it is on gas

 

[Graney]

it still has enough to go sideways all the time in the dry, but that's not much of an achievement I guess.

i can only imagine how sideways a v6 commodore ute goes all the time.

 

[Shrewmy]

Hybrids are expensive 'feel good' toys for people who want to look like they care about the environment, but in all reality just want to feel better than their neighbours.

They are by no means environmentally friendly, the manufacturing processes for the batteries they use are very harmful to the environment.

A car's fuel efficiency as seen in ads are almost always hogwash, it depends on how you drive it, dumping it in each gear is going to give you mileage that would make a 300C look like a econobox.

You could save more on fuel by buying a mid 90's Civic/Corolla for a few grand, and just wait for proper sustainable fuel sources.

 

[seremify007]

To me though, the thing which really amazes me about hybrid cars is that once you have made the initial fixed cost investment, the variable costs of consumption/driving the car whether it be a short trip to the shops or a long drive around the city, or dropping mates off after a party, etc.... the additional cost to the environment or petrol costs are minimal relative to other cars.