Hybrid cars - anyone got one?

[wednesday1]

With rocketing fuel prices am toying with the idea of getting a hybrid car, anyone got one and what are they like?

[Greengeek]

I don't think there's much point. I can't remember whether it's the new Leaf or one of the new Renaults where it can be recharged like a regular fueled car.

You pull into a special service station and the battery is swapped for a fully charged one, but typically, the UK aren't interested.

 

The rest of Europe is though.

 

Edit. Nissan.

http://www.betterplace.com/

[euclid]

I bought a Honda Civic Hybrid last October and to be honest it really is a lovely car,very quiet/economical/comfy/well equipped/leather int/heated seats etc/nice to drive and automatic too(which i only buy),on top of this road tax is only £10 A YEAR plus Honda reliability.I fetched it from Stoke on Trent, Nov 1st with a full tank of petrol and have not put anymore in yet...but i do not do a lot of mileage.....running around on short trips locally i am getting around 54 mpg.My previous car was a Mercedes E220 CDi which i had owned for 6 years from new and my son reckons the Honda is better?,must admit i like it just as much.There are other hybrids out there too Toyota etc try a test drive in one.The electric cars as mentioned may be good in theory and the Nissan leaf was tested by Richard Hammond who managed 75 miles on a full charge...manufactures claim 100 miles.....then there is the cost £24,000 and that is with government grant incentive tho' this will probably come down in years to come.What vehicle do you drive Mr Greengeek???

[Harleyman]

They're no bloody good if you ever get caught in a snow drift. Not enough traction power to pull out

[euclid]

They're no bloody good if you ever get caught in a snow drift. Not enough traction power to pull out

Which are you on about Hybrid/Electric ? i gather you must own one to be able to state this,if not how do you know??...to be honest i have no intention of getting stuck in a snowdrift,my car stays in the garage if its that bad.....the Honda Hybrid i have is also far better in the snow... FWD... than my previous car..the worst cars i ever had in snow were BMWs with 6 cylinder engine's..plenty of power there to pull you out,but traction control would not let you,if you switched it off the wheels with the large fat tyres on just spun round ,but then, you would know that.??

[Moosey]

My mate has a prius. Very quiet, drives like a petrol car (mainly because on the bits where you need power, the petrol takes over), low if not no road tax, and free parking round sheffield. He has a special badge that the council give to hybrid drivers allowing them free parking in any council car park or space. He didn't get stuck in the snow at all either. And he can drive from crookes to work in town on zero fuel.

 

Down side - the car was expensive to buy and I dont really like the look of it.

[Rupert_Baehr]

Early days yet, perhaps.

 

Most modern rechargeable batteries are good for about 1000 cycles. If the car does 75 miles per charge and you drive 12000 miles a year, then unless you can guarantee that the battery will not go flat until you get home and are ready to charge it each time, you may have to re-charge it about 250 times a year. The bateries might need to be replaced every 4 years.

 

How much will a new set of batteries cost? What would be the re-sale value of a 4 year old car which was still on its original batteries? Would you buy a second-hand car knowing you were likely to have to part with a large sum of money for new batteries?

 

When the next generation of batteries (which can be recharged about 8000 times) have been developed fully and brought to market (within the next 3 or 4 years, perhaps) then battery-powered cars might become very popular.

 

I'll wait until then.

[RichD]

When the next generation of batteries (which can be recharged about 8000 times) have been developed fully and brought to market (within the next 3 or 4 years, perhaps) then battery-powered cars might become very popular.

If they're anything like the lightbulbs that are quoted to last 8000 hours, they'll be no better than the current crop. No pun intended.

[Obelix]

They're no bloody good if you ever get caught in a snow drift. Not enough traction power to pull out

 

Excess power is the last thing that you want in snow though. I've driven a couple of electric only cars and the gentle power you can get from rest with a no clutch car makes them a positive joy in snow.

[Obelix]

Early days yet, perhaps.

 

Most modern rechargeable batteries are good for about 1000 cycles. If the car does 75 miles per charge and you drive 12000 miles a year, then unless you can guarantee that the battery will not go flat until you get home and are ready to charge it each time, you may have to re-charge it about 250 times a year. The bateries might need to be replaced every 4 years.

 

How much will a new set of batteries cost? What would be the re-sale value of a 4 year old car which was still on its original batteries? Would you buy a second-hand car knowing you were likely to have to part with a large sum of money for new batteries?

 

When the next generation of batteries (which can be recharged about 8000 times) have been developed fully and brought to market (within the next 3 or 4 years, perhaps) then battery-powered cars might become very popular.

 

I'll wait until then.

 

That assumes that the battery is used over a large percent of it's capacity. The Prius for example only ever runs the battery between something like 35% and 60% charged (not sure what the exact figures are) which increases the number of charge/discharge cycles enormously. Fork lift trucks sometimes do the same sort of thing - they can have a 15 year battery life on some models despite being in daily use.