a not very PH which car/what car - HYBRIDS!!!!!!!

[Zarkingfardwarks]

not what car...

simple really
Prius or Auris Hybrid circa 2010 model

for an 18K a year commute

50 miles ish each way every day mostly free running A road/Mway traffic but with a 20 minute "sit and watch the view" roadworks special for the next 3 years



(lets assume I really have talked myself out of a W211 E class Sport and no I'm not moving closer as I've just built a house)

ta!

[ORD]

I actually just had a post removed by the admins for making a rude (but obviously jokey) response to this thread.

Seriously?! Is that what this place has come to? A person cannot mock another for buying a hybrid car without censorship?

[cianha]

ORD said:

I actually just had a post removed by the admins for making a rude (but obviously jokey) response to this thread.

Seriously?! Is that what this place has come to? A person cannot mock another for buying a hybrid car without censorship?

Yes, and it's all the better for it. Like it or not, hybrids and leccies are here to stay.

With that commute profile, I'd be looking at a Bluemotion TDI with StopStart. A hybrid isn't any more economical than a small diesel at motorway speeds.

[Bill]

ORD said:

I actually just had a post removed by the admins for making a rude (but obviously jokey) response to this thread.

Seriously?! Is that what this place has come to? A person cannot mock another for buying a hybrid car without censorship?

It didn't seem particularly jokey, so it was removed.

Why mock him anyway? If you think he's choosing the wrong tool for the job then come up with a sensible counter-suggestion.

[Zarkingfardwarks]

ORD said:

I actually just had a post removed by the admins for making a rude response to the poster.

efa



have used a small diesel before but something with a longer wheelbase just rides better. have considered a Mini but just wondered if a hybrid might offer a more interesting solution?

[AnotherClarkey]

Zarkingfardwarks said:

not what car...

simple really
Prius or Auris Hybrid circa 2010 model

for an 18K a year commute

50 miles ish each way every day mostly free running A road/Mway traffic but with a 20 minute "sit and watch the view" roadworks special for the next 3 years



(lets assume I really have talked myself out of a W211 E class Sport and no I'm not moving closer as I've just built a house)

ta!

Of those two, the Prius. The Auris has almost no boot and the interior is much more dull.

[Bonefish Blues]

Prius.

You'll find the base T3 rides better on its 15" wheels if that's important to you.

[kiethton]

Zarkingfardwarks said:

ORD said:

I actually just had a post removed by the admins for making a rude response to the poster.

efa



have used a small diesel before but something with a longer wheelbase just rides better. have considered a Mini but just wondered if a hybrid might offer a more interesting solution?

Passat bluemotion?

or just go old school and get an insight for half the budget (and double the mpg!)

[AnotherClarkey]

kiethton said:

Passat bluemotion?

Why? Thirstier, not as quick, tractor noises, not as reliable, even more dull.

[ORD]

I struggle to see how a hybrid is the appropriate vehicle for this commute.

If you have environmental concerns, a hybrid is at least as bad as a diesel. It will also drive like a hybrid, which is a disaster for the A road element.

Further, if you have environmental concerns, buying a diesel would be gross hypocrisy given that, in essence, it would involve you in poisoning the air for the sake of a few quid in fuel costs.

A small petrol engine will be very clean on a commute such as yours, except for the sitting in traffic bit (at which point you can turn off the engine if you are actually stationary or going downhill).

Now that I have set out my reasoning, I trust that the PH censors will allow me to express the view that buying a Prius is idiotic.

[tr7v8]

Having had a Prius on hire for a few days that would be my choice, the Auris is quite a bit smaller. I was impressed the way the Prius drove, handling wasn't bad & it was very quiet.

[Bonefish Blues]

I used a Prius for 3 years up and down my M40 commute of 110 miles per day.

I got a measured 55mpg over the life of the vehicle (90K+ miles), despite it not being the best journey profile for the vehicle.

It was quiet, refined and reliable. So much so that I replaced it with a Plug in Prius.

That is all.

[McWigglebum4th]

ORD said:

I struggle to see how a hybrid is the appropriate vehicle for this commute.

If you have environmental concerns, a hybrid is at least as bad as a diesel. It will also drive like a hybrid, which is a disaster for the A road element.

Further, if you have environmental concerns, buying a diesel would be gross hypocrisy given that, in essence, it would involve you in poisoning the air for the sake of a few quid in fuel costs.

A small petrol engine will be very clean on a commute such as yours, except for the sitting in traffic bit (at which point you can turn off the engine if you are actually stationary or going downhill).

Now that I have set out my reasoning, I trust that the PH censors will allow me to express the view that buying a Prius is idiotic.

So he should by a small petrol

But buying prius which is a small petrol with a clever combustion cycles that recovers energy and can move purely on waste energy will destroy enviroment


Are we jumping on the clarkson bandwagon where an m3 is more econimical then a prius?

Or do we have some real reasoning


I guess it is battery production

specifically the nickel

Maybe you should look into the high nickel steels that a more car is made from and how difficult it is to recycle a prius battery before you reach your conclusions

[Roo]

Of the two the Auris is nicer to drive. However, as mentioned, the boot space is severely limited.

I average a consistent 55mpg out of my Prius and it's only a gen 2 car. The gen 3 ones are a lot better on fuel.

[ORD]

McWigglebum4th said:

ORD said:

I struggle to see how a hybrid is the appropriate vehicle for this commute.

If you have environmental concerns, a hybrid is at least as bad as a diesel. It will also drive like a hybrid, which is a disaster for the A road element.

Further, if you have environmental concerns, buying a diesel would be gross hypocrisy given that, in essence, it would involve you in poisoning the air for the sake of a few quid in fuel costs.

A small petrol engine will be very clean on a commute such as yours, except for the sitting in traffic bit (at which point you can turn off the engine if you are actually stationary or going downhill).

Now that I have set out my reasoning, I trust that the PH censors will allow me to express the view that buying a Prius is idiotic.

So he should by a small petrol

But buying prius which is a small petrol with a clever combustion cycles that recovers energy and can move purely on waste energy will destroy enviroment


Are we jumping on the clarkson bandwagon where an m3 is more econimical then a prius?

Or do we have some real reasoning


I guess it is battery production

specifically the nickel

Maybe you should look into the high nickel steels that a more car is made from and how difficult it is to recycle a prius battery before you reach your conclusions

First, pretty much any used car is better for the environment than a Prius. I couldnt give a crap what Clarkson thinks, because he is an idiot.

Second, these fairly basic hybrids are extraordinarily energy intensive to build. You will have to drive a load of miles before you undo the extra pollution involved in building one relative to driving a small petrol car.

Third, the Prius is pretty bad at energy recovery. It isnt a 918.

I dont doubt that hybird technology is the way forward - probably electic motors with petrol range-extender engines, though, rather than cars with 2 motors. But the Prius is not the future and it isnt more environmentally friendly than a small petrol car. If you want one to look green or save money (which itself is questionable), that's cool. But it aint saving any polar bears.

[McWigglebum4th]

ORD said:

Second, these fairly basic hybrids are extraordinarily energy intensive to build. You will have to drive a load of miles before you undo the extra pollution involved in building one relative to driving a small petrol car.

.

So why is a prius worse then a similar sized petrol car?

[Zarkingfardwarks]

ORD. So what data are you basing you life cycle analysis on exactly? Or are you still hacked off your post got deleted?



Hybrid solution is because it offers a good attempt at getting what I want from my daily commuter. Cruise, auto, stop start with a 50+ mpg average. It's also needs to be quiet and comfortable. I've owned a number of TVR's ( and still do), Lotus, Porsche and other "I am a driving God" machines over the years but for the daily commute a Hybrid makes a lot of sense.

I'd rather spend my money enjoying my life than burn it away in traffic on some misguided notion that I have abandoned all sense of PHness because I don't drive 'the right car'. Even worse now I am contemplating a HYBRID - shame on me, how will I look my son in the eye.

I even like the look of the Prius, how can I bear the shame?


Anything to be wary of on either model (for the Luddites this is a mechanical reference concerned with reliability)

[AmitG]

Of the two I would vote Prius. The Auris looks sharper on the outside, but I found it rather dull inside, partly because it tries to hide the hybrid stuff and look like a normal car. The Prius feels more futuristic. It's the classic hybrid, if that isn't too much of a contradiction. It also rides slightly better (IMHO) and is bigger.

[AnotherClarkey]

The Prius really is one of the very best commuting tools for any route that includes irritating traffic. If you aren't hammering it everywhere it is extraordinarily refined and smooth with an excellent transmission. A more normal car with stop-start isn't the same thing in practice - in heavy traffic a Prius can go a few minutes without the engine on rather than constantly starting it to move a couple of feet.

The odd thing about these threads is that even when nobody has even mentioned 'green' someone pops up and bangs on about it even when I suspect it is not exactly top of their agenda either.