Have you driven an electric / hybrid car?
Poll: Have you driven an electric / hybrid car?
Total Members Polled: 230
Discussion
Just curious on the % of us that have sampled volts - be it pure electric (ie Leaf), range extenders (ie BMW i3) or petrol hybrid (ie Prius).
Although many on here won't consider anything other than a V8, I know others are moving this way - the latest hyper-hybrids really are something.
Plus there are the BiK benefits for the boring company daily / exciting garaged weekender brigade.
And not forgetting that a lot of PHers are simply early adapters to new tech.
Although many on here won't consider anything other than a V8, I know others are moving this way - the latest hyper-hybrids really are something.
Plus there are the BiK benefits for the boring company daily / exciting garaged weekender brigade.
And not forgetting that a lot of PHers are simply early adapters to new tech.
Interesting that you should ask this, because I own a Leaf but today I drove a hybrid for the first time. It was a '12 Reg Yaris (top spec) that my mother-in-law bought.
In short, I hated it. I was thinking it was going to be like a small version of the Leaf, but it wasn't. It felt like a small car, with poor build quality, equipped with needless technology. Who wants a screen with all sorts of red and green arrows when the dashboard rattles for fun?
And as for the CVT transmission? Well it's hateful. Like driving a car with the clutch slipping all of the time. It felt 10 years behind the Leaf drive system.
I'm sure it's been discussed before but I honestly can't see the point of a hybrid. You want cheap tax? Fine, there are loads of ICE cars to choose from with low emissions. But as a Leaf owner, the sheer joy of not using any fuel ever is completely lost on a hybrid. Yes, the Leaf has limited range, but as I and others have posted on here many times, if it fits your driving habits it is a superb car.
I can only think of two reasons to buy a hybrid, and only one good one. That's if you live somewhere with a congestion charge and it's saving you £10/day. That I get, though personally, I think only a true EV should be exempt. Secondly, there *might* be some joy to be had driving a short trip purely on batteries, but they still have to be charged at some point and you're using petrol to do it.
If cars like the Yaris could be charged at home or at a service station, and be driven purely on electricity then I'd see more appeal, but lugging round a set of batteries and an ICE to charge them is an exercise in green-lobby appeasement and nothing more.
In short, I hated it. I was thinking it was going to be like a small version of the Leaf, but it wasn't. It felt like a small car, with poor build quality, equipped with needless technology. Who wants a screen with all sorts of red and green arrows when the dashboard rattles for fun?
And as for the CVT transmission? Well it's hateful. Like driving a car with the clutch slipping all of the time. It felt 10 years behind the Leaf drive system.
I'm sure it's been discussed before but I honestly can't see the point of a hybrid. You want cheap tax? Fine, there are loads of ICE cars to choose from with low emissions. But as a Leaf owner, the sheer joy of not using any fuel ever is completely lost on a hybrid. Yes, the Leaf has limited range, but as I and others have posted on here many times, if it fits your driving habits it is a superb car.
I can only think of two reasons to buy a hybrid, and only one good one. That's if you live somewhere with a congestion charge and it's saving you £10/day. That I get, though personally, I think only a true EV should be exempt. Secondly, there *might* be some joy to be had driving a short trip purely on batteries, but they still have to be charged at some point and you're using petrol to do it.
If cars like the Yaris could be charged at home or at a service station, and be driven purely on electricity then I'd see more appeal, but lugging round a set of batteries and an ICE to charge them is an exercise in green-lobby appeasement and nothing more.
Had a go in a Tesla Model S the other week (I'm amazed they even gave me the time of day, I clearly wasn't going to buy one!). It was very fast for a car of that size, and had instant power. I liked the regen braking too, coming up to a roundabout from 70mph I didn't need to touch the brakes until doing about 20mph.
I wouldn't want one, but they are pretty impressive!
I wouldn't want one, but they are pretty impressive!
I'm tempted by the current Zoe lease deals - I have a 26 mile each way commute and charging points at work. What kills it for me though is that I need to travel to a different office once a week without a charging point which is a 100 mile rounds trip. I could take the Mrs car on that day I suppose. Hmmm...
I had the "pleasure" of driving the first Toyota Prius in the UK.
I was a transporter driver at the time and Toyota was having an open day at it's import centre at Portbuty docks. The car was at the Toyota factory at Burnaston and had to be transported between the two depots.
I thought the safest place for it was above the cab so after working out how to drive it (all the controls were in Japanese) I reversed it onto the truck. After a fairly uneventful trip back to Portbury I started to unload the truck. When I got to the only Prius in Europe I realised the radio aerial didn't enjoy the trip at 56mph backwards! It had snapped. Next problem was to find a replacement. Fortunately a Corrolla aerial was similar and done the job.
I was a transporter driver at the time and Toyota was having an open day at it's import centre at Portbuty docks. The car was at the Toyota factory at Burnaston and had to be transported between the two depots.
I thought the safest place for it was above the cab so after working out how to drive it (all the controls were in Japanese) I reversed it onto the truck. After a fairly uneventful trip back to Portbury I started to unload the truck. When I got to the only Prius in Europe I realised the radio aerial didn't enjoy the trip at 56mph backwards! It had snapped. Next problem was to find a replacement. Fortunately a Corrolla aerial was similar and done the job.
have a honda insight first generation - smashing
driven the tesla S - good, but pricey and made 'good' only by having more batteries: nothing that special
driven the prius, lexus RH, Honda CR-Z, BMW Hybrid 5, Leaf - meh
missed out on the Ampera, but like the idea of using an engine as a generator so keen to try an i3 REX
not sure why I haven't already tried an i3 in fact, will put that right soon
driven the tesla S - good, but pricey and made 'good' only by having more batteries: nothing that special
driven the prius, lexus RH, Honda CR-Z, BMW Hybrid 5, Leaf - meh
missed out on the Ampera, but like the idea of using an engine as a generator so keen to try an i3 REX
not sure why I haven't already tried an i3 in fact, will put that right soon
We have a Lexus 450h massive car but still returns on average 35-40 Mpg. You can run it for about 5 miles on purely electric if you go less than 28 mph which isn't often.
It's very smooth transitioning from electric motor to engine.... It's a massive 3.3litre petrol hybrid and we only pay £160 a year tax.
Only questionable thing about the car is the gearbox which is a CVT unit which takes a bit of getting used to.
- Pete
It's very smooth transitioning from electric motor to engine.... It's a massive 3.3litre petrol hybrid and we only pay £160 a year tax.
Only questionable thing about the car is the gearbox which is a CVT unit which takes a bit of getting used to.
- Pete
All being well I should be taking delivery of my first hybrid car (an Auris) in the next few weeks. I was sceptical about hybrids but after an extended test drive in one my mind was changed!
Also had a test drive in the Outlander PHEV - very impressive machine, just not as suitable as the Toyota for the journeys I drive.
I can't see hybrids ever completely replacing powerful petrol engines in performance cars (other than to supplement them a la P1, 918 etc), but for everyday driving they make a lot of sense.
Also had a test drive in the Outlander PHEV - very impressive machine, just not as suitable as the Toyota for the journeys I drive.
I can't see hybrids ever completely replacing powerful petrol engines in performance cars (other than to supplement them a la P1, 918 etc), but for everyday driving they make a lot of sense.
I had a go in a Nissan e-NV200. It didn't feel hugely different to drive as I'm used to automatics, it was mainly the lack of any engine noise that was different. Didn't feel particularly fast to me but I guess that's because I'd jumped straight out of my GTI into it! Would like to try one of the electric BMWs.
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