Hybrid Vs Electric Cars

[+Steve]

Hybrid cars vs Electric cars? How do they compare? Which one would you rather have?

[jirehn]

Hybrid cars consune less petroleum while electric car consumes electricity.Both have a difference that is really great.

[Jan&tone]

It's got to depend on the use it will have. The range of electric cars at the moment is ideal for town dwellers thT only use their car locally.

Once you get into a situation where you regularly exceed the endurance of the Battery then the Hybrid would come into it's own

[Cyker]

In an ideal world electric hands down, but they're not even worth considering until they can do at least a solid 250 miles on a single charge or have some way of 'recharging' quickly (And by quickly, I mean a few minutes; An couple hour's 'fast charging' is not fast!)

Maybe use smaller batteries to save weight but have the main power source a replaceable fuel cell or something...

The Leaf is actually quite a nice car, but the range and the price tag put it out of the reach of most people!

But it'll be 2015 soon so maybe we'll have Mister Fusion and Flying Cars

[korat102]

Crikey, half the people out there can't move their car in a straight line at ground level, imagine what they'd be like in the air!

I agree that at present, electric cars sound great but are let down by the range and charging time...and the price.

[Cyker]

Crikey, half the people out there can't move their car in a straight line at ground level, imagine what they'd be like in the air!

Good point!

Maybe Google will have stopped their auto-pilot Prius from crashing into other Priusususussus by then too and we can have auto-pilots on the road and in the air

[Lorna2]

I'd prefer hybrid rather than electric. I think having to plug an electric car in for a few hours would be more hassle than its worth. It would mean you would need a garage to park the car in so it could be plugged in for hours,or have to use an extension lead - if there's too much stuff in the garage! There's not enough range in electric cars. Hybrid's much more attractive - I would have one if I could afford one.

[Leeky]

Range Xtenders like the Vauxhall Ampera/Chevrolet Volt are the immediate future.

Hybrids only really improve the economy of a petrol engine as even if you put a Prius in electric only mode you wont get very far before the petrol engine takes over.

Electric only cars dont have a good enough range to make them practical to live with. Only the Tesla Roadster and their forthcoming Tesla Model S have a decent range.

The new range extender vehicles offer the best of both worlds. If you commute a short distance to work you will never use any petrol as you'll be home recharging the vehicle for tomorrows commute. But if at the weekend you wanted to drive from London down to Devon to see Granny for example, you are free to do so as you'll drive until the electric runs out and then the petrol engine kicks in to generate the power for the remainder of the trip.

So right now i wouldnt choose current electric or hybrid cars. I'd be looking at Tesla's Model S for a full electric car with a decent range or Vauxhall/Chevrolets range extending electric cars for the freedom to do both.

[Cyker]

To me, hybrids are just a stop-gap; For me the end-goal here is to get away from having to pay large amounts of money for fossil fuels, which will only get more expensive as time goes on. (Well, unless a viable renewable source suddenly appears, in which case I'm flogging my D4D and getting a T-Sport )

It costs me over £50 to fill my tiny Yaris with fuel! It doesn't feel that long ago that I could fill a Ford transit for that much!

[Karma Supra]

Hybrid or electric... it's like choosing if you'd rather have cancer or AIDS.

[Cyker]

Hahaha! What about diesel then, is that MRSA or Bird Flu???

[Karma Supra]

Driving a diesel is a bit like being !Removed!... it's more accepted than it used to be, but it's still wrong....

Hybrid diesel is every unleasant illness ever concieved. At once.

[Cyker]

Hmm, what are your thoughts on LPG and hydrogen then?

[Jan&tone]

Driving a diesel is a bit like being !Removed!... it's more accepted than it used to be, but it's still wrong....

Hybrid diesel is every unleasant illness ever concieved. At once.

Ha! These comments from someone who, according to fuelly, is trying to use all the fossil fuels on the planet on his own!!

I thought Hilux's were diesel anyway??

[Karma Supra]

All the fossil fuels?

My current two cars are the most economical cars I have had in years! I used to get about 12 in the supra....

Yes the Hilux is a diesel unfortunately... (there were petrol V6s but not many were imported, I'd have had one of them if i could) I am on the lookout for a suitible LS400 to buy, and transplant the engine from.

A Petrol V8 will be much more..... "me".

LPG is allowed, A V8 on LPG still sounds like a V8, and if done properly, pretty much goes like one too.

Hydrogen will be good once they can produce it cheaply enough, and store it properly...

[Parts-King]

Toyota and Tesla have had a colaboration going for some time.

http://venturebeat.com/2010/07/19/tesla-toyota-rav4/

You will see more and more electric cars around, they will be able to do 150-200 on a charge. People who spout about the range forget that the average daily drive in the UK is about 33 miles. Now it would be no good for reps and people doing long journeys but for the average Joe egg it would be fine. The stumbbling block will not be range but price. We need more electric cars so that the price will tumble but who is going to pay for that? Customers I'm afraid!

It will be 20-25 years before Hydrogen goes mainstream and Hybrid is the only mainstream alternative at this time

Kingo

[Leeky]

Range is very important though. Whats the point in having a car which you cant drive where ever you want?

The average daily commute probably is 33miles.... mine is only 10miles but even so i wouldnt want a car with a poor range as there will be days were i need to drive further than work.

The idea that i can only drive say 100miles and then i need to park somewhere and wait at least 6hrs for the thing to re-charge is just madness.

The technology and infrastructure just isnt quite there yet to go fully electric unless you are buying an electric car ONLY to commute a short distance to work and you know you'll never drive anywhere else.

We need electric cars which you can re-fuel on the go. Whether this is by a petrol generator (Ala Vauxhall/Chevrolet) or via Hydrogen (Ala Honda).

[Red diesel]

Afternoon folks

Hybrid vs electric

Well hybrid for me at the moment - Leaf is too dear at the moment although to be fair Renault will be charging in the region of 17,000 for its new

Fluence electric car (a normal family saloon but electric) and 14,000 (according to issue 02 of the new ICar magazine) for the new Zoe electric car. However Renault have bought the cost down because they will be leasing the Battery at a cost of 75 quid a month. The range of the electric cars is also an issue - not much use for long trips. Yes you can use fast charging - but i was told by a Nissan representative (who was trying to sell a Leaf) that fast charging on a regular basis was not recommended as it shortens the life of the Battery.

Volvo and Peugeot have some interesting developments coming soon on the hybrid theme - Volvo for example - 215 bhp 2.4 turbodiesel plus an electric motor that operating on its own (the electric motor) gives a range of 30 miles and can also be recharged like the Leaf. Nothing too shabby about the claimed 0 to 60 time on the Volvo of 7.5 seconds. But alas we are unlikely to see traffic cops adopting the new technology to replace the good ole T5 volvos because top speed is limited to somewhere in the 120 to 130 mph range lol.

Red diesel

[Parts-King]

Range is very important though. Whats the point in having a car which you cant drive where ever you want?

The average daily commute probably is 33miles.... mine is only 10miles but even so i wouldnt want a car with a poor range as there will be days were i need to drive further than work.

Range is important of course it is, BUT it's not for the vast majority who only make a 100 mile journey a few times a year. As I said above, it's not for reps or people doing long motorway journeys, not yet anyway

I heard somebody talking about the infrastructure a few weeks ago, they seemed to imply that it costs 25K to put a charging point in the street??? Profiteering on a grand scale there me thinks The way electricity prices are going it is not going to be worth charging your car up, electricity is going to go up 60% over the next few years, allegedly!

Kingo

[korat102]

Only someone with a suspicious mind would suggest that the oil companies are raising prices now because they see a time in the not too distant future when there'll be less demand for their product...

Bit like the water companies keeping prices for people on meters far less than those without. What do people think will happen when everyone is on a meter - watch those prices skyrocket.