Hybrid or Gasoline

[Ace of Pop]

hybridcars. com.Seems there are 2 Classes re Sales ...Hybrids and Hybrid Plug Ins. The Volts hardly mentioned.All rather weird. Ill stick with a Splash n Dash E85er..

[JAS21]

Back on the topic ... sorry guys. We have just driven the Accord Hybrid. It's quick and more sporty than the Camry so the ride is much firmer, a bit too firm for my liking, well on Bangkok roads anyway. It's much more of a drivers car, at my age though I'm looking more for comfort.

Okay .... over to you again

Edited July 15, 2015 by JAS21

[AsterixThai]

Toyota Prius is the best. 4.5 lt / 100 km and comfort

[IMHO]

Toyota Prius is the best. 4.5 lt / 100 km and comfort

the best yes, but only on paper...

In real life, it really only rivals eco cars 1/3rd it's price.

[fred Kubasa]

HOW ABOUT PEDALS ?

[Jonathon]

I have no direct experience but do hold strong views. I would stay away from a hybrid particularly if you intend to keep it a long time. As others have said they are not 'green'. Battery manufacture creates a great deal of pollution.

No doubt maintenance will also be an issue as they age.

Give me a conventional diesel any day.

[oztaurus]

The other one to look at might be the top of the line Prius - only for the solar powered air-con which keeps the car cool while you are parked. I don't know why all cars in the tropics don't have that.

[Don Mega]

The other one to look at might be the top of the line Prius - only for the solar powered air-con which keeps the car cool while you are parked. I don't know why all cars in the tropics don't have that.

non electric cars have their AC driven by a fossil fueled engine. How do you propose to run the AC via a solar panel at a price point that will not shy away potential customers ?

[Pdaz]

Fuel economy and CO2 bullshit would be the last two things I'd consider when buying a new car..

[HerbalEd]

I bought the BMW 7L ActiveHybrid six months ago and I really love it. Never owned or driven a hybrid before but I'm now sold the technology.

[F4UCorsair]

I think if anybody considers a hybrid for environmental reasons they are misdirected. Battery manufacture is resource expensive, both in materials and energy, and then there is disposal or recycling to consider, high cost and resource hungry.

Interestingly the proponents of hybrids either haven't done the entire comparison exercise, environmental versus cost, or if they have, are reluctant to publish results.

For my money, hybrids don't yet meet my expectations.

Of course, development is an incremental thing, so without the hybrids we have now, the first step, further development may not proceed, or not at the same rate....small steps toward an ideal??

Edited July 15, 2015 by F4UCorsair

[Ace of Pop]

I would have the HYBRID BADGE removed It makes people think ones a Save the Planet or Greenpeace Nutter, or at worst a Vegetarian who chain themselves up on Airport Runways. I do look at the Drivers of these things in case they are slightly deranged..and want to put Wind Turbines in my Garden.

[IMHO]

Not all Hybrids are bad guys. Go drive a Porsche or BMW one, where the electric motor's main function is added performance, and you'll see what I mean

[Kiwiscoot]

what a lot a drivel dished up as facts e.g.

"Battery manufacture creates a great deal of pollution."

"In real life, it really only rivals eco cars 1/3rd it's price."

Here is a start to a search on point one

http://priuschat.com/threads/prius-vs-hummer-exploding-the-myth.30974/

Look at fuelly.com and compare a Prius to an equivalent sedan of the same size, I would like to see an eco car that equals it in every day driving by everyday drivers.

Hybrids are new technology that goes some way in addressing some of the issues of our current cars. Like all new technology there are folks who see the evil in something they don't understand, live with one and you may be just as surprised as the first car owners who traded in their horse&cart.

[Ace of Pop]

Most Eco Folks would have us in Horse n Carts. A Roarin V8 and burning Rubbers the best ,sod these Eco carts that dither about.

[IMHO]

what a lot a drivel dished up as facts e.g.

"Battery manufacture creates a great deal of pollution."

"In real life, it really only rivals eco cars 1/3rd it's price."

Here is a start to a search on point one

http://priuschat.com/threads/prius-vs-hummer-exploding-the-myth.30974/

Look at fuelly.com and compare a Prius to an equivalent sedan of the same size, I would like to see an eco car that equals it in every day driving by everyday drivers.

Hybrids are new technology that goes some way in addressing some of the issues of our current cars. Like all new technology there are folks who see the evil in something they don't understand, live with one and you may be just as surprised as the first car owners who traded in their horse&cart.

You are missing the point on the comparison to eco cars I think

Low grade materials, lacklustre performance, spongy on road feel - all qualities that eco cars and the Prius share

If you want to start comparing economy, you'd better start by working out the difference in purchase price - and see how much gasoline that buys first (hint: Prius loses).

[Kiwiscoot]

Low grade materials - many 1998 Pruises here in NZ and all look just like other cars of that vintage.

lackluster performance - well 107kW / 515 Newton meter pushing a 1500kg car gives pretty good performance, V8's get a surprise from traffic light to traffic light...he he

spongy road feel - not really your sport sedan is it, don't think anybody would buy is as such. Sports bike fills that need just nicely.

Purchase price - well some of us leave the depreciation to others to pay and buy after most of the depreciation has happened.

Anyway to every man his own. I have had diesels, not that great either. Must say I'm still gobsmacked when I get the same fuel consumption with a fully laden 2011 Prius as what I get with the motorbike.

[IMHO]

Low grade materials - many 1998 Pruises here in NZ and all look just like other cars of that vintage.

lackluster performance - well 107kW / 515 Newton meter pushing a 1500kg car gives pretty good performance, V8's get a surprise from traffic light to traffic light...he he

spongy road feel - not really your sport sedan is it, don't think anybody would buy is as such. Sports bike fills that need just nicely.

Purchase price - well some of us leave the depreciation to others to pay and buy after most of the depreciation has happened.

Anyway to every man his own. I have had diesels, not that great either. Must say I'm still gobsmacked when I get the same fuel consumption with a fully laden 2011 Prius as what I get with the motorbike.

It's totally OK man. Over the years we've had a few Prius owners defending their babies. If you've had it for 4 years now, I'm sure your skin has grown thick enough by now

[Ace of Pop]

Relative to the OP ,with Honda Accord it is more harsh , but it's a trade off. Toyota Service is full of clonking old Mellon Carts, at Honda they don't have oily oiks or Tuna Yobs just refined clientel like Me.[emoji370]

[flyingdoc]

Hybrid or LPG? At 12.99 baht per litre? Toyota are now selling them new already converted ! So cheap to run! No worry about expensive batteries!

[mortenaa]

Im waiting to test the 2016 BMW 330e, which is a plugin hybrid. The battery alone lasts up to 30km, so basically you can drive around BKK all day without spending a single drop of gasoline.

[Ace of Pop]

The Whole Point of a BMW is to blast Gallons of Benzine away at 300 KPH in luxury.

[mortenaa]

The Whole Point of a BMW is to blast Gallons of Benzine away at 300 KPH in luxury.

Well, that's what I keep my M3 for

That said, im not really into the whole CO2 hype, but I admit if all the buses and cars were hybrids, it would really benefit the air quality within city borders!

Edited July 18, 2015 by mortenaa

[merijn]

Just bought last week a Honda Accord Nav.

I was interested in the hybrid until i opened the trunk.

Unlike the Camry the Accord is using the trunk for the battery and therefore you lose about 50% of the the space and the back seat doesn't fold down anymore.

As i don't drive much i bought the normal petrol one.

I had 3 Camry's thus i was not really interested in another Camry even while it is a very good car.

[kimamey]

I would have the HYBRID BADGE removed It makes people think ones a Save the Planet or Greenpeace Nutter, or at worst a Vegetarian who chain themselves up on Airport Runways. I do look at the Drivers of these things in case they are slightly deranged..and want to put Wind Turbines in my Garden.

I drive a 1.8 Prius in the UK. I try to be vegetarian when I'm here but in Thailand it's more hassle than I can manage at the moment. I'm not a nutter nor do I chain myself up on airport runways. I'm all for saving the planet but I'm not obsessive about it. In the UK with higher fuel prices it makes more sense. I've had diesels for years but it's still better than them on fuel.

So that's the view from a fairly normal person. You need to take a more relaxed view of people. There's no point taking the hybrid badge off a Prius as it's only hybrid anyway and I think you'd be a bit weird whatever you drove.

BTW I'm getting about 19.8 km/litre compared to just over 15 from my Honda Jazz 1.5 in Thailand. The 19.8 is mainly city driving and in the summer. For a couple of reasons they aren't so economical in the winter but that wouldn't be an issue in Thailand.

[kimamey]

The plain gas engine is far greener if you look at the big picture.

How does the "Baht per km" stack up against your 3 Litre diesel pickup considering the Camry burns a rather more expensive fuel?

Are any plug-in hybrids (i.e. a hybrid with a decent range in EV mode which can be plugged-in at night for a low cost charge) available in Thailand?

Is either vehicle available with a turbo-diesel?

Also (off topic), look at the location of the air intake, a lot of cars have it very low down, ideal for sucking up water in an all too common flooding situation.

EDIT Don't forget, both cars use battery technology similar to that found in laptops and mobiles phones. When was the last time you had a phone or laptop battery that lasted 5 years, let alone 10?

I have a Prius in the UK and they use NiMH batteries although I think they use some lithium-ion ones as well in the plug in version. In the 4th generation it's rumoured they will switch to lithium-ion which are used by many other companies.

I doubt Toyota would give such long warranties if the batteries weren't going to last and I believe the batteries account for very few of the claims. Mine is an early 2009 model so it's about 6 years. I've been told that they prolong the life of the batteries by never fully charging them or discharging them. Whether this is true or not I don't know.

I think Toyota plan to offer hybrids on all their models including pick ups.

[Ace of Pop]

I had very relaxed view of people prior to P.C. Indoctrination became trendy ,and cars became Golf Buggies..I'm a Red neck at heart.[emoji469][emoji447][emoji316]

[F4UCorsair]

Low grade materials - many 1998 Pruises here in NZ and all look just like other cars of that vintage.

lackluster performance - well 107kW / 515 Newton meter pushing a 1500kg car gives pretty good performance, V8's get a surprise from traffic light to traffic light...he he

spongy road feel - not really your sport sedan is it, don't think anybody would buy is as such. Sports bike fills that need just nicely.

Purchase price - well some of us leave the depreciation to others to pay and buy after most of the depreciation has happened.

Anyway to every man his own. I have had diesels, not that great either. Must say I'm still gobsmacked when I get the same fuel consumption with a fully laden 2011 Prius as what I get with the motorbike.

Don't tell me.....let me guess........your motorbike is 2.5 litre??