| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Do you own a diesel? | |
| Posted by: | Andy Pease | |
| Date/Time: | 11/10/17 14:08:00 |
| Ken,I've had a hybrid for 2 years.And I wouldn't have another one.They may be all pink and fluffy,and great at saving the whale and the Borneo jungle or whatever when running on electricity.But running on petrol they drink the juice like there's no tomorrow.The weight of the car,plus the huge extra weight of the batteries make mine a big lump to haul about.Add to that the regenerative braking where the wheels are driving a dynamo to extra charge the batteries.This adds drag to the wheels and uses extra fuel to propel the vehicle.Hybrids are all very well if you want a two seater orange box on wheels.But a useful size car driven by electricity is yet to hit the streets(at least a car that normal people can drive.Not a £70000 Tesla or similar)Hybrids need to come on a lot before I would consider another one.The claimed fuel consumption for my vehicle was 150mpg.I have absolutely no idea how they achieved this.Perhaps the test vehicle was like a Fred Flintstone car where the driver puts his feet through the floor to propel the vehicle.My vehicle has something called "Eco Drive"you press this button and it kills all the usefull qualities of the vehicle and converts it to a milk float.Apparently the eco drive extends the mileage from the batteries.It does this by killing stone dead any useful acceleration.If while in eco drive you need a power boost you put your foot down.This engages the 2 litre petrol engine,and the thing flies forward using a couple of litres of fuel and killing any savings you've made in eco drive mode.Hybrids have a long way to go before they are used daily by the masses. |