I’ve long wanted a hybrid car. I hate using as much gasoline as I do, and I don’t use that much. My trips these days are mainly short hops around our small suburban town to do basic errands, and only on rare occasions (once or twice a month) do I drive more than 15 miles in one day, and everything is very stop-start, the worst kind of driving for fuel efficiency.
Unfortunately, the hybrids that are out there were simply too small for our needs. We checked out both the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius models that are currently available, and were disappointed. Despite their claims of having a five passenger capacity, we found that Mr. TeaElle, thanks to his height, was very uncomfortable in both, and it didn’t seem that he could safely occupy the passenger seat of the Insight when it was adjusted to accomodate our kidlets’ car seats in the rear. I couldn’t see my way clear to purchasing a vehicle that my entire family could not safely or comfortably use together, it simply didn’t make sense.
It looks the best thing about hybrid engines of all kinds is that they are most efficient when used for short bursts of urban surface street driving which is exactly what I do most of. The weather is a consideration, but even if I’m not getting the most out of a hybrid engine in the weather, better to drive a car that’s getting high 20/low 30 mpg efficiency than a car that maxes out at mid-teen/low 20 mpg.
Yep, I’m definitely excited.
And Dopers driving a hybrid now? Anybody have success stories or horror stories to tell? Anyone else excited about the idea of buying one now that more models will be available?
Let me correct myself – the Honda we checked out was the Civic hybrid. Apparently the Insight is even smaller and doesn’t even have a backseat. I’m glad we didn’t even look.
We’ll probably buy a Ford hybrid, but cannot discount the possibility of getting a 35-40 year old convertible and a beater pickup instead. Our last new ‘car’ was a first-model-year Ford Explorer, and it logged 285,000 miles. So it’s hard to argue against another first-model-year Ford SUV. But there’s a side of me that really wants to relive my youth, in my dream car.
Perhaps I’m going through a mid-life crisis, but I’d like to think of it as enjoying every minute to the fullest.
I’m a big guy, I don’t fit well in most cars. That’s always a consideration when I go car shopping. Can’t beat an american coupe for leg-room.
We probably won’t be buying a new car for another couple years, but I would consider buying a hybrid Honda Element if there is one available and it’s not too pricey. I don’t know if they have any plans for one, but since it’s built on the Civic engine, I guess it’s possible.
Same here. We tried the Civic Hybrid and the Prius and decided to wait a bit. A bit small for our tall Mr Mynn (he would be the primary driver)
Part of our decision also rested on the fact that hybrids are still a bit out of our price range right now (we ended up with an off-lease Accord). When the Accord or Sentra (my car) call it quits, we’ll look at hybrids again.
We’ve been hoping the hybrid-tech makes its way into larger more capable vehicles as well (current ones are too small for our planned uses). This link about chrysler’s plans for their trucks might interest you. I’m anxiously awaiting their HEV (I think that’s what they’re planning to call it) diesel-electric as we need a fairly large tow/haul capacity in our next truck.
We test-drove the Civic hybrid last year while shopping for a car for my wife; we found it under-powered for highway driving. The fuel economy is mostly due to the tiny engine, which is supplemented by an electric motor that runs off the battery, which recharges off the engine and off the braking. The engine and the motor together don’t deliver the acceleration of the four-cylinder Civic engine, which in itself is decent but not spectacular. It would have been all right for city driving, but since my wife commutes 45 miles each way, it wasn’t practical, and definitely not worth spending extra money on. We got a Civic EX instead.
My question about that is whether or not the battery will have enough power to pull a large load before getting up to speed and switching to diesel or if, under towing conditions, the engine stays diesel all the time.
I’m interested in hybrid technology, but for me it looks like the first opportunity to try it will be the car after next. I don’t expect to be looking at a new car for another 3-5 years, and unless the price comes down a bit and a whole lot more hybrid vehicles of types other than SUVs and subcompacts are available by that time, I’ll give them a miss. By ten years from now, OTOH, I wouldn’t be surprised if hybrids were the dominant drivetrain type (if fuel cells remain imnpractical, that is).
Ditto. I toyed with buying a Prius when I was in the market for a new car almost 2 years ago. I couldn’t bring myself to do it, because they were still relatively a new thing in the US markets, and I didn’t want to buy unproven technology. That’s why I bought my diesel VW instead.
But I guaran-ass-tee you that if I had to buy a new car today, I WOULD BUY A HYBRID!!! As much as I don’t want to wish away good luck with cars, I cannot wait until a few more years have passed and it’s time for another car. I’m excited with the technology and can’t wait to own it myself.
I bought my Honda Civic EX in January. I had considered the Civic Hybrid but decided against it because it was a little more than I wanted to spend (the base price) at the time. Also for the fact that it is still relatively new technology (how long do these things last??for example). Oh, and they are only available in metallic beige or white! (bleeeccch)
As those Honda Insights go, very small, no backseat, and all of the ones I have seen here in Vegas all seem to have some sort of wierd paint damage along the back quarter panels (battery vapor issues??)
I am glad to see that they (the auto industry) is working to put hybrid technology into the larger vehicles (full size sedans, pickups, and SUVs) It really makes sense, I think.
I will probably buy a hybrid in the future afetr the technology has proven itself a bit more. But for now my Civic gets really good gas mileage and I only have to fill up once every two weeks.
posted by asteria:
“My question about that is whether or not the battery will have enough power to pull a large load before getting up to speed and switching to diesel or if, under towing conditions, the engine stays diesel all the time.”
The electric motor is an “assist” which (apparently) lives on the shaft somewhere downstream of the diesel. It kicks in to provide extra “oommph” during acceleration or hill-climbing; but in normal driving the diesel is always used. I have no cite for the details, so I’m operating from memory here (our local paper had an article a coupla months ago). I believe it doesn’t make use of braking energy for charging (like the smaller hybrids), but just uses the electric motor to recharge during periods of low power use (downhill, I suppose). It can be driven short distances on electrical power alone (for convenience and quiet) when loads don’t merit the diesel. Another really attractive feature is the 12.5 KW generator which is available by using the diesel to turn the electric motor. The article says the generator function is by far quieter and more eco-friendly than any current portable gensets.
If I discover any more sites/cites I’ll post them.
I have long vowed that my next car would be an “old man’s car.” You know, big, roomy, sucks down the gas. However, I have lately been thinking of a hybrid. Over the weekend I heard on Car Talk that you can reasonably expect the hybrid’s special engine to last 8 to 10 years, which is just about how often I replace a car. I’ll have to think about it more. I have a few more years on the car I have now, so I don’t have to decide yet.
Larger vehicles powered by hybrid technology always made the most sense to me. It doesn’t seem as much of a benefit to make a small fuel-efficient vehicle more fuel-efficient compared to making a gas-loving van or SUV fuel-efficient.
It would be great to have a mini-van that could get 35-40 mpg compared to 17-22 mpg. The only question is why it has taken so long to get to that point…
Anyway, I’m definitely going to be looking for a hybrid mini-van or SUV when I have to replace one of our cars. Hopefully we won’t have to worry about it for another 5+ years though.
David Pogue wrote a glowing article about his new Toyota Prius for the New York Times: A Techno-Geek’s New Car
The next week he wrote a follow-up article: More on the Toyota Prius
(Free registration is required to read either article)
Strictly speaking, neither article is a review; they’re more like raves from a new owner. As such, they do make the Prius seem pretty cool. I hope the Ford Escape is as well executed as the Prius seems to be by the time I’m ready to replace my Explorer.
My brother has a Honda Civic Hybrid, and I can’t get him to say a bad thing about it. He uses it primarily for highway driving, and admits he’s now driving slower than he used to because it improves his fuel efficiency.
Only drove it once, myself, around the block – performance and pickup seemed fine to me, though the total silence from the engine when we stopped definitely takes some getting used to.
Ford leased Toyota’s hybrid technology for the Escape Hybrid. I own a regular Escape, and I think it’s a great vehicle. Perfect blend of utility, economy, power, and good handling. The Hybrid Escape is supposed to have roughly the same performance as the 201 HP Escape. If that’s the case, and it gets 35-40 mpg, then the Hybrid technology will really make a good vehicle great.
