Thread: Hybrid vs petrol - surprising outcome

Originally Posted by tamamutu

18.51 ks/litre or 5.4l/100km, pretty good

My wifes Nossan march (2004 so not a new one) gets very similar mielage at 17.5k per litre when I use it for the commute to work....(30km each way each day about 50/50 motorway and city driving) so thats not really a vote for an aqua frm my point of view. Especially when silimar cars are around the $3k to $5k

Originally Posted by timattalon

My wifes Nossan march (2004 so not a new one) gets very similar mielage at 17.5k per litre when I use it for the commute to work....(30km each way each day about 50/50 motorway and city driving) so thats not really a vote for an aqua frm my point of view. Especially when silimar cars are around the $3k to $5k

yes and no....my Lexus Ct200h gets very close to that at 4.7L per 100km it's by no means a large car but it's still big compared to an Aqua or March....if size is a consideration.

Horses for courses I guess, but i struggle enough folding myself down into the Ct200h, no chance I would want to drive a March or Aqua for any length of time, the other consideration is open road driving, the CT200H is very well mannered on the open road (cruise control and very firm but comfortable suspension), not like driving a compact hatch which can be very revvy and unpleasant.

I drove a Mazda Demio and a Honda Fit for a very short period both what I would consider compact hatch's and both were awful on the open road as far as being over revvy and gutless not to mention in particular the Demio was tiny with very little cabin or luggage space.

If I still want a Hybrid when I replace the CT200H I would go bigger again something along the lines of a Toyota Sai doesn't use feck all more fuel and a much larger boot and cabin. that's my 2 cents and hey the workd would be very voring if we all liked the same things. This is based off my first hand experience.

The dash readout says 6.0L/100km over the 1,050km done so far. Happy with that.

The wife reversed the Corolla out of the garage straight into her Highlander the other day. Inexplicable. It did not go down well at all. Luckily I know how to remove (significant) dents out of plastic bumpers. She can be fucking glad she didn’t hit the tow hitch (mm in it). The lesson for her (third time she’s done it) is never to reverse a car when she’s running late and in a tizz. Silly girl.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

The dash readout says 6.0L/100km over the 1,050km done so far. Happy with that.

The wife reversed the Corolla out of the garage straight into her Highlander the other day. Inexplicable. It did not go down well at all. Luckily I know how to remove (significant) dents out of plastic bumpers. She can be fucking glad she didn’t hit the tow hitch (mm in it). The lesson for her (third time she’s done it) is never to reverse a car when she’s running late and in a tizz. Silly girl.

Teach her to combat park?? (car facing outwards ready to drive away?)

not really that great being a hybrid, my focus 1.8tdci manual does 20-25km per L and parents focus does 20km-L mix of city and open road driving would of expected better

Driving styles have a massive amount to do with it. My father used to drive all his cars on the smell of an oily rag while I treat my cars like go-karts and use 30-50% more than he did.

Originally Posted by timattalon

My wifes Nossan march (2004 so not a new one) gets very similar mielage at 17.5k per litre when I use it for the commute to work....(30km each way each day about 50/50 motorway and city driving) so thats not really a vote for an aqua frm my point of view. Especially when silimar cars are around the $3k to $5k

When I think about this further, I know that Mums late model Vitara uses less gas than the Nissan .....

Bear in mind at purchase time the little straight petrol Japper ICEs can be very good on fuel now. I run a compact Toyota Ist 1.5 VVTi and in a 90% city driving fuel test this week it did 473ks at 15.25Ks per Litre, = 6.6L/per 100ks, = 43.3mpg. Round town!! Open road test was 50.25mpg or 5.6L/100ks. Marvelous economy from an ICE, and it only cost me $4.5k with 80ks on it. Take alot of ks and many years before extra cost for hybrid purchase paid for itself. Worth a thought.

I also like the fact this wee 1.5 VVTi has some pep on open road - absolutely fine for long trips. Test drove the 1.3 variant and definitely not enough power. I do like my 300hp+ sportscars, but this little 1.5 ICE has really surprised me - does its job very well. In terms of purchase price, fuel use and low maintenance, its a very cost-efficient little unit. Toyota 1NZ-FE motor.

Take you a few yrs to loose 4.5k too MGs.Agood buy there for sure.

Got the wife a GWM Haval H6 hybrid before xmas, it's a non-phev hybrid. I love the electric drive setup, and the features on it. Damn thing can just about drive itself.

Originally Posted by Trout

Green machine Aston Martin i think,a real car.

British Racing Green?

I really wanted to buy a plug in hybrid or electric can for my wife to drive to work but every way I looked at it it just didn’t add up so I bought a Honda Jazz, my wife thought the fuel gauge was faulty because it took so long to drop.
I remember back in the 80s we would ask customers what they got fuel economy wise, the 4 cylinder, 6 cylinder, and the V8 Commodores all used the same fuel per Kilometre on a big trip. Basic physics weight/distance.

I have a company Toyota Rav4 Hybrid.
Great to drive etc and good on gas however the higher purchase cost does not stack up when comparing against small / midsized petrol cars running costs over a few years.
Good idea, but does not really make cents / sense.

I just ticked over 75,000km. Up till recently the long term average fuel consumption has been 5.6 litres per 100km.
This has now dropped to 6.0 litres per 100km.
My guess is the battery capacity has changed which is effecting the economy.


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Originally Posted by Simon

I have a company Toyota Rav4 Hybrid.
Great to drive etc and good on gas however the higher purchase cost does not stack up when comparing against small / midsized petrol cars running costs over a few years.
Good idea, but does not really make cents / sense.

Well, the debate has been nullified by Toyota, if you’re looking at new cars, because you can’t buy a petrol only Rav4 any more. They’re all hybrids.

Same for Corolla, Camry, Yaris, Highlander, C-HR….

You have to buy a very expensive 4WD to get a straight ICE now.

That’s all good, no skin off my nose. The tech makes sense. Its just the affordability that’s been problematic, and will remain so for a good while. It will be interesting to see what happens in the secondhand car market in years to come. How will hybrids perform pricewise as they approach the end of the 10 year battery warranty? How many instances of successful warranty claims will there be? What about attempting warranty claims on cars that have had multiple owners? How much will a replacement battery cost in 10 years time? Will batteries for today’s models be readily available in 10 years time? What will a new vehicle look like in 10 years time? Hydrogen?

There’s still a lot of questions to be asked and answered by the market.

In the meantime, assuming petrol doesn’t cost $50 a litre in 10 years time, I’m confident a good quality ICE will still be running ok assuming it’s looked after. I wouldn’t mind betting the 3.5L V6 Highlander we have will be 20 years old by the time it’s retired. Maybe more! It’s 15 years old already and still absolutely fine.

One thing for sure. When we go and do a quarterly shop at Pak n Save, at least we can get it all into the Highlander. If you drive any of these current hatchback hybrids you’d have to take a fucking trailer! Their utility is absolute rubbish, no capacity in them whatsoever.

You're right on every count there.

I see a major issue coming shortly with certain hybrid models - no supply of battery tech to repair or replace the batteries and no disposal pathway when they crap out. Also factor in the extra wear and tear and maintenance requirements due to lugging all the extra weight around. Toyota is not the same manufacturer as in days of old where they nailed exactly what the market wanted at the price the market would pay and the product did exactly what it said on the label reliably.

The new hybrid hilux doesn't appear to be a 1 ton ute any more, and at the full towing weight it doesn't have the same capacity as a non hybrid version. Ergo, if you own a non-hybrid version it just went up in value... Also, two cases now I've heard of where the fitting of a towbar has registered the anti theft system in the hybrid battery locked as activated, meaning the battery had to be replaced under warranty. The battery apparently needs to be dropped to fit the towbar... Makes me question how it would go in a rear end shunt.