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Mrs F is looking to buy a hybrid car, probably second-hand, 2 or 3 years old. Mainly for urban driving - usually no more than the 6 miles journey to the car park in town and back again at the end of the day. Very occasionally, she might do a longer journey. She wants a small family car, but with 4 doors and, ideally, with a boot large enough for my daughter's fold-down bike. She currently has a (non-hybrid) Vauxhall Meriva (which is having to be scrapped) and something that size would be ideal.
This will be our first venture into electric/hybrid market and have done some research - it's a bloody nightmare! We plan to visit some local dealerships on Monday to get a few ideas, but any suggestions, good or bad, would be very welcome, if only to pinpoint which dealers we should visit. Has anybody got or had a small hybrid car that they could recommend, or tell us to avoid?
I don't own a hybrid or electric but know a few who have hybrid company cars purely for tax reasons, but the one point they make is when using the petrol or diesel they do a lot less MPG because of the heavy batteries. I know 2 who had the same car/engine for both a non hybrid and then hybrid and said they could really see a big difference in the hybrid's MPG when it was on just petrol compared with a non hybrid - not a problem for them as the company pays for the fuel
Obviously it all depends on the number of short trips you do, I guess if a large percentage are within the miles limit of the electric engine then fine. Also don't forget with most hybrids because the chassis was designed for a petrol/diesel the batteries are placed in the boot area and nearly all hybrids have less boot space than their equivalent non hybrid.
Anyway based on the feedback of people I know who drive company hybrid car they've all said if they were buying the car they would either go non hybrid or full eclectic
I have just moved to an electric car, but previous experience with a plug in hybrid leads me to strongly recommend getting a Toyota self charging hybrid. No hassle, utterly proven technology, much better fuel efficiency than most plug ins.
its worth clarifying if you mean a plug-in hybrid, or a pure hybrid. Obviously, if you're getting a plug in one, then consider whether you have a good place to install a charge point. They only really make sense if you charge them for the short journeys, and only use the combustion engine for long journeys. If you end up using the engine to charge the battery all the time, you'll end up with poor economy.
I don't own a hybrid or electric but know a few who have hybrid company cars purely for tax reasons, but the one point they make is when using the petrol or diesel they do a lot less MPG because of the heavy batteries. I know 2 who had the same car/engine for both a non hybrid and then hybrid and said they could really see a big difference in the hybrid's MPG when it was on just petrol compared with a non hybrid - not a problem for them as the company pays for the fuel
Obviously it all depends on the number of short trips you do, I guess if a large percentage are within the miles limit of the electric engine then fine. Also don't forget with most hybrids because the chassis was designed for a petrol/diesel the batteries are placed in the boot area and nearly all hybrids have less boot space than their equivalent non hybrid.
Anyway based on the feedback of people I know who drive company hybrid car they've all said if they were buying the car they would either go non hybrid or full eclectic
Agree with all of that, everyone I know who went over to petrol hybrid have all said the same thing, much reduced MPG. Can't see any reason why I would chose this option other than to use the additional torque and power of the electric motors. But as my boy racer days are long over and there are too many speed camera's and unmarked police cars around, a petrol hybrid would be an expensive toy that I would not use to anywhere near it's full potential.
I currently have a 2yr old Hybrid Mondeo, chosen as a company car my myself for tax purposes.
Its a big old saloon, with the expected limited boot access, so would struggled to get a full size bike in there but folded should be no problem. It does lose boot space due to the battery.
MPG is showing as 48.2 but I don't hang about so this could easily be increased if I was paying for my own fuel. I can sit on the electric up to about 75 on the motorway if I am gentle and even to this day the experience of cruising around the school car-park (not like that) running silent on the electric trying to scare yummy mummies never gets boring.
In essence its would make a nice family car. Its big and comfortable and filled with gadgets. Easily seats 5 adults and almost drives itself.
I have just moved to an electric car, but previous experience with a plug in hybrid leads me to strongly recommend getting a Toyota self charging hybrid. No hassle, utterly proven technology, much better fuel efficiency than most plug ins.
We borrowed a Honda Civic saloon for a few months once and it got us around no problem with pretty respectable MPG. I assume that's the same sort of thing. To all intents and purposes it was a 'normal' car. No faff, decent turn of speed for what it was, constant MPG with none of this rubbish economy when running off the petrol engine, and it seemed bullet proof. Boot was half decent too - more than big enough for a fold up bike I'd have thought.
Plug in Hybrid (PHEV) - Can do short journeys entirely on electric which is a significant cost saving over petrol. On long journeys, the petrol motor is needed and it will perform worse than an equivalent petrol as the mass of the car is significantly increased. Also worth checking on the particular car to work out when the petrol engine kicks in. Sometimes the car can run up to 70 on pure electric, sometimes it only works up to 40-50 MPH so you'll still be using petrol on the dual carriageway.
Self-charging, Mild Hybrid (MHEV) - these are vehicles that are fundamentally more like a normal petrol/diesel. They use a smaller battery and motor and just feed in a smaller amount of electrical power. Definite MPG improvement, but nothing radical.
Pure hybrid - Sort of a halfway house where you had an engine to generate all your power and all electric power to the wheels. Less fancied by manufacturers now.
If I was buying I'd get a Toyota Corolla, recently borrowed one from work (I am responsible for 600 cars). Over a 10 day period I averaged 70mpg using a tank of fuel to do a week's commute and across to Glos. and back, for Edwardstone's BBQ.
This was an estate version, so whilst less boot space, there's still ample space for most and the short run mentioned will often be undertaken in pure electric.
PHEV will do more on electric against loss of ICE MPG.
Thanks everyone for your input. Really helpful, including some points that we haven't considered, and puts us in a much better position before we visit suppliers. Cyber pints all round!
Now, 3 points on Saturday would round off the week nicely. Or failing that, conceding less than 2 goals for once!
If I was buying I'd get a Toyota Corolla, recently borrowed one from work (I am responsible for 600 cars). Over a 10 day period I averaged 70mpg using a tank of fuel to do a week's commute and across to Glos. and back, for Edwardstone's BBQ.
This was an estate version, so whilst less boot space, there's still ample space for most and the short run mentioned will often be undertaken in pure electric.
PHEV will do more on electric against loss of ICE MPG.
Plus one on the Corrolla. Hired one for 3 days and was impressed, great drive.
Toyota Yaris hybrid would be a good bet. It’s compact size is a big driver from reading your requirements, good solid build quality and decent reliability too.
Toyota Yaris hybrid would be a good bet. It’s compact size is a big driver from reading your requirements, good solid build quality and decent reliability too.
Do you or anyone else know much about the RAV4 in a hybrid? I’m tempted but read some comments that Toyota have ruined them etc
Someone recommended the Ford kuga to me but I think they’re only just coming out as a hybrid
I've been looking to get an electric for a couple of months now but I can't get myself to push the button as I'm nervous that in a matter of 2 years the technology will have advanced so much and they will be getting close to 1000 miles a charge.
I looked at hybrid first but was put off as a "Car person" told me that if I was to drive 150 miles to Birmingham for example, only 30 miles of that would be on electric.
[Post edited 18 Sep 2021 10:14]
“Hello, I'm your MP. Actually I'm not. I'm your candidate. Gosh.”
Boris Johnson canvassing in Henley, 2005.
Good Lord! You're letting her buy her own car!! She'll be wanting the vote next. Tell her to get back to the sink and do some work.
Mrs F is keen on electric for enviro reasons. Then yesterday, I popped back into the house to escape the sunshine, only to find that she had put on the tumble dryer!
I've been looking to get an electric for a couple of months now but I can't get myself to push the button as I'm nervous that in a matter of 2 years the technology will have advanced so much and they will be getting close to 1000 miles a charge.
I looked at hybrid first but was put off as a "Car person" told me that if I was to drive 150 miles to Birmingham for example, only 30 miles of that would be on electric.
[Post edited 18 Sep 2021 10:14]
When to take the plunge is a good point. We're also considering leasing, which might overcome the improving technology dilemma.
Based on the helpful comments above, we're now thinking electric might be a better option for us than hybrid. It really depends on what journeys she might do outside of to/from work.
When to take the plunge is a good point. We're also considering leasing, which might overcome the improving technology dilemma.
Based on the helpful comments above, we're now thinking electric might be a better option for us than hybrid. It really depends on what journeys she might do outside of to/from work.
I have looked extensively at leasing and this is the way to go.
You can get a small hybrid for £99 per month plus VAT
I like the Hyundai Ionic 5, it's amazing, but I would have to sign up for a 4 year lease whereas the more basic but still nice Kia El Niro does attractive leases over 2 years.
“Hello, I'm your MP. Actually I'm not. I'm your candidate. Gosh.”
Boris Johnson canvassing in Henley, 2005.
I've been looking to get an electric for a couple of months now but I can't get myself to push the button as I'm nervous that in a matter of 2 years the technology will have advanced so much and they will be getting close to 1000 miles a charge.
I looked at hybrid first but was put off as a "Car person" told me that if I was to drive 150 miles to Birmingham for example, only 30 miles of that would be on electric.
[Post edited 18 Sep 2021 10:14]
True but cars with lower rage batteries will still be in demand in the used market far more than the existing petrol and diesel cars. Climate change is accelerating, it isn’t going away and I can see hefty taxation coming in for petrol and diesel before 2030. Any current EV is going to be more desirable and have a better retained value in 3 years opposed to a new petrol or diesel on sale now.
I have looked extensively at leasing and this is the way to go.
You can get a small hybrid for £99 per month plus VAT
I like the Hyundai Ionic 5, it's amazing, but I would have to sign up for a 4 year lease whereas the more basic but still nice Kia El Niro does attractive leases over 2 years.
Thanks Lucan. This is much cheaper than the prices we've seen. Do you have a link for the leasing company?
When to take the plunge is a good point. We're also considering leasing, which might overcome the improving technology dilemma.
Based on the helpful comments above, we're now thinking electric might be a better option for us than hybrid. It really depends on what journeys she might do outside of to/from work.
I don't own a hybrid or electric but know a few who have hybrid company cars purely for tax reasons, but the one point they make is when using the petrol or diesel they do a lot less MPG because of the heavy batteries. I know 2 who had the same car/engine for both a non hybrid and then hybrid and said they could really see a big difference in the hybrid's MPG when it was on just petrol compared with a non hybrid - not a problem for them as the company pays for the fuel
Obviously it all depends on the number of short trips you do, I guess if a large percentage are within the miles limit of the electric engine then fine. Also don't forget with most hybrids because the chassis was designed for a petrol/diesel the batteries are placed in the boot area and nearly all hybrids have less boot space than their equivalent non hybrid.
Anyway based on the feedback of people I know who drive company hybrid car they've all said if they were buying the car they would either go non hybrid or full eclectic
This is totally in disgreement from what I have seen after buying a Hybrid in March this year. We got a Hyundai Ioniq self charginh hybrid. There is no option to use petrol or electric, but the two power sources work continuously in tandem. When you are driving in slow traffic or not putting too much demand on the engine, then it will run as an electric vehicle. When you accelerate or go uphill, then the petrol and electric will work together. The battery is charged when you are coasting or when you apply the brakes. The braking is generally done using induction rather than contact between pads and discs, so a set of brake pads will generally last about 100-200,000 miles as they rarely see any wear. There are no issues with lack of boot space as the batteries on the Ioniq are located under the rear passenger seats. Over the six months that we have had the car, we have averaged about 66mpg on a 1600 petrol engined car which I am extremely pleased with. We certainly notice that we are spending a lot less money on fuel than we did in our previous petrol only car. The Ioniq might be a bit bigger than the OPs requirements as it is more of a family car, but I would heartily recommend it to anybody considering buying hybrid.
Toyota Yaris hybrid would be a good bet. It’s compact size is a big driver from reading your requirements, good solid build quality and decent reliability too.
We've had a second hand Yaris hybrid for about 6 years. No probs at all and over 100k on the clock now.
We've had a second hand Yaris hybrid for about 6 years. No probs at all and over 100k on the clock now.
I looked at the self charging hybrid, plug in hybrid and full electric market late 2019. The self charging are a bit of a petrol saving boost. You can barely go more than half a mile with most of them, but petrol engines are pretty good at trundling along on the straight, it's acceleration that drinks the petrol. The self charge collects energy from braking and feeds that in to assist with acceleration, improving MPG significantly. The plug in can also harvest braking power but start with a fully charged battery and most can then manage 20-40 miles on pure battery. The problem is weight and cost. If you are on battery power you are lugging around a petrol engine and gearbox, if you are on petrol you are lugging around a huge battery and electric drive train. When I looked at the Volvo XC40 it was almost £12,000 more for the hybrid compared to the same spec petrol only version, ignoring the environmental impact that's around 160,000 miles before you get close to making that cost back. Pure EV - I leased a Renault Kangoo ZE for Foodbank back in March. "Only" 120 miles per charge, but we were shuttling food around from supermarket to storage location to church hall and people's houses. We put a 21KwH charger in as we had three phase power and therefore if we needed a quick tip up between runs we could. It works really well for this use case.
Hybrids and EVs can't tow very well.
TL;DR? I would have loved a RAV4 self charging hybrid, but I'm too tall for the car. I went for a "pure" petrol XC40 instead as PHEV isn't up to the hype and full EV still has some cost/range/charging infrastructure drawbacks.
Thanks Lucan. This is much cheaper than the prices we've seen. Do you have a link for the leasing company?
Certain sites are cheaper on certain cars but this place is usually either the cheapest or right up there - although strangely I got a better price from Hyundai dealer in Ipswich for the Ionic 5
The El Niro longer range was going for £244 pcm with about £1400 down, these prices are plus VAT. The beauty is that that was on a 2 year deal. I can't remember the Ionic 5 price, think it was about £360
I would check further but I'm rushed off my feet at the moment. PM me if you want further info and that will remind me
[Post edited 18 Sep 2021 16:55]
“Hello, I'm your MP. Actually I'm not. I'm your candidate. Gosh.”
Boris Johnson canvassing in Henley, 2005.
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