Would a hybrid suit my driving style?

The lips

Hi,

I am looking to change my wifes car soon, currently in a Corolla hatch.

She like the auris, I would like to try the hybrid but I am unsure if my wife would get the benefit of it.

A little over 10k miles a year, mainly B roads(80km/h max limit), the odd motorway sprint some about town driving.

Its definitely not going to be a city car in constant stop/start traffic.

As we live in the midlands we are struggling to get one to test drive 131 - 142, should this be indicative of the benefit for the areas roads or are people just slow to adopt?

I will end up importing from the UK myself.

My question, driven like a normal auto, no pulse and glide etc would this be a better choice or simply go for the 1.33 petrol model?

Scottie99

From what I've read your wife is a perfect candidate for an EV. Low daily mileage, low speed and a two car family.

Soarer

My wife hasn't a clue how to drive our Prius properly, and she always averages over 50mpg.

The lips

Thanks for the responses guys, I may get out there and drive more of them so.

I am interested to know how the CVT gearbox sounds at cruising speed of 80km/h, reviews have pointed out a noisy spot.

I see this as a stepping stone to an EV for my wife in another 3 or so years or me if the technology is there to complete my 170km daily round trip and some.

grogi

The lips wrote: »

Thanks for the responses guys, I may get out there and drive more of them so.

I am interested to know how the CVT gearbox sounds at cruising speed of 80km/h, reviews have pointed out a noisy spot.

I see this as a stepping stone to an EV for my wife in another 3 or so years or me if the technology is there to complete my 170km daily round trip and some.

Don't know why, but all Pri reviews seemed biased. I never found the Prius particularly laud.

Cruising at 80 you will not hear the engine, it will have 1400-1500 rpm.

If you boot it, the revs will go up, even to the red if pushed down to the metal.

A MK II prius makes a loud whine when hard accelerating, MK III has much more sound proofing and a stronger engine so it doesn't need to rev so much, but compared to the sound of a diesel..................

Anyway, a 141 Nissan Leaf sounds good. I drive 30,000 odd kms a year, 45,000 in 1.5 years driven.

You won't want to drive a hybrid or anything with an engine again. 2 cars in the house, perfect.

I drive 135 Kms daily, I do have a work charge point but had to charge for 9 months daily for 8 mins and that got me home with about 20% to spare.

Leaf is a great car, the SV or especially top spec SVE is the one to get. Guaranteed your Wife would love getting in to a fully warmed up car in the morning using the timer controlled heating, fully defogged/defrosted windscreen, heated steering and seats (SVE spec)

The Hybrid is also good for your Wife's driving needs but really do consider EV , they're so much better. Hybrids should have been everywhere 10-15 years ago, long story.........

TBi

One thing to remember is that the hybrid will have lower service and repair costs compared to a regular petrol/diesel.

I had the new prius for a 2 day test drive recently and it really impressed me.

September1

I think I get in my Prius usually about 47 mpg or 6l/100km in my car, just to give you warning amounts displayed on dashboard are a big exaggerated. I do not think that consumption makes it cheaper than diesel equivalent with manual gearbox, but even if it did - at low mileage, it may not make sense to spend more if it would be not covered by road tax and fuel savings.

At 80km/h car is very quiet and even at 160km/h I did not find it particularly noisy. Unless you move from LEAF then car is very quiet and CVT is pleasant to drive. It does initially feel wrong as engine noise does not react that much to gas pedal, but it is still quite zippy vehicle.

grogi

September1 wrote: »

I think I get in my Prius usually about 47 mpg or 6l/100km in my car, just to give you warning amounts displayed on dashboard are a big exaggerated.

Consumption wise is efficient - but diesel might be more economical, especially on a motorway.

Service is sooo much cheaper on a Prius though - at 120kkm I still was on original break pads for instance...

September1

I had to change pads at 45kkm - I think previous owner is too blame, as in LEAF I never had to change them. I think many Prius users adjust driving style but compare economy to regular driving style of regular cars. If driven carefully you can get insane results in regular cars.

I don't know how you managed 6.0L/100 kms September1, No matter how hard I drove the Prius I never got below 5.5 L/100 kms.

My main average was 4.5 Summer to 4.8L/100kms Summer. Measured at the pump and I found the dash reading to be pretty accurate.

A lot of people keep resetting the trip computer but this is not going to be accurate (not saying you were doing this) Best thing to do is not reset the trip computer until the next fill up.

After 45,000 kms on the Leaf there is no notable wear in the pads or disks but it will use the brakes a lot more if you regularly require more braking then the 30 Kw regen can provide.