Seems like there's more hybrids then you can shake a stick at now and days, so learn me ! which ones are fun to drive ? Just seems like a good place to start so we can all learn something new about these new class of cars .
Seems like there's more hybrids then you can shake a stick at now and days, so learn me ! which ones are fun to drive ? Just seems like a good place to start so we can all learn something new about these new class of cars .
In reply to scottdownsouth:
I've had a Civic Hybrid nearly 200k miles. It's great once you're moving, it was even a very competent autocrosser, but the acceleration is abysmally slow. Milage used to be around 45-50 but is now just under 40.
Drove a Highlander hybrid last week and got 28mpg in a truck with a ton of torque. It was a hoot. Even had torque vectoring
The 1st-gen Insight is basically a more modern CRX HF.
But most hybrids are boring commuters, short of the new NSX, i8, and the hybrid supercars.
The Lexus CT200h is fun to drive. Handles well and has excellent acceleration up to 20 mph, then falls flat. The chassis is very stiff and has independent suspension as well as a whiz bang vibration cancelling system. Gets 45-50mpg. Downside is that it costs too much. It fixes most of the complaints about the Prius (handles better, looks better, better stereo, better interior, quieter, better lights, nice wheels and tires), but at a price.
In general hybrids make a lot of sense if you commute/drive in city traffic more than 50-60 miles /day. If you commute less, get a Volt and if you commute lots of highway then get a diesel or gas car will a small efficient 4 cylinder.
I think if I had to buy a new DD it would be a Lexus CT200h. Little bit of luxury, fuel economy, reliability, and practicality. I don't have a daily commute but I could see the CT200h being real nice on my many weekend vacation trips. Used ones with 30k miles or so fall in 18-20k.. that's like a price of a new corolla.
Question is.. Does the CT200H fit a big bike in the trunk?
Coldsnap wrote: Question is.. Does the CT200H fit a big bike in the trunk?
It would be best to test fit your bike. The hatch area is not that large and definitely smaller than a Prius or Matrix/Vibe. My wife has a large cruiser type bike and the handle bars would not fit. Thule roof rack fixed the bike carrying issue.
Note: The CT delivered 6.1l/110km (39 mpg) with a bike and full ski box on the roof plus 4 passengers and a dog.
In reply to scottdownsouth: VW also makes a new Jetta hybrid, so there's a good aftermarket, plus, you can buy Jetta GLI suspension parts, too. The other hybrids like the Prius, Accord, Camry, Altima, etc. will likely need aftermarket suspension parts (maybe even custom), especially for the rear. Also, the older Prius and Civic hybrids are getting pretty cheap ~$5,000, so most of us can go that route for a DD.
teslas are fun to drive
My girlfriend had a 2006 Civic Hybrid with the CVT. I'd avoid that setup, the CVT always shuddered and when she sold it her mechanic who only worked on hybrids said "good move."
It drove nicely, but the trans was not stellar, and frankly, neither was the MPG.
Volt is EV, hybrid, ICE all in one...pretty good
The Volt and CT200h are the GRM picks for fun with good mileage it seems, with the 2g Prius and original Insight being the bang for the buck commuter choices.
Unfortunately the CR-Z is basically a worse Fit, otherwise it would have a lot more fans here; it looks cool but is heavier, less practical and gets worse gas mileage in many situations than a Fit, in addition to having much more severe depreciation.
The Lexus 450h is a good car too if you are looking for something more lux and larger. The mileage is good for what it is, but it is not the ultimate in hypermiling.
Used Volt, preferably the 2013 model. Cheap these days.
Im going to bring up the Lexus HS250h because noone ever does. They have a lot of resale value but i think they are neat. 1g Camry Hybrid setup in what's effectively a Scion TC sedan, so it's punchier than a CT200h (but much less stylish i guess) and has a nice mix of the luxury of the larger cars with mpg closer to the Prius/CT200.
Vigo wrote: Im going to bring up the Lexus HS250h because noone ever does. They have a lot of resale value but i think they are neat. 1g Camry Hybrid setup in what's effectively a Scion TC sedan, so it's punchier than a CT200h (but much less stylish i guess) and has a nice mix of the luxury of the larger cars with mpg closer to the Prius/CT200.
I test drove one of these once with Mrs. Aspen when we were shopping the CT. Wow, it is the worst handling car I have ever drive. It was like the steering wheel was barely connected to the car. A Buick Park Avenue would be more spritely. Both of us just said yuck and nope. The acceleration was OK but it was not really all that nice inside and nothing could make up for the terrible ride and handling.
There is a reason why Lexus sold about 2 of them. The ES300h drives much better.
My '03 Civic Hybrid has been the most expensive $1000 beater I've ever owned.
and why ?
look into the Ford Cmax. rebates last time I checked rang in around 7500 bucks. Also, its reviewed as being more fun to drive than most hybrids. Not that its saying much.
correction, just checked the configure page on ford.com. Cmax Energi (the plug in one) has 10,257 dollars in incentives...on a msrp of 32k.
scottdownsouth wrote: and why ?
I wrote a thread about it here:
Aspen wrote: Wow, it is the worst handling car I have ever drive. It was like the steering wheel was barely connected to the car. A Buick Park Avenue would be more spritely.
Well, considering it's a used car on an enthusiast forum at this point, i'll just reply with this.
Also, to be clear, i agree with you that i wouldn't have bought one new. There are exactly 0 new cars that i think will depreciate that i'm willing to buy new.
The easy button if you want something that is still practical is just buy a Prius and do a few suspension mods.
Its hatch is larger and more functional than the Volt, CT, etc. Also it weighs less than the CT200h, so it not only gets better mileage, its faster too.
I would avoid Hondas with the CVT, which is most of them except for 1g Insight and Civic Hybrid.
1st gen Priuses have a few minor reliability concerns, 2g and onward are stupid reliable and will probably all run until there is no more oil to fuel them.
Some of the big Toyota/Lexus Hybrids are total luxo-sleepers in an awesome way.
Another vote for Volt. They are pretty zippy to drive, one of the better looking hybrid/EVs out there and are surprisingly reliable. I work for a GM dealer and we haven't seen any really major issues, just tires and oil changes. GM really did their homework with these.
ProDarwin wrote: ... 1st gen Priuses have a few minor reliability concerns, 2g and onward are stupid reliable and will probably all run until there is no more oil to fuel them...
Nice. I just said something similar about a coworker's Ford Fusion, after he said something about my F150 using up all the oil. I said "So you rather have that oil burning in a power plant to run a steam engine to run a generator to recharge your car." Yes.
Well, it IS generally more efficient that way. If we could convert all our transportation fueling from being burned IN cars to being burned in power plants to power EVs we'd be more efficient overall. I think a lot of people are dubious of that, which is a problem.
Ok, this thread is relevant to my interest.
I'm averaging 150 miles a day, mostly rural, some city stop and go, some interstate.
Is this where the hybrid shines? Or is it more for all stop and go? Average speeds are 45-65 for the majority of miles.
I'm looking for max mpg, and the least amount of soul sucking appliance. And bottom of the depreciation curve.
So, second gen prius with suspension tweaking?
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