Just wondered who has had good or bad experiences of hybrid cars? I use low mileage per year, which is mainly city driving. ChatGPT is advising me to go for hybrid. Apparently Toyota are industrial leaders. It has picked out a Toyota Corolla as I need to get golf clubs in, and they have the battery under the seat (rather than the boot)
Great, brilliant for everything really. Other than this stupid new incoming tax and the extra cost to buy, could not think of a single good reason not to have one.
Are you thinking of a mild hybrid or PHEV? I changed to a PHEV a few months ago and it takes a bit of getting used to but, overall, I quite like it. Pay no attention to either the claimed MPG or the estimated electric only range as they are completely inaccurate. Mine says I should get around 40 miles on a full charge but, in reality, I'll get around 20 - 25 depending on the temperature. That being said, it's good how much regenerated power is captured back into the battery on braking/decelerating. The only big problem now is the ridiculous decision to charge 1.5p per mile on PHEV's from 2028 (if it ever does apply), Because there is only a small electric range it means that, on a long run, you will be paying tax on the petrol used plus additional pay per mile tax too. I can understand the charge on EV's but it really doesn't make sense on a hybrid and I expect a lot of push back over the coming months as it really means purchasing a PHEV is just not worth it unless you plan to do very low mileage and short trips.
Mine has 40 mile range too and I definitely get that doing rural and town driving during dry warm weather. When it’s really cold and icy the battery is just a boost to mpg really, basically just running off the engine anyway.
Thinking mild hybrid. Are you referring to the 1.5 p per mile? Does that include ‘milds’? To be honest the amount of miles I do will be less than £50 per year
No that doesn’t include mild and mild hybrid is more gimmicky really it’s basically just a petrol car so don’t worry about it. I would recommend a PHEV 100% if you can budget for it.
They do, it’s an extra duty on electric miles. Problem is, anyone who does any more than use it for pottering to the shops is probably using 75% petrol, so on 75% of your mileage you’re paying duty twice (on both the fuel and electricity).
Being honest and without getting political (no intention of), I suspect pay per mile will be introduced for all vehicles in the next decade. They will test it with EV's and PHEV's first but it'll be brought in across the board at some point. It's just a nightmare thinking how it'll be administered. Listening to Reeves yesterday I don't think she even knew that new cars don't have a MOT for the first three years, even though she expects the MOT to confirm the annual mileage.
I have a hybrid purely for BIK tax reasons, if you're paying for it yourself then it all depends on how many miles you plan on doing, if you will have a charger at home etc. if you get a plug in and can do most your milage on elec only then they may be worth it. If you won't plug in at home or do a lot of miles then stay clear
There is no road tax. It is VED and goes into general taxation, Up to 1937 road tax was ring fenced exclusively for building and maintaining the roads. Nothing pedantic about stating FACTS.
I’ve had a Toyota Corolla since 2019, absolutely love it. Very quiet, great handling, and if you drive properly in urban conditions can easily get around 65mpg. Steady motorway driving I get 55-65 mpg. Features onboard are excellent, even better since I got mine.
I have a Toyota YarisX - it's a hybrid but not plug in, our third hybrid and we get on fine with them, decent return on mpg (mid to upper 60s). Next one will be the same.
