Toyota Prius, just what is the point!
It's no secret I've never been a fan of the whole Hybrid thing, in my opinion it's a huge environmental con job especially when you look at the whole operation to mine the ore needed for the batteries and what what to do with them at the end of their life.
Well over the last couple of weeks I've had the misfortune to have one as a hire car and it has done nothing to disprove my misgivings.
That said the interior is a reasonably nice place to be and that is about the only nice to thing to say about it.
When it comes to actually driving it the only time the batteries do the driving is when it's reversing, you only have think about accelerating and the 1.8ltr petrol engine cuts in, this coupled with a automatic gearbox that sends the engine revs soaring with no discernible increase in speed means over the 2 weeks I have been driving the car I have seen a best of 45mpg when driving so slowly it was almost embarrassing to about 35mpg when driving as I would normally, all this has been done with it supposedly in Eco mode, that is the engine stopping when you lift off the accelerator and when waiting at traffic lights etc. I genuinely can't see why it even has the battery pack as the engine is running 95% of the time when you are moving.
These figures are easily achieved and beaten by the plethora of uneco-friendly small Turbo Diesels we have available in the UK (and even when I'm in the mood and driving like Miss Daisy in my 04 2.5 Z4), which don't need Lithium Ore transporting backwards and forwards across the planet.
Has anyone else any experience of these things?
Am I missing something about them?
It's no secret I've never been a fan of the whole Hybrid thing, in my opinion it's a huge environmental con job especially when you look at the whole operation to mine the ore needed for the batteries and what what to do with them at the end of their life.
Well over the last couple of weeks I've had the misfortune to have one as a hire car and it has done nothing to disprove my misgivings.
That said the interior is a reasonably nice place to be and that is about the only nice to thing to say about it.
When it comes to actually driving it the only time the batteries do the driving is when it's reversing, you only have think about accelerating and the 1.8ltr petrol engine cuts in, this coupled with a automatic gearbox that sends the engine revs soaring with no discernible increase in speed means over the 2 weeks I have been driving the car I have seen a best of 45mpg when driving so slowly it was almost embarrassing to about 35mpg when driving as I would normally, all this has been done with it supposedly in Eco mode, that is the engine stopping when you lift off the accelerator and when waiting at traffic lights etc. I genuinely can't see why it even has the battery pack as the engine is running 95% of the time when you are moving.
These figures are easily achieved and beaten by the plethora of uneco-friendly small Turbo Diesels we have available in the UK (and even when I'm in the mood and driving like Miss Daisy in my 04 2.5 Z4), which don't need Lithium Ore transporting backwards and forwards across the planet.
Has anyone else any experience of these things?
Am I missing something about them?
) to act like a c0ck and so have some warning through learned behaviour. I am constantly being taken by surprise, and quite frankly it is quite ruining my view of being environmentally friendly :x 
Usa