You're so funny!
A carbon WHATprint??
He *did* say he spends a lot of time in traffic and he wants to do his bit for the environment. Perfect choice then IMO.
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Considering downsizing my car...
- Thread starter arf9999
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He *did* say he spends a lot of time in traffic and he wants to do his bit for the environment. Perfect choice then IMO.
Fazda
Honorary Master
arf9999
MyBroadband Member
I'm the OP! And of course I care about resale value... I'm buying on a hire purchase basis - which means lease in reality. I want to terminate this "lease" early, and thus need to recover as much value as possible in order not to lose more money. Thus I want a car than can be sold at the residual HP value after 2 years based on a 4 year contract.
This is not possible on most cars, but might be on something like a Golf GTi or Mini Cooper S.
Buying a prius is like buying one of those radiation blockers for your cellphone. You think it works wonders, but everyone else seeing it thinks you are an uninformed idiot.
If you want good fuel economy, get a small petrol or diesel.
If you want good fuel economy, get a small petrol or diesel.
Tell me one car in SA that can beat a Prius' urban fuel consumption.
Urban fuel consumption is only half the picture. You need to consider the overall fuel index of the vehicle in relation to it's competition. From wikipedia:
UK's Auto Express magazine performed independent fuel efficiency tests, on public roads, on a number of hatchbacks, and in August 2007 published their list of the ten most efficient. The Prius achieved 10th place in the list, returning 41.5 miles per imperial gallon (6.81 L/100 km; 34.6 mpg-US). A Citroën C4 Coupé 1.6 HDi got 1st place with 49.6 miles per imperial gallon (5.70 L/100 km; 41.3 mpg-US).
UK's Auto Express magazine performed independent fuel efficiency tests, on public roads, on a number of hatchbacks, and in August 2007 published their list of the ten most efficient. The Prius achieved 10th place in the list, returning 41.5 miles per imperial gallon (6.81 L/100 km; 34.6 mpg-US). A Citroën C4 Coupé 1.6 HDi got 1st place with 49.6 miles per imperial gallon (5.70 L/100 km; 41.3 mpg-US).
Fazda
Honorary Master
Fuel consumption has a great deal to do with driving style as well as the types of trips that you do. My totally knackered old 96 Ford Tracer with 207 000 km under it's belt happily returns 7 l/100, similar to what I was getting on my 1.6 Polo Classic, despite all of the modern bells and whistles on the Polo.
I could get a reading of 5.0l/100 on the Polo on a gentle trip to Durban (50km), but as soon as I hit traffic the milage went up, whereas the Fazda seems to produce this figure no matter what.
It would appear that some cars are more forgiving if they are driven hard, and a Prius is one of those...very much like a diesel, you will probably get excellent consumption no matter how you drive, whereas the other "light" cars require some finesse with the right foot in order to produce those amazing figures. The Prius will probably spit out those figures no matter how badly you drive.
Actually on Top Gear (yes, I'm quoting Top Gear
) they managed to get worse fuel consumption in a Prius than in M3 when thrashing the Prius round a track.
Fazda
Honorary Master
Bit of a cherry pick there.
In most of the above the Prius came out tops. In others, the Prius is beaten by manual diesels. Two things to consider then:
a) Diesel fuel has a higher density (read more carbon) and therefore emits more CO2 per litre when burned. Also, most diesels burn dirtier than petrol cars in terms of NOx and particulate emissions. So, for now, a Prius is still cleaner overall.
b) The OP was looking for an automatic. I'd be willing to wager than an automatic C4 diesel would not have performed better in the Auto Express test.
Fazda
Honorary Master
Now be a good green politician and stop drawing people's attention to Top Gear...we are supposed to ignore all negative comments as if they didn't exist....
Thing is, a lot of the negative comments have perfectly rational and logical counter arguments.
arf9999
MyBroadband Member
My issues with the Prius as an environmental solution have more to do with the manufacturing process than the fuel economy.
oh yes, and it's ugly. Why can't Toyota and Alfa Romeo merge? Then we could have beautiful cars that don't break down.
Edit ....or ugly cars that break down all the time, I s'pose.
oh yes, and it's ugly. Why can't Toyota and Alfa Romeo merge? Then we could have beautiful cars that don't break down.
Edit ....or ugly cars that break down all the time, I s'pose.
Yeah the Prius is pretty fugly.
Don't be fooled by misinformation about its manufacturing process. Yes, it's slightly more energy intensive than a normal car to make a hybrid, but this energy cost is easily recouped over the life of the vehicle thanks to its low fuel consumption.
If you're worried about the claim that the nickel mine that Toyota gets its materials for batteries from is one of the most polluted places on earth, know this: the vast majority of nickel mined there is used in chroming. That's right, all the shiny bits on basically all other cars have caused more damage than the nickel used in Prius batteries.
Still, I can't argue with you about your opinion on its looks.
SirFooK'nG
Executive Member
I think u have your answer, go for the Mini cooper s, it fast, classic looks (probably always will be) has the best resale value of any car. You dont look like a d!k drivin one if you are 30, 40, 50 or 60! Only thing is the middle console thing sux ! but hey thats just my opinion.
+1 Chicks think it cute!
+1 Chicks think it cute!
Fazda
Honorary Master
orin76
Expert Member
Agreed
I know the OP is keen to downsize, but isn't a mini taking it to the extreme? Can you even fit golf clubs in the boot of that thing?
SirFooK'nG
Executive Member
Last edited:
thedutchman
Expert Member
or a nano
Get an Alfa Mito 1.4T.. going for 228500 new.. thats with most of the bells and whistles... and its 114kw... so not to shabby.. and fuel consumption is low 
and its a lot sexier than a mini !
only thing is.. it is an alfa.. so won't hold resale like you want. But will give you an awesome driving experience
and its a lot sexier than a mini !only thing is.. it is an alfa.. so won't hold resale like you want. But will give you an awesome driving experience