HavocXphere
Honorary Master
Nope. Biodiesel is way more expensive. Its only cheaper in some places because it gets crazy subsidies.
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Hybrid Vehicles
- Thread starter ic
- Start date
Nope. Unless a diesel engine has urea injection (like Merc's Bluetec) or a highly advanced exhaust gas recirculation system like that being pioneered by Homda (not released yet) AND a particulate filter, it will emit a lot more NOx and particulates than a petrol engine. Almost no diesels in SA have particulate filters equipped and none have urea injection or EGR. Thus, all SA diesels are a lot dirtier than petrols.
WRT reliability, the Prius has proven its reliability over the last decade. It's arguable that a turbodiesel is actually more likely to have expensive problems after about 200 000km than a hybrid. Here a new turbo (the most likely component to give trouble) is probably not much cheaper than a Prius NimH battery.
Fuel consumption of a hybrid vs a diesel will vary depending on usage. In stop start, heavy congestion motoring, it's very likely that a hybrid will have better fuel consumption than a diesel, as a lot of the time the petrol engine isn't even running.
Talking about "massive price premiums" is also a little unfair if you look how highly specced a Prius is. I actually wrote an article about this last year (bear in mind these are last year's prices):
supersunbird
Honorary Master
A inline* hybrid would be better than whatever they call the one the Prius is. Do you get a inline one on the market yet?
*Inline means that the batteries are charged when they get lowish by a fixed RPM internal combustion engine which only purpose is to keep the batteries charged and not power the car directly.
*Inline means that the batteries are charged when they get lowish by a fixed RPM internal combustion engine which only purpose is to keep the batteries charged and not power the car directly.
A series hybrid like the Chevy Volt rather than a parallel hybrid like the Prius.
Not sure if the 4 year lease thing still stands for the Prius - that goes back to 2005 from what I've seen on the net, also the current RRP for a Prius appears to be ZAR284k.
I've also seen something about a Hydrogen Cell version of the Honda Civic, but not available in SA.
I wouldn't touch a Lexus with a dead rat - even if the rat or the Lexus were green.
As far as BMWs & Mercs go, I suspect most taxi drivers learnt to drive, by watching BMW & Merc drivers straddling several lanes simultaneously.
BTW, the warranty on the Prius' battery is for 10 years, which IMO says a lot.
I've also seen something about a Hydrogen Cell version of the Honda Civic, but not available in SA.
I wouldn't touch a Lexus with a dead rat - even if the rat or the Lexus were green.
As far as BMWs & Mercs go, I suspect most taxi drivers learnt to drive, by watching BMW & Merc drivers straddling several lanes simultaneously.
BTW, the warranty on the Prius' battery is for 10 years, which IMO says a lot.
andres101
Expert Member
toyota is bringing a suv hybrid to SA soon.
there was a Audi A3 on show that used an electric motor to power the rear wheels and petrol for the front. i think they expected production models to be available sometime next year.
with regards to cost of hybrids, they will be more expensive because they have two motors and batteries are very expensive. pure electric cars might be more cost effective.
there was a Audi A3 on show that used an electric motor to power the rear wheels and petrol for the front. i think they expected production models to be available sometime next year.
with regards to cost of hybrids, they will be more expensive because they have two motors and batteries are very expensive. pure electric cars might be more cost effective.
Nocturnity
Expert Member
Just buy yourself a second-hand Honda Jazz. You'll love the car, get great mileage and have an excellent resale value 2/3/4 years down the line when there are better hybrids. Look for a decent model for around R100 000 and, seeing as you'll be doing lots of stop/start driving, I'd recommend the CVT gearbox. Either the petrol or diesel will do just fine. 
That means you can buy 2 brand new Jazz(s? How the hell do you write that?) for the price of one Prius! I can guarantee you you'll get better mileage too.
That means you can buy 2 brand new Jazz(s? How the hell do you write that?) for the price of one Prius! I can guarantee you you'll get better mileage too.
Just buy yourself a second-hand Honda Jazz. You'll love the car, get great mileage and have an excellent resale value 2/3/4 years down the line when there are better hybrids. Look for a decent model for around R100 000 and, seeing as you'll be doing lots of stop/start driving, I'd recommend the CVT gearbox. Either the petrol or diesel will do just fine.
That means you can buy 2 brand new Jazz(s? How the hell do you write that?) for the price of one Prius! I can guarantee you you'll get better mileage too.
A petrol Jazz will definitely not get better mileage in town than a Prius. Also, a Prius is a much bigger car. It's the size of a Honda Accord. Dunno if ic is looking for a small car like a Jazz or a bigger family car or if size doesn't matter.
dam
Senior Member
No, it's real. Seen a few of them on tv.
Nocturnity
Expert Member
The Jazz is actually deceptively big. I realize it's not as big as the Prius but ic is looking to buy something now and I don't think a Prius would be the best bet at the moment. Oh, and check out the (real) consumption figures of the petrol Jazz and Prius and remember to add the cost of recharging the batteries.
The Jazz is actually deceptively big. I realize it's not as big as the Prius but ic is looking to buy something now and I don't think a Prius would be the best bet at the moment. Oh, and check out the (real) consumption figures of the petrol Jazz and Prius and remember to add the cost of recharging the batteries.
My mom had a Jazz, so I'm quite familiar with them. Awesome little cars.
Bear in mind that current Priuses are not charged off the mains. The battery charges by recovering energy through braking, so you actually save money in that regard - your brake pads and discs work less in a hybrid as much of the braking power comes from the electric motor.
Looking at the SA Car magazine Web site and comparing a Jazz 1.4 i-DSI (is that diesel or petrol?) with a Prius reveals the following fuel consumption figures:
Jazz fuel consumption @ 100: 7.21
Prius fuel consumption @ 100: 5.3
Nerfherder
Honorary Master
um.. nope its not.
Its only as expensive as you make it, there are people in SA that are running their cars on used oil... thats free.
I have had this argument before, even if you make diesel out of crops its still cheaper. You can make bioDiesel out many things, waste, crops, even plants that we don't eat.
spiderz
Honorary Master
pffftt, Go full electric then!