| Archive for The Motor Forum talking cars since 2006 |
| Colin |
The ultimate forum Road Test....See http://www.themotor.net/index.php...unc=view&catid=13&id=2174 for my latest Road Test.I did wonder if this would be deemed too sacrilegious a test to publish, but thought you should all know what I thought! |
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| BeN |
So I've noticed.
At least you're brave enough! 
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| Dr. Hfuhruhurr |
I've never seen why people have such an issue with the Prius: once again, people are judging a car by its perceived owner profile rather than on its own merits. Therefore I was interested to read your report. It occurs to me that the problems with performance and economy have more to do with its CVT transmission (hateful things!) than its hybrid powertrain. That said, it's obviously a work-in-progress, and hopefully a step on the way to better such vehicles, maybe with electric drive, using the petrol engine as a booster and charger. | ||
| Mark |
I don't mind the Prius either. It's not the answer to the worlds problems, isn't worth the money (IMO) but I'm sure there's worse around. I suppose the 'A list' celeb bollocks doesn't help, either.
However, I would mind if the hire company gave me the keys, tried to get me to drive away in one and charged me money. Fuck that... |
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| Guitar Zero |
In the case of the Prius, I think the negative image is more than justified because you would have to be a prize twat to buy one. Ignorant film star saving the world bollox aside, if you buy a Prius you are choosing to ignore the following pieces of crucial information.
1) You cannot possibly stop climate change by substituting every new car sold for a Prius, so buying one is a waste of time. 2) The incremental environmental impact from making a hybrid in lieu of a normal car will more than offset the claimed saving from buying one in the first place. 3) Hybrids are no more economical than equivalent diesels. 4) If you truly want to save the planet - cut your nuts off and then kill yourself - never a father nor consumer be ! |
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| Rodge |
5) Any savings to the planet by purchasing a Prius are offset by other motorists changing down and revving their engines out of spite. I don't like the Prius because of the image of your typical driver- smug eco-git. If I want a good car that will save the world, I'll buy a BMW with an efficient dynamics engine. At least that way, I get to have fun too. Prejudices aside, my M3 driving mate rented a prius for his hols in the south of France last year and he was impressed with it, mainly because their driving was mostly urban. However, I applaud Colin for testing one. I've often been curious as to what a petrol head (other than my mate) would think of one of these over an extended time. Now I know that although the tech involved is quite good, it's still a long way off being a car I want. I'll stick with my carbon creating German saloon. At least it was kinder to the environment in it's creation. |
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| Dr. Hfuhruhurr |
Am I the only one to have a bit of a chuckle at these two statements together? 
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| simonp |
I forgot to put this in the spotted section but I saw a Prius taxi the other day! | ||
| TimR |
Have any of the car mags ever done a proper test comparing the Pious with an equivalent diesel?
Anyway I have a feeling the Pious is worse for the environment than a normal car. A couple of years ago I saw some photos of the land around the mine where the stuff for the battery (I beleive that's the correct technical phrase  ) is extracted and it looked like a nuclear bomb had been dropped on it.
When you factor in the emissions of all the shipping costs (and all costs related to that extra demand) a more locally produced high emission car will probably be just as polluting.* * I have no figures to back up this piece of wild speculation. |
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| Giant |
Clarkson made the same point in the Sunday Times this week saying a 'locally grown' Range Rover TDV8 is more environmentally friendly than extracting Nickel (the stuff ) from mines in Canada shipping it to Scandinavia to make batteries which then get shipped to Japan to get bolted in to the car then shipped back the UK for sale.
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| Gooner |
One of our bosses is an eco-nut and had a Pious as his last company car and was rather annoyed when he learnt the environmental cost of their production and how nasty the batteries are. He's now got a Passat Bluemotion.
The theory behind the Hybrid does make sense but in their current form I'm not convinced. The Chevrolet Volt might be a better solution as in theory it's engine should only ever be working as hard as the motors need it to to provide power. This is how most modern Diesel locomotives have worked for years so I'm surprised no-one thought about it before. |
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| scamper |
In a half hearted attempt to defend the car, what Clarkson fails to mention is that nickel is used in other car components and the mine in Canada supplies a substantial percentage of the worlds supply - and therfore i presume for other cars. Furthermore, nickel is valuable and thus recycled as far as possible. Regarding the mine, it was a disaster zone, but the damage is historical and today it will no doubt have to meet strict environmetnal criteria to operate. | ||
| Racing |
The Prius seems to be a popular taxi in Milan, though the way the average Milanese taxi driver drives, the petrol motor seems to be permanently engaged thus rendering the whole shebang slightly pointless.
Can't get the test page to load for some reason. |