i rode in a hybrid today. its amazing. 52 miles per gallon! fit and fisnish is nice and tight with no rattles what so ever! i wish vw would turn on their thinking caps a little more often and try to steal some of this segment. will i switch to a hybrid? no way! i think i like my big gas guzzlers!

I suspect that if the climate change pressure groups get their way then the cost of your gas will increase dramatically like its done here. You may feel diffently about the larger engine sizes. If its only the performance thats the issue then if you can get 0-60 in <7 secs do you care if its only a 1.4 litre engine? (I wish). Gas guzzlers are not popular over here unless you have deep pockets.

I can add something useful to this as I actually own a Prius.... The wife mainly uses it, but it helps offset my 2.0 T-FSI!! ;)

It's a pretty nice car as it happens.. I do enjoy driving it very much....

Well Bugger!
Over the next few years, I think a lot of Americans will change their tune about high efficiency cars. Gas is approximately two times more expensive in the UK. The US is NOT self sufficient for oil, as the US dollar continues to decline on world markets the price of gas in in the US must go up big time! Here in Canada, we have huge oil reserves and are now self sufficient, but we still pay about 25% more than you do for gas? Hang on, because over the next decade you will be looking at gas prices similar to the UK, and/or looking at alternatives! Cheers!

100% Agree!

well fellas? i wonder where vw stands on this issue? could there be a golf or jetta hybrid?

Personally, I would leave something as complex as a Hybrid to the Japanese! ;)

good point Simon!!

Well, if VW doesn't work on hybrid technology, they will get left in the shadows of those major world manufacturers that do. VW's original mission was to provide "the people's car" and if they don't successfully go after this technology (or other equivalent efficiency advancements) they no longer will be able to fulfill this mission!

sure nuff!!!!

Hybrids ? Have a read of this on Pistonheads.

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=16862

I think the Polo BlueMotion is somewhat more economical than the Prius. 70.6 mpg combined cycle VW claim.

Hybrid - 52mpg

My Honda Accord Exec Tourer - 50 mpg average over 107,000 miles. If I am gentle I can get 56mpg and it is way bigger than a Prius.

A political gesture to the greens. Hydrogen is the same (how do you make the hydrogen!)

Why do Lexus do large hybrids . . . . . . . . gets the millionaire bankers off the congestion charge in central London!

Is a Lexus 4x4 hybrid really a GREEN car? A fiat Panda diesel is the greenest 4x4 you can buy!

Overall a waste of resopurces - a good marketing tool for Toyota/Lexus as can be seen from their adverts in National Georaphic.

Guys,

2 Things:

1) Hybrid is about emmisions and not MPG
2) Compare the size of the Polo to the size of the Prius!

I think people are not seeing what the Hybrid concept is all about.. When my prius is at the lights, then engine is OFF.... Therefore 0 emmisions! Which is less than my old near 100mpg smart car!

Regarding the Lexus LARGE hybrid, you're right, it's still a guzzler, but for people who would otherwise have to be in a 5 ltr Range Rover, it much more green!!

Please don't be upset with me for being a bit blunt, but it's all about being relative...

Emmissions are the same as MPG - just measured in a different way. Any fuel you put in (C, H and O) comes out of the exhaust as C, CO, CO2, H2O etc. so they are just measuring different parts of the same process. More emissions (CO per mile) generally means lower MPG because you have to burn more fuel to get more emissions!

Or does a Hybrid store some of the CO in produces in combustion rather than exhausing it into the atmosphere? And the 52mpg is an average taking into account the periods where the engine is not running!

If you want a low emission vehicle get a true battery car (there have been battery cars capable of replacing 90% of the UKs cars available for 20 years but the market does not like them). Most Prius' I see are doing 70mph on the motorway and doing than they will get far less than 52 mpg and are wasting energy by hauling a huge battery around. Having one might ease your consience but it is almost certainly bad for the planet.

Even at 52mpg their emissions are higher than say a Megan or Astra diesel which does far less long term harm to the environment.

Hybrids are nothing more than a good marketing excercise.

When my prius is at the lights, then engine is OFF....
I walked past a parked Prius yesterday and its engine was running. Would it do that if the battery was low or the heater was on ? I was nearly run over by one a few months ago when it sneaked up on me silently.

it will keep on the engine if the hybrid battery SOC is low and it needs chargine. The air conditioner is electric and not engine driven also which is good for economy.

Also, when you swith it off, it pumpt all the coolant into a thermos type device which keeps it hot for up to three days. When you start the engine again, this already hot coolant is used to preheat the engine as it is least efficient when it is cold.

all these different new fangled technologies are making my head spin!!

If you guys like excess check this---http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/hybrid/112_0707_porsche_cayenne_hybrid/

link does not funtion:D

link does not funtion:D
Yes it does .... just be sure to select from the start of www without the dashes in front of it.

oh. i guess i am a bit lazy on saturdays!!! lol!!!! :p