Hybrid vehicle update
In mid-2006 we looked at hybrid technology, its place in the market and where it was headed. Two years on, the theory behind hybrid vehicles hasn’t changed, but has the technology? We decided it was time for an update.
The escalating price of oil has meant car manufacturers have been forced to try and make cars more fuel efficient. Of course, while this doesn’t mean their entire focus has been on fuel efficiency and its alternatives – evidenced by the launch of the Hummer H3 in Australia, and new, thirsty Commodore and Falcon ranges – the world has adopted a ‘green’ attitude to almost everything, motor vehicles included, and hybrids, most notably Toyota’s Prius, have been widely promoted as the way of the future. With the price of petrol only going up, they may well be!
Hybrid technology
Hybrid technology has improved in recent years – not greatly, but new ideas on refinement are in development.
The third generation Toyota Prius is on the way. It will debut at the Detroit Motor Show in 2009 and has a 1.8 litre engine (larger than the current model) delivering 100bhp but with 12 per cent improved fuel consumption.
Battery technology is on the improve with researchers in Australia having created what could be called a lead-acid battery on steroids, capable of performing as well as the nickel/metal hydride systems, found in most hybrid cars, at a much lower cost. This battery combines the traditional 150 year old lead acid battery with super capacitors – electronic devices that can quickly absorb and release large bursts of energy over millions of cycles without significant degradation. As a result the battery may last up to 4 times longer than conventional lead/acid batteries and cost 25 per cent less to produce than existing hybrid battery packs. These batteries were tested in the United Kingdom earlier this year and found to be in perfect condition after 100,000 miles on a test track.
At the moment consumers can expect to pay up to $5000 for a replacement battery pack. However with this new technology a hybrid owner will pay around $1000, depending on demand volume. This in itself makes owning a hybrid vehicle a much more appealing and long-term option.
There are also great advances being made with the lithium ion battery which is lighter, stronger and more compact than the nickel metal hydride batteries currently used.
Hybrids in Australia
The number of hybrids available locally is increasing.
• Currently available are –
o Honda Civic
o Toyota Prius
o Lexus RX400H
o Lexus GS450H
o Lexus LS600H
• Hyundai are looking at bringing a hybrid vehicle to Australia that runs partly on battery and partly on LPG. This system is up and running in Korea, with great cost savings for the consumer. (Bear in mind that excise will be placed on LPG in 2011, rising to 12.5 cents per litre by 2015.)
• Toyota recently announced it will be manufacturing a hybrid version of the Camry in Australia with support from the Federal Government.
However, even though Toyota recently reached a million Prius sales worldwide (the first and most successful mass-produced petrol/electric hybrid), only 9,300 of those were in Australia. Relatively poor sales may be because the technology is seen as eccentric, they’re not viewed as cost-effective or long waiting lists have put off potential buyers.
Do you drive a hybrid? What do you like and/or dislike about it? Do you intend to buy one in the near future and if so what and why?
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June 18th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I drive a Honda Civic Hybrid and find that the 1.3L engine is sufficient and still returns 5.6-6.2 L/100km depending on whether I run the airconditioner. Sure it doesn’t have the pull of a commodore V6 but it is more than adequate to maintain highway speeds and has all of the luxuries that the top of the line Prius has for 10K less. The only shortcoming is that boot space is restricted because of the battery pack. I can live with that. I’d rather be filling my hybrid tank these days than any other equivalent size car including the “new Camry Hybrid” which in recent US tests returned just under 9L/100km.
June 18th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I couldn’t afford a Lexus anything and with 4 kids, the Prius and Civic are too small. Yes, I know shame on me for overpopulating the planet…
June 18th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
with the amount of gas in oz .why would anybody pay heaps more for o/seas technology and get a the extra bother.lpg was the answer with the first oil shock it still is.sleepers awake
June 18th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I originally looked at a Prius, but when all factors were taken into account the Golf diesel came out on top. The Prius had only marginally better fuel economy, and that plummeted when the air cond was turned on. Battery replacement costs at the time were also astronomical. I think the fundamental design of hybrids is wrong – the current crop are just modified production cars. I haven’t googled ‘hypercars’ for quite some time, but the last time I looked the most efficient designs had a car fully powered by batteries. A small highly efficient IC engine operating within a narrow rev range driving a generator kept these topped up. There were electric motors in each wheel, and under braking the wheels charged the batteries. With lightweight bodies, economy should be better than 2lt/100km. That would be a real hybrid!
June 18th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
One of the reasons I believe Prius hasn’t sold more cars in Australia is because of the waiting time. When I bought mine I placed the order at the beginning of November and it was delivered at the end of January. Not everyone is prepared to wait like that.
Understandably, Toyota has concentrated on meeting the demand from the US market, and Australia has been getting a very limited quantity.
June 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I would buy a diesel before a hybrid.
Toyota should have made their decision much earlier, while we still only had the dirty diesel.
Most informed consumers now know that new diesels are great and efficient.
I think there should be a method to encourage fuel efficiency, by tax reduction or toll / rego benefits.
June 18th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
The current hybrid solution is not really a solution at all.
It still uses a high %age of fossil fuel and the vehicle is very expensive to produce.
A far better solution would be to develop a vehicle that runs on 100% ethanol that can be produced cheaply.
Brazil now is self sufficient as far as fuel is concerned, using a blend of 85% ethanol!
If the Brazilians can do it, why can’t we?
June 18th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I am in the market for a new small car. I want it to have a future in case I keep it for 5 years plus. It will not be a diesel because they are dirty, rattle, fuel is sticky and ruins clothes, and there is no cost advantage. Only if I wanted to travel long distance on a single tank. Hybrids are not there yet but will develop so rapidly in the next 2 or 3 years that any car bought now will be quite worthless in comparison. So that leaves a conventional but modern and lightweight hatch in the Corolla/Golf class. Simply they are easy to own, and do not cost that much more in fuel over mixed distances (hybrids have no special advantage outside town) It is a boring answer but the latest lightweight small cars are a logical answer.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I won’t be getting a hybrid. The Prius is about 2 x the price of a Corolla — extremely bad value in my book. I myself have a diesel. I reckon that bio-diesel is the way to go. I also know that you can get a conversion kit to run diesels on part LPG. The system was being promoted at Ag-Quip 2 years ago. I wonder if this comes in for a government subsidy?
June 19th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Well….hybrid cars: why do people consider them? Main reasons:
1. Fuel economy and
2. Environmental factor.
The Fiat 500 is lowest rated fuel user in Australia, followed by its bigger brother the Punto (currently from under $20,000 drive away). Also, there is the Citroen C3 diesel, the Mercedes Smart car, and a whole host of other lower consumption vehicles.
And from an environmental factor, the Advertiser newspaper (Adelaide) published the reults of a study as to the environmental cost of life of a vehicle: Including manufacture, fuel consumption, servicing and basically every aspect of the cars life….and the two vehicles that produced the lowest output of c02 were the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Cherokee…..with the Holden Barina at 14, and the Toyota Prius below 40!!!!
OK, so you say it is the best for its size on fuel consumption…the Cirtroen C3 is similar size, with lower consumption, and far better on the hip pocket and resale value! Or the Holden Astra and Ford Focus diesel vehicles….half the price, with 25% more fuel consumption, better resale, and did I mention the price of parts and servicing???
The issues with hybrid vehicles will continue to be value for money, performance and resale value…i feel that hydrogen and low usage, high power and torque diesel motors will be the short term focus, becuase they can provide value for money. Furthermore, advancements in transmissions will be at the forefront, particually with locally built vehicles.
A Holden Commodore with a 5 or 6 cylinder common rail turbo diesel paired with a 6 speed auto trans would sell well…as long as they can keep the fuel consumption below 8 L/100km….this will provide the “Australian Car” for city and country use, good fuel economy and all the safety features. The only issue with this would be that you would have to have the RRP $39,990 or thereabouts to compete with Falcon.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:44 am
I have owned and driven a Honda Civic Hybrid for the past 11 months and I am very happy with it. I have halved my fuel bill and for the price I paid I chose technology over leather seats, a sunroof and other Sports modifications. There are more factors to consider than just fuel, less emmisions etc etc. Wait time was one week after ordering, thought it may take a month, not sure the current times. This is our second Honda (previous CRV) and we can’t fault it for efficiency and smooth driving.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:37 am
We’ve owned a Prius (base model) now for two years and wouldn’t swap it. Downsizing from a Berlina was a joy. The Prius is light and nimble, frugal, a dream to reverse park with or without sensors and surprisingly roomy inside. It’s not for everyone, especially those with big families or lots of possessions to cart around, but the Prius is ideal for us. My wife, dog and I travel a couple of times a month from Central Sydney to our property on the NSW mid-north coast and space has never been a problem; only once did the dog have to share the split-fold rear seat with cargo. Around town and at high freeway speeds our Prius uses more fuel than the claimed 4.1l/100km and you have to play with the aircon in summer to get a comfortable temperature without pushing up consumption (which is true of all cars), but in the ‘burbs on good roads and out of peak hour I’ve often achieved less than 4.1l/100km. Resale values are still great (sorry about the waiting time), battery life is not an issue for us for at least another eight years and new battery technologies will provide an answer by then.
And while the Prius is more expensive that ordinary cars to buy, the cutting-edge technology and exceptional build quality have to come at a price.
Maybe a diesel hybrid would be cheaper but probably not by much; I’m paying almost $1.90 for diesel for my farm machinery.
And on the matter of running costs, when I first got my Prius I calculated petrol would need to reach $1.50 before the (then) lease payments became economical. At $1.70 I’m ahead of the game. By $2 or $2.50 it’ll be game over.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Why buy an odd looking Prius when many diesel versions of ‘normal’ looking cars are equally efficient. Especially the European cars which have very good modern diesel engines.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Yes, I would buy a hybrid. However the price has not really made them attractive to our family. I would consider buying one for myself to drive around in if the price reduced.
Perhaps if the federal government were really concerned in helping the planet they should have given the average family a subsidy to purchase one. I believe Toyota were not too excited about the grant they received saying they did not need a grant. It might have been better to subsidize the sale price so the average Australian family could afford to buy the cars. It would be a great help to save on petrol consumption and help thereby helping inflation and the environment.
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:05 am
From start of manufacture and before the hybrid has left the showroom, the hybrid has already consumed a larger carbon footprint than the life of a equivalent sized “normal” petrol car. The manufacture of the hybrid batteries (whether their lead-acid, Lithium-ion or Nickel Metal-Hydride) is costly for both the environment and the manufacture of it. I am pleased that there are hybrids out on the roads and it brings awareness to the public on fuel-efficiency. At least car companies are now thinking about fuel efficiency and emissions. However, at this stage the hybrid will not cause any dents in the World fuel usage and decreasing carbon outputs.
I drive a VW Passat diesel wagon. It weighs 1.5 tonnes yet it regularly gets 6.5l/100Km in hilly suburban driving. Out in the country loaded with family of four and all of our clothing, food and sports equipment for a week at the snow, it managed to do the round trip from Sydney to Thredbo on one tank. And it could overtake slow cars uphill with ease.
June 25th, 2008 at 1:23 am
What if we were able to conserve gasoline consumption by have a national 3-4 day work week. Bet that would help ease the crunch.
June 25th, 2008 at 11:45 am
The major cost of a new car is depreciation. This becomes less important the longer you keep the car. With diesel costing up to 7% more than 91 octane petrol and the cars being around 10% more expensive to buy they need to use fell fuel. Cars will continue to be bought on a personal basis – fuel consumption is not an issue for a large part of the population. Where a manufacturer offers a more powerful motor for a little more money most will pay the extra because driving is a way of life in Australia enjoyed by many.
June 26th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Wasn’t the Honda Insight the first mass produced hybrid?? (not Prius as stated in the article). Insight still has the lowest consumption of all the hybrids I understand
July 4th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I have owned several Priuses after many years of owning Commodores. The Prius is a pleasure to drive and has a better resale value than Holdens and Fords.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:31 am
I have to laugh at the pure media driven dribble that some of you quote as gospel
Hybrid technology is still beginning, Toyota may have sold a million Prius, but it doesn’t mean they are sitting back and waiting for more. No, they are doing further research and development on better, more efficient models…
And to those people quoting the cost of replacing Batteries, Inverters and initial cost to environment of producing the batteries… Please, do yourself a favour and speak to the Cab drivers in Cairns and Townsville…
Two batteries have been replaced in Australia… one with 650,000klms on the clock, and the other with close to 400,000, and they were both under $3500 to replace…
The Nickel Metal Hydride battery in Prius is designed to last at least 10 years… In 10 years, most conventional vehicle would have gone through 5 Lead-acid batteries, weighing approx 12-15 kilo’s each = 60 – 75kg of weight – whereas one Prius High Voltage battery is 45kg… go figure…
The fluids and materials inside the Prius battery are also less caustic, and less environmentally harming than any Lead-acid battery – gees, just think of the name, Lead-acid, sounds appealing doesn’t it!
Please don’t pass along hear-say and supposition. Make your comments on YOUR driving experiences, YOUR opinion on looks, and YOUR preferences.
I agree Prius costs way too much for many people to buy, I personally Love them, and part of that is loving all the technology, smart entry and start for all cars I say!
Have a good day y’all!
September 10th, 2008 at 9:03 am
You’re right Sharon. Toyota Japan were very perturbed receiving money from a government who has not got a clue of the customs of their country. Our leader speaks Chinese but forgot the customs of others. Toyota is one of (if not the) richest companies in the world and do not need handouts. They are a very proud race.
Why did Rudd not give the money to Ford and Holden to perhaps prepare an Australian hybrid.
I know that Ford USA is currently developing hybrids and they are amazed at the concepts Australians bring to the motor industry. Put that together and develop one here.
As my mother used to tell me “charity begins at home”.
I hope you all win lotto !!!
September 15th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Dear sir, My comments may not be welcome by the manufacturers of Hybrid Engines. On my last visit recently to U.S.A ,I visited car dealers in California for purchasing a Hybrid Vehicle . The vehicle was test driven by my son-in-Law. My observations are:-
1. These vehicles are smaller compared to general American standards. Hence room is also less, engine as well as pay load. No wonder additional mileage .
2. The batteries alone weigh more than 1,000 lbs. In Standard vehicles they generally carry 2 Nos 12 Volts batteries which may not weigh more than 50 lbs. This additional 950 lbs of 6 passengers is being carried(invisible for human eye)for the whole life of the vehicle. The life of the vehicle as per the manufacturers is 1,00,000 miles; in some cases it is 1,50,000 miles.
Suppose the vehicle carries about 15 gallons of petrol, which may weigh about 100 to 105 lbs at the start and keep diminishing as the journey progresses and become more or less few pounds only (Reserve)in standard vehicles. I feel the engine is not unnecessarily burdened.
Regarding maintenance of the engine it can be attended by the mechanics in the dealers workshops only. Who will maintain the vehicles in remote places or in countries like India etc.
I consider these few points are more than enough for a prospective buyer of new vehicle to ponder over for the time being.
,
Thanking You, Youirs sincerely,
P.Radhakrishnan.
15th September 2008.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Why have LPG prices also remained high when the wholesale price (Saudi) has recently halved over the past 4 months. Even if you take into account the US-AU$, the buy price has still gone down 30% and I haven’t seen this drop reflected at the pump.?!? More pressure please.
November 20th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
it is very good how it runs on LPG and it is good how it runs on batterys
December 8th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
They aren’t predicting a massive amount of electric cars, so I think they’ll offer them.
Getting EVs on the road, in small numbers isn’t a problem for any major automaker. It’s getting cost-effective, profitable mass produced EVs on the road that isn’t so easy.
Regards,
Rose.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
We are hearing a lot about the reduction of unleaded fuel pricing. How many of you out there have noticed the continuing rise in the added margins for high octane fuel??
About 12 months ago we were paying a 6cpl litre for high octane, caltex retained the 6 cent whilst Shell(Coles) went to 8 cpl. Looking At our Local Moss Vale Coles outlet today, they are posting 111.9cpl for unleaded and 124.9cpl for high octane.
The Govt are trying to tell us that we are doing better!! I don’t think so!
April 6th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Rod…june 18th. You are a brainless ill informed twit that probably shouldnt be driving. Stop making up rubbish.
May 6th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
The future isn’t a petrol hybrid powered car it’s diesel. Studies have shown that small engined diesels put out a lot less emissions than petrol hybrid vehicles and once you start getting into plant based diesel fuel or similar then emissions would be even lower. Plus the extra energy used to make batteries and then the disposal of them [ then buying new ones} and the associated chemicals the hybrid starts to sound like an environmental disaster and money pit. It’s pointless.
What’s the VW Lupo TDI consumption down to now? Last I heard it was about 2.9l/100km average.
July 23rd, 2010 at 3:07 pm
hybrid cars are energy efficient compared to diesel or gas powered cars.`,.