Hybrid Car

I did own a revolutionary Toyota Prius petrol/electric hybrid car.

It was easily the most fascinating car I have owned. Low emissions, cheap road tax, no congestion charge, Toyota reliability, a government cash back grant and amazing economy made it an easy choice. There are no compromises as the comfort, space and performance are as good as most family saloon/hatchbacks.

I chose black because I never owned a classy looking black car before. It looks fabulous when clean but really shows the dirt, even in the summer. I get an average of around 57 to the gallon, but this gets better on a trip to London! The Prius hybrid car gets better economy in traffic than on the highway. The ride is very smooth, relaxed and quiet. This encourages you to take things easy which obviously improves the economy too.

Best trick is in the supermarket car park where you can creep up on unsuspecting pedestrians in electric (stealth) mode and make them jump because they can't hear you coming! The car has electric everything, including air conditioning and steering. The Japanese version has Auto-Parking which does all the difficult stuff without human intervention, but the insurance companies didn't fancy it here.

I part exchanged the Prius in July 2010 for a new Toyota Auris Hybrid, shown below. This is a very similar car to the Prius, but a little smaller and more conventional looking. It is more powerful than the Prius, but even more economical! I decided on white, to make a change from black. I went for the full spec T Spirit Navigation model, which has all the bells and whistles. I just love my gadgets!

Toyota Auris T Spirit Hybrid car

I did also own a little Reva G-Wiz electric car for two years, which I was able to charge from my own green electricity, but I sold that to raise funds for the Auris Hybrid.

Goodbye G-Wiz!

I am now thinking of changing to a Nissan Leaf, full electric car, which looks to be just right for my use with its 100 mile range. I will only do it if I can get a decent price for the Auris Hybrid. Any offers? Only done 3000 miles and 4.5 years warranty left!