… Or why I would not buy one!

What is a hybrid car? Well a hybrid car is a car that has a gasoline or Diesel engine and some batteries AND an electric motor as well.Already that sounds like a lot of extra weight and therefore in a car not helping fuel consumption, road holding, practicality.You have to put it somewhere and just as with Gas (LPG) converted cars you need to put the tank and in this case the batteries and electric motor somewhere.So most cars are compromised on space.

So how does this Hybrid car work.Well as far as I understand it the electric motor propels the car only at certain speeds -usually below 40 miles an hour to the range of the batteries usually about 20-40 miles.When the car is in need of more power or higher speeds the Engine (diesel or petrol) kicks in.On motorways and country roads it has been found that the electric motor hardly ever works and in a famous Road test by Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear he got only 30 miles/gallon, which is terrible if you think that Golf diesel cars get 50-70 miles per gallon.Are they environmentally friendly-no because the batteries and electric motor are made from toxic material and don’t last that long.(Tesla give 8 year warranty on their batteries! Ask your dealer for the warranty on your electric car you wish to purchase!)

So why are there so many Hybrid cars from Toyota for sale.I think Toyota is waiting and “testing” battery technology life on customers and wait for the hydrogen filling station network to expand in Europe and the world.Apparently they are ready to launch a hydrogen car, but there are no filling stations.