Hybrid or CVT?

[guest774]

After a brief encounter with a CVT-7, I've been waiting for a better auto Jazz than the i-shift. The recent announcement of both the CVT and a Hybrid leaves me wondering which will be best for me. The £2000 premium seems steep, and would take 10 years at 8000mile/annum to recoup though lower road tax and petrol costs (at todays prices). 
As I intend to keep it that long, it cancels out the extra cost, but how are residual prices likely to compare? Will a 10 year old hybrid be hard to move on?
A couple of options that may tip me are that I really want a white car (only available on the hybrid )
and if the models compare EX (leather £1250 extra) to HX (leather free) , the difference doesn't seem so bad.
As long as you are willing to spend "£18000"  ........................   
For that amount of money I would be reluctant to jump in and buy the car as soon as it is launched.
As the hybrid will attract "green" enthusiasts and hypermilers hopefully we'll get plenty of feedback to decide whether the hybrid is worth the extra cost, not just for running costs but for driving enjoyment as well.

[guest1262]

The £2000 premium seems steep, and would take 10 years at 8000mile/annum to recoup though lower road tax and petrol costs (at todays prices). 
As I intend to keep it that long, it cancels out the extra cost, but...

The last three cars I've bought have all been the last I'll ever buy. The £2000 premium makes the Jazz Hybrid far too expensive (unless you are a wealthy public figure making a green statement). Will people be driving cars in ten years time?

With CO2 emissions of 104 g/km will the Jazz Hybrid even be on the London Congestion Charge Exempt Car List - revised as of 4 January 2011 to cars emitting 100g/km of CO2 or less?

[olduser1]

Don't buy new - its that simple. The Hybrid models in the UK are for those who buy cars with their eyes and image. Take a look at the competition £12-15k its alot better these days than 2002 when the 1st Jazz arrived in the Uk

As for the new 2011 models drive them both not the 'round the block dealer drive' but ask to have the car for 24hr for a true test.


Its your hard earned £££'s so enjoy the drive.

[DV]

I wouldn`t go for the hybrid yet unless it has a lithium battery and I was driving mainly in town otherwise the battery just extra weight in the boot and gives worse mpg.

[eljuero]

No hybrid for me eighter; no math they are worthed...

[culzean]

Any Hybrid is only worth the premium if it is CG exempt and you have to go into congestion charge areas quite often - it is the congestion charges and not the real life fuel / emission savings that have artificially skewed the market towards hybrids. That and all the Hollywood stars scrambling onto the 'look at me I am saving the world' bandwagon.  I would not be surprised if most if not all of the top names got their Prius from Toyota free of charge (not good for a battery car lol) because of the publicity it gave them.

[Ozzie]

Oh gosh . . . I have just ordered a hybrid !!!

My theory behind it is as a driving instructor I do around 25,000 miles a year.

The hybrid alledgedly delivers 62mpg compared to the petrol 51mpg. So over a year the hybrid would use 403 gallons, compared to the petrol 490 gallons, saving 87 gallons at £6 a gallon £522, saved per year, so realistically the saving is wiped out by the higher purchase price over a 3 year period.

So I can get the funkier looking version, training in the "green version" of the Jazz at no additional cost.

Lets hope its worth something when it has 80,000 miles on the clock.

Ozzie

[olduser1]

I though  the Honda free servcing applied for normal use ie 12 month or 12 k pa ?

You may want to take into account the overall cost of the vehicle over the period of ownership, insurance ,depreciation  ans servicing not just the fuel costs which may reach £7.00 per gallon  later this year

[John Ratsey]

My theory behind it is as a driving instructor I do around 25,000 miles a year.

Are you planning to teach people to drive on the hybrid? If so, it doesn't provide a very representative example of the typical motor car.  The hill start assist works very well, so learners can't practice their hill starts while such habits as putting the car into neutral and putting the handbrake on at the traffic lights don't work well on the hybrid. In my experience, auto-stop only works if the gear is in D and the foot on the brake pedal.

John

[Ozzie]

Most autos have some degree of creep, so hill start assist is basically a similar device.

Driving tests are constantly changing and parking sensors, cruise control, hill assist and electronic handbrakes are all allowed on the driving test.

Theres no such thing as a typical driving test tuition car anymore, I have had an Astra Twin Top 150bhp convertible, Mercedes A Class auto, and several Corsa SXIs as tuition cars. Other instructors have Skodas VRs, Audi A3s, Peugeot 308 convertibles, Mini Coopers, so now add Jazz Hybrid to the list.

Oz

[Aitcho]

I was wondering Oz if a person takes his driving test in the Honda Hybrid and passes is he only entitled to an 'automatic' driving licence?

Or if he chose to use the steering wheel paddles, in effect changing gear manually would he then be entitled to a full driving licence enabling him to drive manual or automatic cars.


Aitcho

[Ozzie]

Theres only two foot pedals so pupils would only get automatic entitlement. Ive taught manual for 16 years so its a bit of a leap of faith to swap to auto. The manual car is going so theres no transition period. Its a bit of a gamble !

Oz

[Aitcho]

Its a bit of a gamble !

Best of luck with the Jazz Hybrid.  It must be rare for a driving instructor to use a Hybrid, when you are up and running with it might be worthwhile contacting your local newspaper to see if they are interested, possible free publicity!

Aitcho