Grumpy chats about hybrid cars

I don’t know about you but I am mightily underwhelmed by hybrid cars. True, they are full of sophisticated electronics and true they do go some way towards satisfying the consciences of greenies. But, on the down side, they are expensive, they are complex, they have limited range in their electrical mode and there are few places to charge the batteries other than in your own garage. To me they are bisexual products of a motor industry that has reluctantly pandered to ill-conceived demands from governments intent on being seen to be saving the planet.

While one cannot go past the engineering ingenuity that has produced these vehicles, they are still neither Arthur nor Martha and like most compromises they fall short of the target.

At the heart of the problem is, of course, the battery. Lithium-ion, though a huge advance on lead acid, still falls far short of delivering the range that is acceptable to the average motorist, who expects more than 175 or so km per charge for $50,000.

To make these vehicles more appealing and to extend their range, small petrol engines cut in when the amps cut out. But this not only adds to the complexity of the engineering, it also adds to the weight and so puts more demands on the batteries, further limiting performance. In addition, it becomes a polluter in its own right, which defeats the purpose of a ‘green’ car in the first place.

I am aware that sales of hybrids have gone up some 84% in the last year and with next-generation vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf becoming mainstream, perhaps we are moving towards a more practical vehicle which may further increase usage. But always the questions that most drivers will ask are: How far can I go before I run out of volts? How much do I have to pay for the privilege of being green?

However, what is impressive is the new boy on the block - the Holden Volt, due on sale shortly at around $60,000. Although this is a hybrid with a petrol engine, the purpose of the engine is to charge the batteries. The car has a 111 kW electric motor giving 368 Nm. The 1.4 L, 63 kW engine drives a generator to charge the batteries that can also be charged from a home power point. With this system, the vehicle has a range of 500 km and even then all that is needed is a petrol station, not a power outlet. It solves the range issue but the pollution issue remains.

Just as some drivers can get phenomenal range from a tankful of petrol purely through judicious driving techniques, so too can the range of hybrids be extended to well beyond 175 km a charge.

However, various surveys have shown the average distance driven by a commuter is only around 60 km a day - well within the range of a pure electric car. If this is so, it would seem that there is a specific market for an electric commuter vehicle with the longer distances being left to conventional cars. Australia should be looking at a greater use of solar panels, which have also improved out of sight over recent years.

The Leaf is leading the way here by incorporating a solar panel to maintain battery levels while the car is parked.

Australians are developing a mindset for smaller cars other than the mostly status-symbol-seeking, child-carrying, four-wheel-drive set. With this in mind, perhaps the car makers should stop trying to be all things to all men and concentrate on building a small, all-electric car with basic yet safe specifications, but above all, cheap.

To encourage this, governments should stop haphazardly throwing millions of dollars at our foreign-owned motor manufacturers and target their throw to make them develop pure electric cars and the associated battery technology.

Then, and only then, will we see the rise of the totally green car at a price that is affordable.