Petrol hybrid cars are for rich people. They can afford the batteries and monthly installments. Rather buy turbo diesel and have headache free driving for 5 years. By then, installment also finish paying.

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Added on October 2, 2011, 12:12 pmMany people having trouble paying for road tax and insurance already. Hybrid batteries even DIY still over RM 2k how to pay la?

This post has been edited by acbc: Oct 2 2011, 12:12 PM

Diesel quality is ok here. My Triton already 4 years old. No problems. Even my Kangoo also no problem. Both have regular service after 10k. Which idiot told u diesel quality very bad here? Drive first then only judge.

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Added on October 3, 2011, 12:07 am800km at the expense of power! Diesel by itself is very economical and cheap to maintain. Less electronics and less hassle. Powerful too. Some like Triton can do 190kph and still give 700km for full tank. U try top speed on hybrid petrol and see la. Btw, monthly installment for Triton cheaper than Insight. Only road tax higher but u recoup the cost after 6 months. Personally, I hate cars with many electronics. Freaking expensive spare parts.

This post has been edited by acbc: Oct 3 2011, 12:08 AM

Agreed dirty for previous Euro1 diesel. Now Euro2 much cleaner. Why worry? Black smoke usually due to dirty diesel particulate filter which all common rail have and owner never replace after 40000km. Replace and no more black smoke.

This post has been edited by acbc: Oct 3 2011, 03:36 PM

Whether diesel is dirty or not but still better than hybrid petrol. I have used Euro1 back in 2007-2008 and Euro4 from Thailand early 2011. And yes, Euro4 gives better power and better FC but the cost? RM 3.1/L! Now, it is a matter of time before the G move to Euro4. Even if they chose to stick at Euro2, it is still cleaner than Euro1. Try removing the diesel particulate filter and compare. When I was on Euro1, the filter is brownish after 20000km and now even after 53000km on Euro2, it is still white. However, it depends on where u pump the diesel. Some places especially old stations, the diesel is very dirty. With newer stations, no issue. I only pump at new stations.

During my trip to Sg Petani, the diesel is dirty since the station is over 30 years old. No choice but had to pump half tank anyway and a lot of black smoke. After reaching Penang, I pump full tank of Petronas at Juru where the station is less than 10 years old.

For those living in the cities, why worry... many new stations open yearly. Those in outskirts will worry but then again, they won't bother about black smoke or what so ever for as long the car moves.

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Added on October 3, 2011, 5:14 pmDiesel value will sure go up once petrol hits RM 3/L. Trust me... saw this when Petrol went up 2 years back. As for hybrid, I'm sure the value will be lower than diesel after 5 years because battery lifespan almost up. Ask any car dealer. Answer the same.

Right now, I'm hunting for used Renault Kangoo turbo diesel and could not find any except petrol version. Love this van... very economical in the long run.

This post has been edited by acbc: Oct 3 2011, 05:16 PM

I may opt for diesel hybrid if it gives more than 1000km per full tank. Otherwise, ain't worth the high cost of spare parts and future problems later.

Got private version if u buy from TC direct. Used as company van. Last I asked, it was 50k complete with DVD audio system.

Private registration have. Saw 1. Owner bought from TC used. Have 2 side windows at the back. According to him, TC wanted to bid for taxi project back in 2007 but lost. So, they sold off to staff or internal use. Wasted didn't buy one earlier. I found at TC service centre for 50k back in 2010.

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Added on October 5, 2011, 1:17 pmWhy need to high rev? Torque is more important. On petrol, u have to rev high to get more torque while u only need to relax on diesel. And yes, it can be boring to drive but low FC and cheap maintenance counts here. With low rev, there will be less wear and tear for engine parts. Some diesel engines have clocked 1M kilometers.

This post has been edited by acbc: Oct 5 2011, 07:12 PM

Vege oil will be cheap if u can buy used from fast food restaurants who are happy to get rid of it. U then filter it and voila... clean vege oil.

Hybrid is for rich and eco minded people... they just want to be different and don't mind paying more. If everyone like them, T and H will be Number 1 in MY already.

However, smart people will opt for diesel because it is cheap to run and to maintain. Who cares about engine noise while driving? Many new diesel cars have good insulation - u can't hear the diesel clatter from inside.

Some say diesel road tax is double and I say they are outdated. Hello, diesel road tax since 2009 same as petrol road tax.

Others might say cost of diesel will go up and I will say, if it does, so does your daily essential goods as diesel is a transportation fuel. Any increase will also affect all kinds of transportation.

A few may say our local diesel is dirty... so what? Euro2 works on any modern diesel engines because they have one or two diesel particulate filter installed as standard which u need to replace every 40000 km. Even then, u can stretch the filter to 60000km (I did that on my Triton).

Even petrol engines have a filter but people don't bother changing unless the car refuse the start or fuel delivery not consistent. I learned my lesson when my then 15 year old car refuse to start despite having a full tank of RON97 and a new fuel pump. After replacing the filter, car started without a hitch.

The NGV community will fight back saying NGV is cheaper... yes, cheap fuel but engine will die faster because NGV is very dry and will cause the head gasket to crack (owners will solve this problem by starting with petrol for a few mins b4 switching to NGV). NGV conversion ain't cheap u know. Plus, how many Petronas stations have NGV pumps? Will u travel up to 30km or queue up 15 mins to fill up the tank? Waste of time. Not to mention getting jeers and laughs from taxi drivers.

If still want hybrid, I'm banking my money on diesel hybrid... only if can get more than 1000km on full tank of pure city driving. If less, ain't worth the extra cost and expensive spare parts.

This post has been edited by acbc: Oct 6 2011, 08:55 AM

Auto Start Stop will kill the starter / generator faster in a matter of years and very expensive to replace. Now u enjoy the hybrid technology... fast forward 5 years and problems start coming up and u fork out hefty sums for replacement. On top of that, parts only available from H or T not chop shops like most cars.

Yes life facts based on 10 years experience with electric motor.

Yawn... I'll be LMAO once hybrid owners start complaining of battery and electronic failures in 5 years time. For cheaper hybrid, I put it at 3 years min.

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Added on January 21, 2012, 10:19 pmDunno... tree huggers maybe.

Anyway, I kept telling people... if petrol is RM 5/L, hybrid really worth it. But, petrol is so cheap here (when compared to TH) so u don't save much. So far, I've observed the following with the CT200H.

1. Full tank is less than 40L, estimated less than 76 bucks for full tank.
2. In traffic jam areas like KL, a full tank can last at least 3 weeks.
3. Total mileage after 3 weeks is 636km.

For now, I won't move to hybrid especially petrol as gomen will increase the price after GE13. Waiting for diesel turbo hybrid with at least 6-speed auto gearbox.

This post has been edited by acbc: Jan 21 2012, 10:19 PM

No need source... almost every by election or by-election, gomen increase price of petrol. Just wait and see...