Sean O'Grady: Are hybrids over-hyped?

Sean O'Grady: Are hybrids over-hyped?

Belfast Telegraph
06 June 2006

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/lifestyl...sp?story=694073

Excerpts:

"Readers have written in complaining that the mileage they get from their hybrids isn't as good as the official figures. It's only fair to add that there are very few cars, if any, that live up to their official mpg figures..."

"... Fuel consumption must be pretty intimately linked to carbon dioxide emissions. If you are burning more fuel than the official figures suggest, then you are probably pumping more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the official figures suggest."

"Petrol/electric hybrids must still be one of the greener technologies, even if they are over-hyped. As Steve said in his piece, the point isn't so much where hybrids are now, but where they'll be in five or 10 years' time..."

"Despite the disappointments, Honda and Toyota have proved that hybrids can be reliable, efficient, economical and practical. Quite an achievement..."