Could this be the way to electric powered motorhomes... (1 Viewer)

[buttons]

OMG, I can't believe what I am about to write! I actually agree with @buttons, in fact I would be a hypocrite if I didn't, since we did a huge amount of market research for my wifes new car. And hence we currently have a '19 plate C-HR on our driveway! Best car we have ever owned! I have to disagree with the nay sayers, we drove it to Plymouth and back this weekend from Basingstoke, we used 38 litres of fuel, so average of 61 mpg, absolute dream to drive, stick on the adaptive cruise and lane assist and let the car drive itself. It's almost like the driver doesn't need to be there!
I saw it mentioned earlier, yes it is built on the same running gear as a Prius, but I wouldn't own one of those in a million years!

I guess we had to get there in the end DF how could anyone disagree though with the excellence of this vehicle. Sounds like your wife is a lucky lady. I have done a bit of motorway driving but not yet utilising the adaptive cruise and lane assist to it's full extent but getting there.

 

[funflair]

Think you'll find that it has an electric motor within the drivetrain (between engine and gearbox). The alternative would be grossly inefficient.

After I posted I did a bit of reading and there seems to be a variety of different versions of hybrid a series hybrid would have no mechanical connection between engine and wheels a parallel hybrid would have direct mechanical link and electric assist, I am nor actually sure which I have driven but parallel makes more sense too me.

Martin

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I have been given a fully kitted out Toyota C-HR hybrid for testing this week. Must admit I'm very impressed with this car. The way the engine and battery propulsion works together is quite incredible.
I have no idea how a hybrid compares with a fully electric setup but it has so many advantages over an electric only vehicle. I have been averaging around 70mpg this week from what is a large vehicle which is pretty good. The smoothness in the way it delivers this duel power is magic.
Deceleration charges the battery as does braking. Around here every other mini cab is a Toyota hybrid so reliability and long-levity must already be built into this system. I give it 10/10 and look forward to the first hybrid motorhome....

I’ve had the C-HR for nearly 18 months. Great car works same way as the Prius. But I don’t think they got the gears quite right when you do put your foot down as it revs hard for low acceleration. Mpg is great around town when you are more stop start crawl low speed. Motorway isn’t so good as the speed is too much for the electric alone.

Not sure how it would benefit a Motorhome. The regen is only enough for the hybrid motor not enough spare to also give free power for a leisure battery

I had a Toyota hybrid with the same set up and engine. Absolutely hated it as a car but very good around town. The bit I really hated was the CVT gearbox where the harder you want to accelerate the noisier and higher revved the engine was. Despite driving gently the best MPG I ever got was 52 MPG as quite a to of dual carriageway work and it functioned as a normal petrol car. Got so sick of it I traded it in for a much larger and heavier Volvo diesel which does a comfortable 48MPG.

The XC60 T8 hybrid I had the other day as a courtesy car on the other hand, was brilliant but that had a proper gearbox

 

[Wh05apk]

I have just changed my lexus hybrid for a full electric car, the lexus was a stepping stone, it had a 2.5 litre engine with 220hp so could shift when needed, I liked the cvt gearbox, driven normally it was super smooth, but floor it and it would drone a bit for 3-4 seconds then you were up to speed. At a cruise it would tick over at less than 1400rpm at 70mph so was quiet. Average over 50,000 miles was about 46mpg, not as good as a diesel on a long run, but I could get the same mpg driving around London traffic, where I could sit in silence and edge forward under electric power.
As I said though it was a stepping stone, we have now changed, took out a few cars, but the diesels were like tractors, and they all felt old fashioned, the future is full electric.....

 

[Trev45]

I've had a RAV4 hybrid for two years now and love it ,5 year warranty as well so no worries about expensive repair bills either .

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[Wh05apk]

I've had a RAV4 hybrid for two years now and love it ,5 year warranty as well so no worries about expensive repair bills either .

It's a Toyota so unlikely to need any repairs....

 

[Richard n Ann]

Could trucks be Diesel-electric like trains?

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Could trucks be Diesel-electric like trains?

I think that a lot of London buses are Diesel electric hybrids. Not sure if it is more efficient propulsion having a generator/electric motor combination in a truck. Certainly there are a lot of diesel electric propulsion ships, mostly passenger types due to space restrictions

 

[buttons]

Could trucks be Diesel-electric like trains?

And ships ..

 

[Wh05apk]

I think the hybrid systems in buses is a "mild hybrid" so only used to charge the batteries under regenerative braking rather than used for propulsion, purely used to reduce official omissions but next to useless in real life.

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[Jim]

All electric trucks and motorhomes are not far away

 

[buttons]

Can i ask for what “ end purpose” you are testing it

Yes ..

 

[Cheshirecat57]

I am Fleet Director for my company
I have a huge interest in Hybrids for the future of our company and it's users

No matter

 

[Cheshirecat57]

All electric trucks and motorhomes are not far away

FYI
Electric trucks are here but that knob-head Musk wont be building them just yet

 

[buttons]

All electric trucks and motorhomes are not far away

It takes more than disguising batteries as concrete blocks to produce enough useful power for a lorry. How about the charging aspect. Could you begin to imagine the size of the motorway service area charging facility.

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[Jim]

It takes more than disguising batteries as concrete blocks to produce enough useful power for a lorry.

Do keep up Buttons it's already happening.

 

[gus-lopez]

A hybrid.

 

[Richard n Ann]

View attachment 301958

A hybrid.

I once grew some f1 hybrid tomatoes. Well ahead of my time

 

[romany]

Much can happen in technology terms in 20 years Reallyretired, Who knows how we will be transporting ourselves around in the 2040s

You never know we might discover we have feet and work nearer to home! Can't understand why pink pigs keep flying past my window

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Can't understand why pink pigs keep flying past my window

Those pink pigs are electrically powered by Tesla's profit margins

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[DuxDeluxe]

FYI
Electric trucks are here but that knob-head Musk wont be building them just yet

The truck market is run by accountants, not fanboys, so it will be a much harder sell in any numbers unless it significantly reduces costs using real maths as opposed to Musk Maths. There will be a market in those wanting to flaunt their green credentials

 

[tonyidle]

After I posted I did a bit of reading and there seems to be a variety of different versions of hybrid a series hybrid would have no mechanical connection between engine and wheels a parallel hybrid would have direct mechanical link and electric assist, I am nor actually sure which I have driven but parallel makes more sense too me.

Martin

And me. I can't see the point in converting ICE power into electric power then back to a mechanical output. the only way it makes sense is if there's a small ICE optimised for generator use and probably running continuously to charge (what could possibly be) a smaller battery pack.

 

[DanielFord]

I guess we had to get there in the end DF how could anyone disagree though with the excellence of this vehicle. Sounds like your wife is a lucky lady. I have done a bit of motorway driving but not yet utilising the adaptive cruise and lane assist to it's full extent but getting there.

The adaptive cruise takes a LOT of getting used to, the first time I switched it on, cruising along, and all of a sudden the cars up ahead 'slammed on', every fibre of my being wanted to hit the brake pedal, but the car performed an emergency stop before my foot hit the pedal!
The wife and I have come up with a swift translation of the settings: 3 bars = overly cautious driver, 2 bars = reasonable driver, 1 bar = Audi driver

 

[jollyrodger]

The adaptive cruise takes a LOT of getting used to, the first time I switched it on, cruising along, and all of a sudden the cars up ahead 'slammed on', every fibre of my being wanted to hit the brake pedal, but the car performed an emergency stop before my foot hit the pedal!
The wife and I have come up with a swift translation of the settings: 3 bars = overly cautious driver, 2 bars = reasonable driver, 1 bar = Audi driver

I have a Hyundai Ioniq premium se
Lane control and braking whilst in cruise was interesting at first but now with 2500 on the clock since February I'm getting used to it .
A recent trip up to keele services picking up a rack from another funster ,and then back down through Shropshire & Wales avg 64mpg
Love it .

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Our long term test Hyundai Ioniq plug-in petrol/ hybrid has now covered 11000 miles in 9 months
Average 66mpg with multiple drivers
It gets plugged in for full charge ( 3 pin normal ) 2 or 3 times a week

Hyundai/Kia have it nailed at the moment but others are threatening to catch up, and fast

Battery technology/availability will be the next minor stumbling block
But 26g/ km emissions will be hard to resist for co car users for 20/21 tax year

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[DanielFord]

For us, a PHEV, or full EV was out of the question. Our garage and driveway are bizarrely leased to us, and we asked the question to the freeholder (a management company) could we install an EV point in our garage, the rapid answer was "no". That limited our choices to the "self-charging" (or more accurately put KERS) hybrids, which is basically Toyota (or the premium Toyota AKA Lexus).

The current offering of full EV's simply lack the range, unless you go for a Tesla, and then you lack the build quality! The place I am currently working at the bosses have Tesla's two model s and one model x, since I joined in August there hasn't been a single time that all 3 were fully working. At the moment all 3 are in for repairs for various things!

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Kia Niro/ Hyundai Kona ( same thing) all electric has range of 290+ miles

Agree,still no good if you have no charging point

 

[DanielFord]

Kia Niro/ Hyundai Kona ( same thing) all electric has range of 290+ miles

Agree,still no good if you have no charging point

I'll be honest, I'd forgotten about the Kona, but we can discount the Kia, look at it, does it look like this smiley? So damned ugly!

[edit] I know they're essentially the same car, but the grills are different, I always think of the grill like a face - Kia managed to make it look totally crap!

 

[jongood]

Do keep up Buttons it's already happening.

Yes I do see it for specialised urban distribution like kerbside refuse collection, some trunking, buses where the equipment is specific for the job and the working day is stable. but I don't think this is happening anytime soon for the majority of trucks for several reasons: The known limitations to be able to charge them being a biggie, imagine all the trucks at your local DC plugging in at the same time it would probably melt the substation. The conservative attitudes in the industry and the low margins. And the effect on the residuals ( the secondary market is even less ready for them).

This film so obviously made by the marketing guys is so full of meaningless statements its almost insulting; How is it going to increase load capacity? how is it making the drivers environment better? How is it enabling night deliveries that arent already happening.

 

[BusyBuilder]

Living up here in the Highlands, these electric vehicles are a bit of a joke.

The Sottish Greens make me laugh, phase out petrol and diesel by 2025 ? so as I drive a van for my living (being a builder) I wonder how I'm supposed to work ? I've just been to Lochcarron 80 miles each way, no where to charge up even if there was an electric van, it's all bollocks.

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