An Octavia or maybe even a Superb …both roomy cars. Skoda’s are good cars and built on VW rolling platforms (basically rebadged VW’s), so reliability and longevity was built-in 
1 Like
It’s an Octavia, still going strong. It’s the electrics, like the windscreen wipers and speedometer that are starting to go more that the engine.
1 Like
Quite often it’s a spot of corrosion around the fuse bases, so a good clean up and a spray with a good water repellent such as WD 40 should do the trick.
1 Like
Thank yo, we’ll give it a go 
1 Like
Sounds good for now Dachs, but as your battery deteriorates don’t expect to get the same mileage from the electric side of the vehicle. And, depending how long you keep the vehicle will depend on how much money you’ve saved gross. New batteries are very expensive and nobody will want to buy a second hand motor off you with a five (or more) years of battery deterioration. Either you have to factor in the price of a new battery, or the purchaser will.
If it’s the ecology that is the reason Dachs, think of all the extra parts required to produce a petrol engine to charge a battery, to power the vehicle some of the time…The electrical system alone (with battery management circuits) will be far more complex than a standard petrol or diesel engine, and the battery alone is an ecological nightmare when you consider the mining, pollution and damage to the environment that recovering lithium and cobalt has produced, and mainly to 3’rd world countries. And as these rare earth minerals become more rare (China actually owns the rights to mine over one third of all cobalt and lithium mined in Africa) they will also become very expensive.
A hybrid Annie is a standard petrol or diesel engine (mainly petrol) charging a big heavy lithium battery. Minute amounts of energy can be harvested from the heat produced when braking and directed into the battery. The vehicle can then be driven using the battery and an electric motor configuration. When the battery is discharged, the petrol engine takes over and again the cycle is repeated. Lets say for example that a new vehicles battery will provide power for 300 miles. It appears that it is cheaper to run than a conventional petrol engine. But as you know with any apparatus that uses a lithium battery, over the years the charge that a battery holds will be reduced, so the petrol engine will have to take the strain more often.
As with all hybrids and plug in EV’s they are very expensive to purchase and run, especially in their later years as the battery deteriorates, so there will be a very limited second hand car market. Consequently, many people who have a car now will be driven off the road in the future, especially the poorer end of the market.
1 Like
You’re right, Bob, the traction battery is expensive, deteriorates, and will gradually reduce the resale value of the car, yet this is not my concern, partly because there’s a ten-year guarantee. It looks like all combustion engine cars will suffer the same fate due to a lack of demand in the future. I’d have got about £3-4,000 for a 10 yo car with 80K km on the clock. No attractive resale value either, is it?
I agree to what you say about the complexity of the hybrid system which is why these cars tend to be rather for techies and unsuitable for kerbside parkers. One constantly has to keep an eye on their needs which is not everybody’s alley. And yet when faced with the question of which car to buy I couldn’t go for a conventional one again. You’re also right about the ecological price to be paid for individual transport. Today the choice for everybody is always between the devil and the deep blue sea no matter which car you buy or drive. I consider the price tag on CO² emissions higher than that on other eco-sins.
1 Like
The trouble with lithium is that batteries can spontaneously combust. What is the answer? Horse and cart? Some would complain they poo too much. They should be investing in better public transport (not HS2, just something that works and is accessible. So many of our problems are down to patchwork quilt planning (not just ref the environment but in general). Various groups go off and do their own thing with no regard for how this impacts the society as a whole or how inconsistent they might be with other areas. Duplication, inefficiency and a lack of long termism causes so much wastage. So much more wastage than just leaving things as they are. At the moment the big thing is to erect thousands of tower blocks around the country. Totally detrimental to the environment and likely to be knocked down in 30 years. Just to tick a political box.
1 Like
Hydrogen, that is the way “forward”
1 Like
The technology is already available, hydrogen fuelled ICE vehicles. During WWII my paternal grandmother drove a conventional gas engine car, but due to severe fuel shortages, it was adapted to burn hydrogen (coal gas) with a storage tank (balloon) on the car’s roof.
EDITED to add 
a more modern approach would be a hydrogen fuel tank instead of the petrol tank.
1 Like
If you’re thinking of BMW’s Hydrogen 7 of which it built 100 units, it is. If you consider that cruising range and performance didn’t meet expectations and that there’s no infrastructure for refuelling the car, it’s not. Price tag aside.
I hope you haven’t taken offence Dachs. I’m not having a go at you, but the technology that has been forced upon us by giving us very questionable science. For what reason I do not know…But one thing I do know is, it’s got nothing to do with the climate.
They gave up on the H 7 far too soon because many ICE powered efficient machinery exists, with more being designed, such as agricultural traction.
I understand there is much opposition to hydrogen as a fuel source, mainly by the oil industry and doubtless now by the EV industry. Is that right?
Spot on Annie. Far to much vested interest in the oil industry and it’s associated spin-offs.
1 Like
I called in at Tesco for a tank of diesel this morning, and couldn’t believe my eyes…Not only had petrol been reduced to £1.39 for a litre…Diesel had also been reduced to £1.41 per litre…But more than that…Only one month ago Diesel was 20 pence a litre more expensive than petrol…even though diesel used to be cheaper than petrol because it’s not refined as much…But why the sudden change? Tell me now that the prices of fuel aren’t being fiddled with.
Yes it used to be before the event of ultra refined ULSD at the pumps. Also you will now find a blend of mineral and vegetable oils in your DERV fuel which of course adds to the retail cost.
1 Like
Diesel prices fell a record 12p per litre in May but should be even lower, says RAC
Diesel prices fell a record 12p per litre in May but should be even lower, says RAC | UK News | Sky News
There has been a recent fall due to economic downturns announced in China and the US but it’s likely to rise again soon as OPEC are expected to be reducing production to raise the price to where they like it to be.
No worries. None taken. 
1 Like