Yes, and they quote the "feel good" factor: Ahead of the curve
“Early adopter” Paul Kirkpatrick owns one of the 30,740 hybrid vehicles registered in Victoria, having bought a Mitsubishi Outlander petrol hybrid electric vehicle in 2014.
It has a two litre, four cylinder internal combustion engine, and two 60 kilowatt electric motors. One electric motor is for the front wheels, the other for the rear wheels.
He also has 15 solar panels on top of his house and garage, and a Tesla battery in his workshop to store the energy generated above. I think it does give you a feel-good factor. You’re doing something for the environment, you’re generating your own power...it’s the shape of the future.
Paul Kirkpatrick “I’m just a committed sort of solar, renewable person from way back...I’ve always had my eye on cars of the future,” he says.
Most of his driving in his “SUV in hybrid clothes” is around Bendigo, the goldfields city about two hours' drive from Melbourne.
“If I drive it from Melbourne to Bendigo, and Bendigo to Melbourne, I’m probably using around about half petrol and half electricity, because of the re-generative braking and charging of the car,” he says.
“If you’ve got the battery fully charged and the tank filled up you’d have a combined range of 600 kilometres, so there’s no impediment,” he says. “I think it does give you a feel-good factor. You’re doing something for the environment, you’re generating your own power...it’s the shape of the future. But it’s nice to be living the future a bit earlier,” he says.
Sometimes, I just shake my head...n when will these numpties learn?
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