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Saw an ampera for the first time today, had literally no idea what it was! Joe, any ideas why Vauxhall has axed them when they've been around for such a short (relative to other models) period of time?
 
Yes its an Ampera, quite a rare car on UK roads. I think they only made about 1800 for the UK and they have finished production now.

In my opinion the Ampera came a little too early, it was a bit ahead of its time. Sales volumes went up towards the end of production. Only 4 seats and £34k for the base model didn't help but I love it, it's an awesome car and aside from a Tesla model S I think is the best looking plug in hybrid.
 
I really like the look of the Ampera design wise as well. Definitely the best looking hybrid (well, the best looking non sports/super car one at least)
 
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I really dislike the Ampera, it looks awful inside and out and is generally pointless.

It only gets <60MPG from regular driving, so to offset the £25,000 price difference between it and something like a brand new Astra, assuming you do about 10,000 miles a year, you would need to drive it for about 50 years or so. :rolleyes:

Even if you do 30,000 miles on the motorway and drive for economy and get say 75MPG which is considered good for these, it will take about 30 years to offset the difference between it and an Astra that will do 50MPG on a run...
 
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Acme said:
I really dislike the Ampera, it looks awful inside and out and is generally pointless.

It only gets <60MPG from regular driving, so to offset the £25,000 price difference between it and something like a brand new Astra, assuming you do about 10,000 miles a year, you would need to drive it for about 50 years or so. :rolleyes:
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What are you talking about?

Since when was a brand new Astra £25,000 cheaper than the Ampera was? That would make a brand new Astra about 5 grand.

Why do so many of your posts feel like you've just made up a load of stuff? :p
 
Acme said:
Ampera is 34K for the base model and you can get an Astra for 12K so the figures were only 3K off... :p

Even if the maths are wrong, the point still stands. It is just pointless...
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It was 28,300 entry.... Don't forget the £5k grant.

I did 300mpg using one for a 37 mile trip. They were very good company cars/limited company before the BIK rates. Only really suffering thanks to Vauxhall residuals making the lease rates uncompetitive, the Astra has the same issue.... And there not £3,300 brand new.
 
RoboCod said:
Maybe people don't want to buy it to save money on fuel, maybe they might actually want it for having less impact on the environment?
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People such as this actually exist?

Okay after thinking about it, the Ampera makes sense if you do a lot of short trips, and £23,000 is a lot better than £35,000 :D

Stormster said:
Nova GTE engine in the Mini? Tell us more :)
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Yes please do, and ignore me ranting about your other car. :p
 
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Acme said:
I really dislike the Ampera, it looks awful inside and out and is generally pointless.

It only gets <60MPG from regular driving, so to offset the £25,000 price difference between it and something like a brand new Astra, assuming you do about 10,000 miles a year, you would need to drive it for about 50 years or so. :rolleyes:

Even if you do 30,000 miles on the motorway and drive for economy and get say 75MPG which is considered good for these, it will take about 30 years to offset the difference between it and an Astra that will do 50MPG on a run...
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Everyone is different but I have done 40,000 miles and my lifetime average mpg is 98.3. Each day I do a 160 mile commute charging at home and at work. At weekends I don't use any fuel for personal miles as long as each journey is less than 40 miles or 50 miles in the summer. Agreed it's an expensive car and to buy personally it probably doesn't make sense but as a company car it is very good especially as it's only 5% BIK

Stormster said:
Nova GTE engine in the Mini? Tell us more :)
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Well spotted :) It's a C16SE 1.6 8v with 100bhp. Lots of fun in a mini and gives it a 5 speed gearbox and the reliability of multipoint injection. I built it a couple of years ago over winter when I got bored. It's a lot of fun to drive.

paradigm said:
So aside from a car that isn't a plug in hybrid the Ampera comes close? :confused:
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A good point well made I'll give you that
 
millermilla said:
Everyone is different but I have done 40,000 miles and my lifetime average mpg is 98.3. Each day I do a 160 mile commute charging at home and at work. At weekends I don't use any fuel for personal miles as long as each journey is less than 40 miles or 50 miles in the summer. Agreed it's an expensive car and to buy personally it probably doesn't make sense but as a company car it is very good especially as it's only 5% BIK
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Sounds really good to me, I love plug in hybrid tech. You can pick used ones up from £10-12k and they are absolutely loaded with technology, too.

I'm half sold on one to be honest! As you have been doing you need to use a plug in hybrid properly to realise the potential in them. Zero VED and lifetime average of 98.3, no fuel usage at weekends, what's not to like?

Acme said:
I really dislike the Ampera, it looks awful inside and out and is generally pointless.

It only gets <60MPG from regular driving, so to offset the £25,000 price difference between it and something like a brand new Astra.
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Before we even go there with those figures (as others have pointed out already it is nothing even approaching £25k more than an Astra, the whole car started at £28k), this car is not comparable to an Astra anyway. They (the Ampera) are absolutely loaded, you'd have to compare it to a top end insignia with almost every option ticked. What is the price differential in this scenario?
 
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