"Should I get a hybrid car?" somebody asked recently.

I have also been asked about my opinions on hybrid as a green solution.

Not that my thoughts are worth much (as the saying goes, it's no more than a penny) but here's my take, FOC.

If you already have a car, which still runs fine, then changing to anything, hybrid or otherwise, probably isn't going to help save the earth because when you give up one car to get another one, it's an additional car's worth of waste.

As for the petrol-hybrid car being seen as the best solution we have for now to have our wheels without killing the environment, well consider this; nearly all the cars we have been reviewing in the magazine in recent years have managed to be more powerful yet more frugal than their predecessors. Improvements in combustion engine technologies, gearbox technologies, aerodynamics, even the very tyres the cars run on, have all contributed to make the new cars better than before.

And you may be surprised to find that you can do plenty to be kinder to the environment, without having to convert your car to run on water or baby poo:

• plan your trips so you don't have to waste mileage 
• service the car to keep it running in good shape
• ensure that the tyre pressures are correct
• clear the junk in the trunk (golf bags, shoes, files) to lose weight

Easy huh?

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