There’s no reason to think the Hybrid will not last as long as a regular petrol vehicle.

Toyota has been making hybrids for many, many years and they have never shown any sign of being less durable or reliable then the company’s petrol models. The batteries are said to last the lifetime of the vehicle, so there’s reason to be concerned about that either. The thing with the hybrid is the higher purchase price. That’s offset by the lower fuel consumption, so the longer you keep the vehicles the greater the chance to recoup the extra initial cost.

The other thing to consider is that hybrids work at their best in stop-start city traffic, they are not so good out on country roads where the petrol engine comes into play more of the time.

It’s impossible to say, but I would err towards the GPS. It’s most unusual for a speedo to read higher than the real speed, it’s usually the other way around. I would crosscheck the GPS on another car.

YOU are not alone. Many people say the Magna/Verada was a good car, but they had an image of it being boring. If Mitsubishi had somehow been able to race it against the Falcon or Commodore it might well have been able to change its reputation.