2019 Holden Commodore Pricing and Specs

First thoughts would be that you have a fuel injector that is not spraying either the correct amount of fuel and/or in the correct pattern for proper combustion. This will certainly bring on the symptoms you’re seeing, as well as ruining fuel economy. It’s also most likely to show up if the engine has been sitting for a while.

But the reality is that a modern engine like this one has literally hundreds of electronic sensors and systems that can all add up to poor running and economy. The best bet is to have the car scanned to see if the on-board computer has logged any faults. Without this intelligence, you’re flying blind, replacing parts that may or may not fix the problem.

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.

There’s clearly no point in talking sense to you, your head is in a complete muddle. You want a fix for your mid-life crisis, yet you talk about resale value, warranty, fixed-price servicing and boring stuff like that. You need to think about what it is you want from your “sporty-ish” car, do you want a performance car that will be thrilling to drive, or are you a park-and-poser and just want to look good when you stop at the café for a latte. The VW Golf GTi is a thrill-a-minute hot hatch; you like the i30N, and both would be good buys. Buy the Lux if you decide on the i30N. You could also think about a BMW M3, or an older Porsche Boxster. I wouldn’t suggest a Commodore SS or a Falcon XR6T ute, they’re a bit boring.