Sorting Through The Hype: Will Green Cars Really Deliver In The Real World?

You expect a bit of hyperbole at an auto show, but this year some claims really are stretching credibility. The need to be green - shifting consumer preferences and government rules come to mind - is pressuring manufacturers to at least appear to be tackling the issue of oil dependency and fuel consumption. Surely they wouldn't exaggerate, would they?

We've heard Toyota Motor Corp. claim the new Prius gasoline electric hybrid sedan would deliver an average 50 mpg, up from the previous model's 46 mpg. The Chinese company BYD Auto said its E6 all-electric vehicle will travel up to 250 miles on one charge and only takes 10 minutes to recharge 50 percent of the battery. BMW's Mini E - "E" for electric - can transport driver and passenger 150 miles on a single charge, or drive all the way around Lake St Clair.

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downtoearth - 1/15/2009 10:13:15 AM

+1 Boost

I don't know how about the rest, but the Prius III is very likely to deliver what's promised. Motivation for this statement is that the previous generation, Prius II, had claimed combined fuel economy of 46 US-MPG. 517 drivers in Germany got the average real life fuel economy of (5,2 litres) / (100 km) = 45,23 US-MPG (Source#1), one less than promised. So the estimate was very accurate. Expect the new model to return about 49 combined US-MPG. I know that for some people it's just pain in the ass because they hate hybrids, but truth is truth. Source#1: http://www.spritmonitor.de/de/uebersicht/49-Toyota/439-Prius.html?constyear_s=2005&constyear_e=2008

downtoearth - 1/15/2009 12:10:03 PM

+1 Boost

I'm horribly sorry to disappoint you, Charles, but real-life MPG numbers posted by American drivers having a Prius are even better than those from Germany. You can find the proof here: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=browseList2&make=Toyota&model=Prius Numbers between 43-47 US-MPG make up the list.

t_bone - 1/15/2009 10:56:24 AM

+2 Boost

If claims are exagerated, then you have to apply the same scrutiny to EPA ratings for all vehicles. The real question isn't what the number is, it's how much better it is relative to real-world conditions for regular cars. Personally I like the idea that I can recycle the some of the power wasted on all the stoplights and stopsigns they are building everywhere.

800over - 1/15/2009 12:45:26 PM

+2 Boost

A post that actually makes sense on Autospies?!!? Ban T_bone I say! There's no place for coherence here. Give me ChuckG37 or give me death!

downtoearth - 1/15/2009 4:45:43 PM

0 Boost

TurboSpyder, I already presented you results from more than 500 previous generation Prius drivers from Germany, about 200 drivers from the USA and more than four tests performed by professionals proving that previous gen. Prius returns about 45 US-MPG, one less than EPA claims. The CanadianDriver you quoted yourself also got 45 MPG. Why do you keep repeating this nonsense about 34 MPG then? Only Britons presented such result, everyone else proved them wrong. You also suggest that I should compensate for the car weight? Why? It's commonly known diesels are heavier since the engines need to have more cubic capacity, stronger block (higher compression) and heavier gearbox and clutch to withstand the initial torque. It's a built in diesel disadvantage and there cannot be any compensation for such thing. No one tells Jetta TDI designers to make the car so heavy, it's their own problem. By the way, Jetta is, despite more weight, one class smaller which makes it even more inferior.

2ndbimmer - 1/16/2009 10:54:22 AM

+2 Boost

i would drive a diesel. not an electric car. no performance