Hybrids 80 mpg??

[evboy]

The prius gets about 50 mpg. If they ever get that technology to the point you can get 80 or 90 mpg, would electric cars die. i dont know how doable that is though.

 

[UBUYGAS]

My Wife's Prius C gets 58MPG but it still burns Gas. That's its worse problem. Plus it's really small, I can't climb into it.

The Elio gets 84 MPG http://www.eliomotors.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It costs me $7.00 to drive 300 miles, that Elio is pretty damn cheap. But I don't want one because it burns Gas, I hate Gas.

The prius gets about 50 mpg. If they ever get that technology to the point you can get 80 or 90 mpg, would electric cars die. i dont know how doable that is though.

 

[evboy]

My Wife's Prius C gets 58MPG but it still burns Gas. That's its worse problem. Plus it's really small, I can't climb into it.

The Elio gets 84 MPG http://www.eliomotors.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It costs me $7.00 to drive 300 miles, that Elio is pretty damn cheap. But I don't want one because it burns Gas, I hate Gas.

The prius gets about 50 mpg. If they ever get that technology to the point you can get 80 or 90 mpg, would electric cars die. i dont know how doable that is though.

The elio will get 49 in the city and 84 in the highway. Its tough to compare a large car like the prius to a tiny 3 wheel autocycle. If the prius ever gets to 80 or 90 in the city, it would put nissan leafs to pasture.

 

[UBUYGAS]

You're entitled to your opinion, For me I don't care if the Prius gets 200MPG, I will still be driving an EV.

http://www.YOUBUYGAS.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My Wife's Prius C gets 58MPG but it still burns Gas. That's its worse problem. Plus it's really small, I can't climb into it.

The Elio gets 84 MPG http://www.eliomotors.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It costs me $7.00 to drive 300 miles, that Elio is pretty damn cheap. But I don't want one because it burns Gas, I hate Gas.

The prius gets about 50 mpg. If they ever get that technology to the point you can get 80 or 90 mpg, would electric cars die. i dont know how doable that is though.

The elio will get 49 in the city and 84 in the highway. Its tough to compare a large car like the prius to a tiny 3 wheel autocycle. If the prius ever gets to 80 or 90 in the city, it would put nissan leafs to pasture.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The prius gets about 50 mpg. If they ever get that technology to the point you can get 80 or 90 mpg, would electric cars die. i dont know how doable that is though.

Heh. The Prius PHEV (plug-in hybrid) can easily get more than 80MPG on short to medium length trips, and gets about 60 even after the extra battery capacity is exhausted. My housemate's PHEV has a running average of 63MPG, including Winter use. It gets about 80 on her 43 mile round trip commute in Summer. And it's a mid-size car, not a compact.

 

[LeftieBiker]

If the prius ever gets to 80 or 90 in the city, it would put nissan leafs to pasture.

Toyota really doesn't want to sell the Prius PHEV, or you'd already know that 99+ MPG in the city can easily be achieved with one.

 

[cgaydos]

The assumption behind this question is that EVs will only ever be small compact cars optimized for maximum mileage, like a high-mileage hybrid. But as Tesla and the eNV200 show, EVs are possible in all configurations. There is no way a 90 mpg hybrid is going to kill off a Tesla.

 

[TomT]

In Europe they have diesel hybrids that easily get 100. I rented one the last time I was there and returned 97 overall, and I drove it hard...

The prius gets about 50 mpg. If they ever get that technology to the point you can get 80 or 90 mpg, would electric cars die. i dont know how doable that is though.

 

[gbarry42]

Toyota really doesn't want to sell the Prius PHEV, or you'd already know that 99+ MPG in the city can easily be achieved with one.

If you're going to do that with your numbers, might as well get a Volt. They routinely do 200+ MPG in that sense.

 

[LeftieBiker]

As a city car, the Volt is indeed a better idea, if it has enough room for you. If you plan to leave the city, however, the Volt's pitiful 37MPG when charge is exhausted is terrible compared to the PIP's 60 or more.

 

[TomT]

Merged numbers are completely meaningless and only hide the true gas-only mileage and make it look better than it actually is... You need to have a completely dead battery and drive it on gas only to get a true MPG number, much as the EPA does... Anything else is just lying with statistics.

Toyota really doesn't want to sell the Prius PHEV, or you'd already know that 99+ MPG in the city can easily be achieved with one.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Merged numbers are completely meaningless and only hide the true gas-only mileage and make it look better than it actually is... You need to have a completely dead battery and drive it on gas only to get a true MPG number, much as the EPA does... Anything else is just lying with statistics.

IF you mean that numbers will vary, sure. But the high numbers achieved by the PIP are fairly consistent. The only people unlikely to get them are lead-foots, and they will get poor MPG from pretty much any vehicle. Try taking one for a drive yourself.

 

[cgaydos]

In Europe they have diesel hybrids that easily get 100. I rented one the last time I was there and returned 97 overall, and I drove it hard...

The prius gets about 50 mpg. If they ever get that technology to the point you can get 80 or 90 mpg, would electric cars die. i dont know how doable that is though.

So if you're referring to the UK, remember that they use an Imperial Gallon which is about 1.2 US gallons. If you were on the continent and the car had a converter from liters/100 km (standard Euro measure) to miles/gallon likely that, too, used imperial.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

The prius gets about 50 mpg. If they ever get that technology to the point you can get 80 or 90 mpg, would electric cars die. i dont know how doable that is though.

no because on a gas equivalent scale costwise, my LEAF is more along the lines of 150 to 180 MPG. So still a long way to go and keep in mind; the higher the performance, the greater the potential for failure.

Now, I dont mean failure on the manufacturer's part. failure of the driver to drive well enough in good enough conditions with favorable enough terrain to achieve said performance.

There is no doubt a Prius can do EXACTLY as advertised but several can't do it based on one or more of the factors mentioned above. The higher MPG only means a greater percentage of people highly unlikely to make it.

But keep in mind; a higher standard may mean getting "only" 60 MPG. Still better than your Daddy's Oldsmobile

 

[mikeyd810]

As a city car, the Volt is indeed a better idea, if it has enough room for you. If you plan to leave the city, however, the Volt's pitiful 37MPG when charge is exhausted is terrible compared to the PIP's 60 or more.

While I'll agree the Prius has a far superior ICE mpg you can't compare the Volts 37MPG EPA number to a 60MPG no EPA number, EPA ratings are 35/40 and 51/48 respectively so lets keep that in context.

 

[LeftieBiker]

As a city car, the Volt is indeed a better idea, if it has enough room for you. If you plan to leave the city, however, the Volt's pitiful 37MPG when charge is exhausted is terrible compared to the PIP's 60 or more.

While I'll agree the Prius has a far superior ICE mpg you can't compare the Volts 37MPG EPA number to a 60MPG no EPA number, EPA ratings are 35/40 and 51/48 respectively so lets keep that in context.

OK, let's compare the PIP's commonly-claimed (by owner/drivers) MPG numbers with the Volt's. Typically, Volt drivers claim 40-42MPG with EV charge exhausted, while PIP drivers claim 60-65MPG with EV charge exhausted. I've seen claims as high as 45MPG for the Volt, and 72 for the PIP. The difference is that the Volt was designed as an EV with a REX almost as large as a typical ICE compact engine, while the PIP was designed as a 'super hybrid' with the highest possible hybrid MPG. The Volt's numbers aren't really surprising once you consider the above design, while the PIP's economy is still surprising - no one ever thought a family-sized car with bumpers and doors and a roof could get anywhere near 80MPG. It's ironic, given Toyota's distaste for EVs...

 

[asimba2]

I don't care if they came out with 250 mpg gas cars, my interest level is ZERO. I love not burning gas, not buying gas, not hearing and feeling a gas engine and transmission try and sort things out--the smooth surge of all electric power with no gear shifting is the only thing I am interested in anymore. That's a big statement from a car enthusiast such as myself.

 

[donald]

The Nissan Note 1.5 dci I was given as a courtesy car at my last service had little fuel in it but I didn't want to waste time stopping at a service station. So I figured there was enough.

I did not drive as slow as I could, but, rather, gently but 'purposively' as I would ordinarily drive, getting to 60mph on the motorway. It was an entirely 'routine' drive, as far as I was concerned.

Having reset the trip meter to see what mpg it would actually deliver, I arrived back at the dealership after 26 miles with 98 mpg showing. It dropped to 94 mpg just manoeuvring into a parking space, but it was in excess of 99 mpg (the max it would show) for just about all the time I was on the motorway above or around 60mph. It was a bit annoying not showing above 99mpg actually, because I couldn't 'tune' my driving to find the sweetest sweet spot.

98 mpg ain't too bad, though.

(Units are AVDP. Divide by 1.2 for USCU mpg. 98mpg AVDP = 82mpg USCU)

I used to have a Skoda Octavia with the 110bhp variable geometry turbo and common rail 1896 tdi. I would commute to work at a steady 52 mph because the engine would sit right on max BMEP at that speed. I routinely got mid 80's mpg, peaking at 89 mpg. (I never did quite crack that 90 mpg figure with it!)

I have serious doubts about the real effect of hybridising an ICE. I guess it works if you have exactly the same driving profile as the test cycles, but I sit on a mid-distance commute every day and little regen opportunity. In fact, I know the route so well I can drive a regular ICE and get away with any braking at all on occasions for the whole trip, if the lights are favourable. Better never to brake at all than have a regen facility. I cannot remotely see what benefit regen brings if you are simply pottering along a motorway for mile after mile.

Generally, I see hybridsation and stop/start type mechanisms as a defeat device to get around fuel consumption tests. Real world experiences from people driving a regular ICE to these variants show NO fuel economy benefits.

I'd agree that just looking at fuel consumption and running costs is missing the point of EVs. My old diesel car, which has now been parked up for a year, is cheaper to run on the road than my EV.

 

[SilverLeaf]

Just got a 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid. It gets 45 highway/50 city. Would have bought the plug-in hybrid, but not available, not serviced in AZ yet.

By the time the 54.5 mpg CAFE standards kick in, all the hybrids will get close to 75 or 80 mpg.

In another 15 years or so, all cars will be hybrids, PIH or EV. CAFE standards will require it.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I don't care if they came out with 250 mpg gas cars, my interest level is ZERO. I love not burning gas, not buying gas, not hearing and feeling a gas engine and transmission try and sort things out--the smooth surge of all electric power with no gear shifting is the only thing I am interested in anymore. That's a big statement from a car enthusiast such as myself.

+1 on that level of interest but unfortunately, my need is a bit higher than that.

* LEAF not a "buyable" car for me. Range is too short, degradation too fast. (although its pretty slow comparatively speaking in my area) So lease is the only option. For whatever reason, I failed to investigate a higher mileage lease option so only have 15,000 miles to play with

* drive for work using POVs 75% of the time. There are random drives that require longer range vehicles up to 300 miles roundtrip (and occasionally longer although I always opt for the company car in those situations, plus my boss encourages it as my mileage reimbursement is pretty spendy) so an occasional gasser is required but not always available. There are some at my company who refuse to use their POVs at any time and they have that option.

* My gasser allows me to stay within my lease limits. my half year point is exactly a month away. I have 6900 miles on the LEAF, 3100 miles on the Corolla (that rate has dropped a LOT since earlier in the year since Jan/Feb covered 1900 of those miles)

*The kicker on the gasser is that it only drives optimal trips so I am averaging over 40 mpg in a car that should be getting something closer to 34-35 mpg (EPA is 33) and lately have been using it to keep it in running condition on jobs that were well within the LEAF's range.

Now this works if you are willing to drive a "junker" and do the leg work to find one. My Corolla cost $2500 after taxes, licensing, etc. and it took over 6 months to find it, 2 months of negotiating to buy it. (they wanted $3100 plus tax.) My criteria for the car was excellent mechanical condition, apperances poor. (that helps with negotiations) so the car is not pretty. The clear coat is peeling in places but it runs like a top and considering it will drive 95% freeway miles, should last me more than long enough to get my money back from it (if that is possible)

I have been thinking about it and running cost experiments to determine what I would pay on a lease for a high mileage car...