hybrid fuel economy comes up short

What I found lacking in the article was a discussion on how non-hybrid cars performed under similar conditions. I believe that the owners reporting gas mileage well below the EPA city numbers is accurate. And I expect that the Consumer Reports study is also (under their testing conditions) is also accurate.

But what mileage would those same owner get compared to the city EPA numbers for conventional cars? And how would conventional engines fare in the same CR testing conditions?

It would be far more interesting to see the comparisons.

 

With a hybrid, it VERY much depends on how you drive one. From what I understand, your gas mileage can vary substantially based on the conditions that you drive in.

You can "force" your hybrid into higher MPG by being easy on the throttle and trying to run the electric motors as much as possible. That's what I hear anyways...

It looks to me that over on that PriusOnline site that they are getting pretty decent mileage averaging 40+ or so overall. That's still pretty good.

 

I agree with Lew, seems like a comparison to non-hybrids and stated gas milage is warranted.

Also, common sense needs to come into play here. If you drive your car at 65+ to work everyday, your milage will always be worse than driving at 55. I take a 30 min trip to work through mostly farmland, I can take back roads at 50 or the highway at 65. I notice the gas lasts a lot longer if I take the scenic route in my '96 Saturn. I haven't measured it, but I must get 5-10 more MPG at that generally lower speed.

Not everyone can choose how fast to drive to work or school (some places going slower than traffic can be bad for your health ), but conservation doesn't need an electric motor to be viable.

 

Or is it because your backroads actual miles is less than your highway miles? 65mph * .5hr = 32.5 miles. 50mph * .5hr = 25 miles.

 

My motorcycle gets about 43mpg on average everyday driving. I've been using it more and more as personal transportation.

 

philip:
getting about 45mpg on my fz1. i only put 6000miles on the car last year and 12000 on the bike. will probably be at least as much milage on the bike this year with gas at $2.20 per gallon.

 

My Jetta TDI gets the as advertised 43 MPG in the city and 48-51 MPG on the highway at 80 MPH over slightly hilly interstates. The EPA shows 42/49 as the mileage estimate for the car.

I think i read somewhere that the optimum speed for most passenger cars is around 45 MPH, something about the motor's efficiency being too low at speeds below that and wind resistance being a factor at speeds above.

 

Are you drag-racing a Honda Rune or what? That mileage is terrible even for a lead-wrist that cruises at 80.

My Vulcan800 gets just under 50mpg I've found if I'm riding one-up in fifth gear at @65mph. I'll need to do much more "testing" at 75mph on the highway this summer before I can get an accurate number for those speeds.

 

I've read that hybrids need to be driven differently than conventional cars for maximum mileage. That under certain conditions, rapid starts can be beneficial for mileage, as slow speed relies heavily on electric motor torque. Then, from there, a light touch does the trick.

If you look at InsightCentral.net, there are guys all over the map with their lifetime mileages- anywhere from 40-80+mpg.

I'm also wondering if the EPA cycle that measures mileage favors electric motor assist. I -think- the battery has to end at the same level of charge as the start, but not sure.

I'm primarily interested in seeing hybrid technology make it into cars with balls. This fall, the Accord V6 is getting a 250hp, 3.0l V6 drivetrain, and supposedly will match Civic EX mileage. I'm a bit skeptical. I think real world numbers will be more like 30/30, which is still spectacular for a car with POWER. I'm after both.

Todd

 

This guy has had both generations of the Prius and he has tracked every drop of gas he has put in and updates his logs frequently.

2001 Prius: Lifetime MPG as of 59,827 miles was: 45.4

2001 Prius: MPG Average for April 2001,2002,2003 was: 46.1


2004 Prius: Lifetime MPG as of 12,487 miles was: 46.8

2004 Prius: Average MPG for April 2004 was: 50.7

 

I also forgot to mention that oxygenated fuels typically chop 10% off the economy of any vehicle. I have charted this- 9% in my Accord, 13% in my Corvette.

That may have a lot to do with it. I'm glad we don't have to mess with these in Orlando.