The New Ford Fiesta coming out this summer, borrows some fuel-saving tech from Prius

The growing list of Prius killers:

• Honda two-seat Insight - dead
• Honda Civic Hybrid - fingernails, bumped head
• GM "mild hybrid" - deadman walking
• GM Aveo - BRAAAAHHHAAAA
• GM "two mode" - ROTFLMAO
• Jetta TDI - yawn
• Golf TDI - <snore>
• Honda four/five-seat Insight - owch, bumped head
• Ford Fiesta - pretender
• Mini Cooper - following the Jetta TDI
• <next?>

Somehow, the Prius competitors don't get it:

1. You can get less than a Prius
2. You can get more than a Prius
   
3. But you'll always pay more to run

Still, they keep trying.

Bob Wilson

 

yea the Prius only gets52 mpg city, so it looks like you need to add a 3k battery and 3k for some electric motors, ect ect.

most cars now get 22 city and 30 hwy so around 30 city is good.

 

Adopt DFI, Lower the ICE displacement, use Toyota's new e/VVT-i technique(***), and add an e/ICE SC w/intercooler to the Prius and it wouldn't need "battery BOOST" for hwy acceleration.

50 MPG hwy.

*** e/VVT-i allows standard "Otto" mode, 15-16:1 CR for hwy cruising, low to moderate "throttle". Use e/VVT-i to switch into Atkinson cycle mode, 10:1 CR for moderately high to high "throttle". WOT, bring on the boost, INTERCOOLED BOOST.

e/ICE SC....Drive the SC via a CVT/PSD. Use a small lightweight cabon fiber positive displacement SC. Vary the SC "boost" "at will" and eliminate the throttle plate.

 

Simple answer is lawyers and money. The safety regulations along with crash ratings have put a great deal of weight on these cars. The city cycle means that all that mass must be decelerated and the energy moved to heat with traditional brakes. The solution is to have more efficient engines, lighter materials, and/or a system to reuse some of the braking energy. All of these things cost more money, and the economy cars have a more critical need for low cost. The prius shaves weight by using aluminum hood and hatch, uses a more efficient engine, and regenerant brakes. The low hanging fruit are DFI engines and electric flywheel (honda IMA, BMW/Mercedes hybrids) based motor/generators to recapture energy while braking.

I think your idea will likely make it into the ford focus with 1.6 liter ecoboost (turbo not super charging but its similar). Hopefully we will see the same engine in their hybrid and see if there is a difference in highway mileage.

 

2011 Ford Fiesta | Official Site of the Ford Fiesta | FordVehicles.com

There is a rumor that it will get the 1.2L ecoboost down the line.

 

Don't think ford ever thought of this as a prius killer. They are finally adding amenities to small cars, and giving people a choice. It seems to be a well engineered, good fuel economy, inexpensive small car (although options can put it up in price).

The focus plug-in hybrid will be the first swipe ford takes against the prius. It's likely to increase the hybrid market instead of kill the prius.

car and driver speculated on the 1.6L ecoboost for the US market. That 1.2L rumor is mainly for europe.

 

If Ford can make the 1.2-liter I-4 Ecoboost engine keep the same power and torque as the 1.6-liter I-4 Ti-VCT engine now in the Fiesta, we may be talking 32 mpg city, 43 mpg highway based on the EPA 2008 test. That's a huge achievement for a gasoline engine given how severe the EPA 2008 test is.