real world test of hybrid and diesel cars

very nice... now we know how the HAH padded its mileage figures...hehehe

*edit*

just saw the fuel cell segment... not bad, BUT...

1)no trunk...ok drive with most of my Prius empty most of the time anyway.

2)20 second startup time...i can live with that.

3) 0-100 kph (66 mph) in 15 seconds... ok the Prius is MUCH faster, but i rarely need it or use it...i suppose i could

4) at least they mention the hydrogen supply... they didnt mention however, how much one of these vehicles would cost. a hydrogen supply line can be had. just take some of the vast emptiness of the interior US, create massive wind and solar farms. create the hydrogen and pipe it to humanity... that will only cost a few trillion... so ya... it could work... only would need to have a few dozen govermmental bodies to agree on...ok that would be impossible...

now if we could make it so only a few governmental agen...oh ya... that would only be very very very difficult...but it could be done...ya it could be done

 

Very nice segment and comparison... I felt like this was fair in their driving situations in fact my daily commute is a mini version of their trip as far as highway, in town, constuction and such. This makes me feel even better about waiting for my Prius. I was suprised that the camry beat the HAH but I suppose a 4 cyl in comparison to a 6 even with hybrid would make such a difference. I do have to wonder where that 7 mile variation in the trip meter came from with the same route lane changes and variations should not have made up 7 mile honda may need to check that out.

Thanks for a great link!

 

i think the MUCH bigger surprise was the FEH beating the Camry... that was an eye opener

 

Hmmm....Prius; almost 55 mpg combined in a "real world" (not Consumers Report) test! But, just as interesting is what the stop n' go driving did to all the others, including the TDI!

Oh, and how 'bout that Dagmar!

 

Just to pre-empt some confusion I can see coming up...

They measured 54 miles per standard gallon, which is 45 miles per U.S. gallon.

Which I found a good, reassuring figure, as it totally matches my normal experience (far more so than all the people around here claiming to regularly get over 60mpg (50 US mpg)).

 

also have to remember that any driving test is based on conditions. but the relationship between any derived figure will be accurate. also remember that the Prius had 3+ km added to its distance driven despite not driving that distance. so its true mileage is even lower.

but lets face it, they did not beat the competition because there was no competition. they more than doubled the mileage of the worst competitor and was 33% better than their nearest "competitor"... the omission of any real competition (the HCH) is amazing

 

I'm really surprised the regular Accord did so poorly: 20 mpg! That's awful for a 4 cylinder!

 

Right on... that show is locally based. Love seeing the familiar sights Great segment!

 

great illustration that mileage is not the only reason why you should get a Prius for commutes if any heavy traffic is involved. all that stop and go is why the HA ICE and Camry didnt do well.

 

It seemed like he always had to remind us that it was a 1.5 liter engine and without the electric motor, it would still get better mileage than the others.

Ohh, and Dagmar is looking good... B)

 

Driving in convoy as they did in this show just about precludes smart Prius driving, so I am not too surprised at the poor results. If the canadian Prius has a fuel tank bladder like the US version, they are wrong in thinking that a fill-up till petrol shows in the inlet is a reasonable way to figure out fuel used. They should have also reported the MFD result.

I would have enjoyed hearing how many years of petrol savings it takes to recoup the initial higher cost of the VW diesel.

I'm surprised the Honda Hybrid did so poorly. I understand the hybrid assist is useless in a car with such a big engine as it is, but I do not understand why VCM, which effectively turns the car into a petite 3 cylinder, does so poorly vs the other non-hybrid cars.

 

On the subject of the 1.5-litre Yaris - it illustrates quite nicely the difference between European and Americans' desire for power. The 1.5 litre engine you get as standard over there is only in the "T Sport" Yaris here. Our normal versions have a 1.0 or 1.3 litre engine (or 1.4 turbodiesel). A 103 bhp engine in a supermini seems a little overkill...

 

No kidding! Could not agree more. He even goes out of his way to work badmouthing hybrids into bits that are completely unrelated.

From Driving Television's website:
As co-host of Driving Television Zack Spencer is one of the most respected Automotive Journalists in Canada. Entertaining, informative, and popular, Zack's reviews are carefully thought out. When he rates a car for driving and value for money, viewers know that Zack's opinion has been well researched and is reliable.

I laughed so hard I almost coughed up a lung! So he's an engineer? ...journeyman mechanic? ...former race car driver? Hah! Let's try radio DJ turned weatherman. OK, to be fair, he actually is a pretty good DJ and weather-script-reader, but his automotive knowledge is pretty weak. I've heard him say this more times than I could count,

"A hybrid starts on electric power, then switches to gas power."

That was the sum total of his understanding. Well, I haven't watched the piece yet (it's downloading in the background as I type this) so I'll end this little rant and see if he's figured anything out yet.

 

That is an awesome set of videos...almost addresses all those "everything you were curious about" type questions...

believe it or not, those vids have convinced a friend to get a prius(he has been on the verge of it for weeks....but that was the clincher)

lolz @ the accord too

also, I know I may be biased but looking at the interior/exterior styling of all those cars, the prius is in a class of its own... futuristic - which I like.