Volkswagen Launches 261 mpg XL1 Plug-in Hybrid, World’s Most Efficient Production Car

Yes, the 120 mpg number appears to be from the same NEDC "CS mode" test cycle that results in a 47 mpg estimate for the Volt. I think. I got that number from the linked Wikipedia article which seems generally accurate.

 

You came with the answer on bold. Liters/100km in NEDC is a balance between EV range and CS mode consumption, not efficiency.

VW achieved a lot(?). In very few numbers. One times the other gives...almost nothing practical and useful.

 

no? they spent few hundred millions to build a car in 285 examples that all the european media reported on during prime tv?

 

I had no idea that the media put this on prime time in Europe. That would be a marketing success if it pulls in sales of other VWs. It only gets the automotive press here.

 

Yep, I did see it on Prime time TV and thought: meh.
They have spoken about this a decade ago, and the result (without knowing or caring about the exact test cycles) doesn't excite me. Discard the electricity you put into a plug-in and lo and behold, you get fairy numbers of a gazillion miles to the gallon.

Until I hear of a measuring method that I understand and support, I cannot be arsed to get excited by any mpg claim from any plugin.

(And I fully admit I have fallen behind in even attempting to grasp current measuring methods, as I felt I was getting lied to anyway and lost interest a few years back, the last effort I made was get a line stricken from national Volt/Ampera advertising campain as it was an obvious and blatant lie.("Volt achieves >100mpg with depleted battery"))

 

I agree that the 260 mpg "combined and weighted" result can be hard to understand. What is hard to understand about 120 mpg (2.0l/100km) running on diesel after the battery is depleted?

What's complicated about 16kWh/100 miles (10kWh/100km) or 6.25 miles per kWh (10km per kWh) when you are only using the battery?

And 31 miles of EV range is simple.

Those numbers are about what you would expect driving 50-55 mph or 80-90 kph on a dry flat road with climate controls off. Those numbers are achievable with careful driving but most people probably get as much as 1/3 less based on their driving style so just apply your own discount rate and you should have a good idea of the car's real efficiency.

 

Just fyi. The vw group has engineering demos in the xl1 and Porsche 918. These are all very limited production. The golf phev and cross blue are the first more mainstream phevs.

The lower priced gasoline phev golf should be here by the end of next year.
Volkswagen Golf PHEV Now Due in 2014

The 6-7 seat phev SUV looks like it may get produced
VW CrossBlue Concept PHEV Diesel Revealed At Detroit - HybridCars.com
Its the opposite idea of the xl1. Soccar mom's travel short distances in big SUVs, so make that drive more efficient with 14 mile electric range and then 35 mpg fuel economy for longer drives. It also provides eAWD for snowy cimates. Extra seats and extra efficiency compared to the lexus RXh.

VW is behind on the mainstream vehicles, but the 918 and xl1 are excellent examples of the best engineering. Think of how boring it must be to try to squeeze an extra 0.2 mpg from a camry or jetta while keeping costs down.

 

Nothing!, I just didn't read thoroughly enough to even encounter said data due to the fact I loose interest after seeing a mpg number that is actually a combination of grid-power + gasoline.
That number (2l/100km) is about the same as my mate got, 25 years ago on his diesel motorcycle. Granted, he probably wouldn't pass current exhaust regulations

Those are numbers I can work with, but as said, state of mind and body kept me from exploring further. Maybe mainly to the media reporting the number I have a gripe with (mpg which includes but not properly mentiones draining the grid-fed battery), not even the VW press release.


On a side note, they did release me from hospital, so apart from some chemical junk I still have to ingest, I'm at least FREE...

BTW, anyone else think 1900 pounds is a LOT of weight for something mainly made out of carbonfibre?
An acquaintance's Honda S600 weighed in at considerably less with good old fashioned steel... Are modern safety features so insane you cannot negate their weight with any space age materials? (allowing 400+ pounds for the phev-battery to get the S600 to the same weight as the VW)

 

No its not a lot of weight with todays safety standards. Go back to 1975 safety and emissions standards with today's tech and you can do much better. The cf is 230 kg, vw says the car would be 30% heavier in steel, or in other words the a steel body would weigh twice as much, about 460 kg, as the cf one, or about 1000 lbs instead of 500 lbs.

Volkswagen's XL1 concept plug-in diesel hybrid has 260MPG fuel efficiency, questionable aesthetics

Engine, transmission and battery weight (332 kg) or around 730 lbs. This is much heavier than your Honda S600, but also much much more efficient and lower polluting.

 

Adding technology without perspective of cost is all about creating concept cars.
The best engineering is to make good cars for a lot of people!
Squeeze extra MPG from a selling car is a technical challenge, personally I see no boredom on that. May be less interesting than creating concepts, but each job has a purpose, and real cars engineering is still a defying task!

 

And on Fred's TDI, this will be fun to drive, but a Prius isn't.

 

2014 Volkswagen XL1 [w/video] First Drive

 

Some of the areas around here have 4-way signals every 400 feet. So yea, if you hit all the lights red, you may be able to do it in a week. That said, who needs to hit the quarter mile mark in 12, or even 20 seconds. I for one take pride in how long I can last ... um ... I mean reaching the 1/4 mile mark.

 

The only problems I see with this vehicle being they are for lease only (remember EV1), and not available in the US. Still kicking myself for not buying the Ist Gen Insight.

 

EV1 just for grins. Its amazing how much more drag the insight has compared to the others, simply because of little things gm and vw did.

cdA in square meters are
XL1 0.279
EV1 0.367
insgiht 0.474

Coming closest on conventional low priced cars is the 1990 CRX SI with a cdA of 0.53


I saw one of these the other day. Its a shame the cr-z is so much bigger.

 

Still like the look of it, has a back window unlike the XL1!
Old Top Gear EV1 Electric - YouTube

 

"...we keenly remember the feeling of being very small and vulnerable..."

It's just a feeling. I am pretty sure that with enough air bags, you could safely crash something small into something very large without damage.
People might even say you have 'spirit'!