It will be interesting to see how these new modern clean diesels are received here, once they start arriving in the next few years. You can bet there will also be a diesel vs...
hybrid marketing war going on here too.
Snippet: But they are not nearly as green as they claim to be, according to motoring experts. Staff at consumer magazine Which? have just completed a series of exhaustive tests on the latest hybrid models available in the UK with damning results.
They claim vehicles such as the Toyota Prius and new Honda Civic Hybrid perform little better than the equivalent-sized diesel-fuelled cars.
And they say some of the hybrid models are little more than clever marketing tools designed to ease the conscience of motorists looking to buy a large car.
Snippet: But they are not nearly as green as they claim to be, according to motoring experts. Staff at consumer magazine Which? have just completed a series of exhaustive tests on the latest hybrid models available in the UK with damning results.
They claim vehicles such as the Toyota Prius and new Honda Civic Hybrid perform little better than the equivalent-sized diesel-fuelled cars.
And they say some of the hybrid models are little more than clever marketing tools designed to ease the conscience of motorists looking to buy a large car.
ateixeira says:
08:28 AM, 05/ 2/06
"Little better", they say, but better is better. That's like saying we only lost by a little bit.
Any how, the idea of electric assist does not necessarily exclude diesel powertrains.
Diesels do well on the highway, hybrids do well in the city. Combine both and you'd have all-around excellent mileage.
joepublic says:
11:02 AM, 05/ 2/06
If driving on the highway most of the time, he's right that hybrids are "little better" than diesels. But if driving in the city most of the time, (economy-tuned) hybrids beat the pants off of diesels. Even if driving 50/50 highway/city, the hybrid would probably come out on top by a not insignificant margin. I agree with ateixeria: I'd like to see how diesel-hybrids would compare.
rangner says:
12:57 PM, 05/ 2/06
I have to agree with the article. Autoweek recently did a comparo of economy hybrid & diesel cars and the VW Jetta TDI beat the Toyota Prius by 7 to 8 mpg and that was with 2 valves/cyl and no variable geometry turbo. I believe it was a 50/50 mix city highway driving. I think hybrids are a passing trend--just look at cell phone batteries, the same technology, they need to be replaced all the time. Increasingly efficient diesels running on biodiesel will be the next big trend.
joepublic says:
03:09 PM, 05/ 2/06
-shrug-, it's kinda pointless to argue, but there are also comparisons that show the Prius getting better mileage than the TDI (CR, Driving Television). The Autoweek test was 349 miles in a daytrip, pretty sure that's mostly highway:
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060424/FREE/60417021&SearchID=73243364409686
Cell phones use lithium ion batteries while the current crop of hybrids use nickel metal hydride. Cell phones also charge and discharge completely while the Prius's battery only operates between 40% and 80% capacity. This is so it doesn't need to be replaced all the time. I also hope biodiesel succeeds (a hybrid bio-diesel would be even more exciting).
ateixeira says:
07:55 AM, 05/ 3/06
Autoweek's was basically a road trip, 99% highway, at high speeds to keep up with a Corvette (!) pacing the event. Of course the diesel won, as conditions were custom-made to show a diesel's best side.
Repeat the same test as a fleet of city taxis and the hybrid would simply clobber the diesel.
For the record I like both, and want a diesel-electric hybrid.