|
|
|
Who needs a hybrid when you can have diesel? Oh wait Diesels More Efficient than Hybrids In Real World
Filed under: Opinion, Hybrid
|
Noticeably absent from the US roadways these days are passenger cars that run on diesel, but it seems like you can't go down to the store for milk without seeing ten hybrids drive by. Environmental website Clean Green Cars released results of their comparison between diesel and hybrid emissions, and the results are sure to shock.
"No better in the real world than diesels," is the word from Jay Nagley, publisher of Clean Green Cars. From their test English driving course from London to Brighton, diesels in general burned less gasoline than hybrid counterparts. And by counterparts they mean to put together the Jeep Patriot and the Toyota Prius side by side, with the Prius only barely edging out the diesel-powered Patriot. Hybrids, however, lost out phenomenally when the Civic IMA and the Ford Focus Econetic were compared, and when the Lexus GS 450h and BMW 535d were compared side-by-side, respectively. A sad day for hybrids, to be sure, but real world efficiency is what should really convince consumers, not dealer numbers.
The results from the report stacked up in the following way:
- Toyota Prius vs. Jeep Patriot 2.0 CRD
- Toyota Prius - 7.1 litres/100km (33.13 mpg)
- Jeep Patriot - 7.29 litres/100km (32.27 mpg)
- Honda Civic vs. Ford Focus Econetic
- Honda Civic IMA - 6.91 litres/100km (34.04 mpg)
- Ford Focus Econetic - 5.38 litres/100km (43.72 mpg)
- Lexus GS450h vs. BMW 535d
- Lexus GS 450h - 9.96 litres/100km (23.62 mpg)
- BMW 535d - 9.27 litres/100km (25.37 mpg)
Part of the problem is that these vehicles spend little time being run solely by the battery, leading to a situation in which the benefits of a hybrid start to marginalize themselves. Even the ability to stop the engine automatically when at a light is less of attractive when there are options like stop/start for the Mini diesel, which makes 5.59 litres/100km (42 mpg) around town. And in an interesting twist, according to Nagley, "if the batteries run down, a hybrid will automatically start its petrol engine at traffic lights just to recharge the batteries."
Conventional hybrids, in their current form, offer no concrete benefits over a diesel (assuming you can get your hands on one here in the States), and it's only the next generation of models promised in 2010 that should really provide increases in efficiency.
Here in California, the use of the LEV II standard used since 2004 effectively outlawed the sale of diesel passenger cars in the state, as diesel engines tend to release more particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions, the main ingredient in global warming, is actually lower than in more conventional unleaded cars, leading to what is essentially a no-win situation: consumers are only offered cars which expel more CO2, and are taken to the bank whenever they stop for a refill. Maybe it's time to revisit our other options.
|
|