Every now and then you read an article about hybrids that put a new spin: Source: Acura Hoping Hybrid Version Can Charge Up Sluggish Sales of ILX Model | TheDetroitBureau.com Huh??? 38 MPG??? What are they thinking? But there is some good news: Source: Acura Hoping Hybrid Version Can Charge Up Sluggish Sales of ILX Model | TheDetroitBureau.com I welcome their new commitment to hybrid technology. Whether or not they achieve their 'sales goal', I don't know. We sure are getting a lot of "PowerPoint" success stories. Let's see what happens when the rubber meets the road. Bob Wilson
You need to step out side the Prii circle once and awhile, Bob. Fuel Economy Assuming the link works, that is a power search on fueleconomy.gov for 2013 and 2014 hybrids. There is 8 pages with up to 10 vehicles per page. Combined mpg numbers are in the low 40's by the second page. By the third, they have dropped below 40. The first SUV shows up on the fourth. There are some '13 and '14 duplicates, but that'll extend through out the list. The Prius, with its 50mpg combined, has been a high end outlier on hybrid fuel efficiency for years. It has only recently been matched by the Prius c. The only other hybrids with ratings within 10% of it are the Fusion, Accord, MKZ, and Jetta. The Prius has been successful because it get exceptional fuel economy, even for hybrid. So 38mpg for what is probably and more performance oriented hybrid is good. It even looks better when the ILX hybrid's combined is 10mpg higher than its most fuel efficient non-hybrid sibling. Compare Side-by-Side
i don't see any future with this ILX Hybrid, it's another Lexus HS 250. the normal civic gets 44 combined and the 2014 Accord hybrid claims 47. so competitors from within the Honda family will lead to its early demise.
I didn't even know about this article and any new version. I'd known about the currently sold ILX hybrid which was basically a gussied up Civic Hybrid. Like the HCH, it sells in TINY numbers. September 2013 Dashboard - HybridCars.com December 2012 Dashboard - HybridCars.com It's even worse than the HS 250h, in the sense that the current one is just as wimpy in acceleration as a HCH. At least the HS had the HyCam's powertrain and 187 hp total system hp w/much nicer interior bits than any Prius.
If the ILX hybrid was mid 40s I may have considered it. In the end I didn't feel like it was a good value and read a few too many stories about Civic hybrids having battery issues.
Thanks! I looked at the Civic and Insight (II) but found they were a little too small for our family. I had not really followed the Honda lines and it sounds like this is another paper exercise. Bob Wilson
Take a look at the front of any current Acura and you'll see why they don't sell. UGLY. My wife had one and it was the most expensive car to maintain I've owned in the last 20 years. Mileage is only part of their problem.
The 2014 ILX Hybrid looks interesting and looks like it will be a great car, and their high end version priced at the same as the Prius Four with Solar Package, but the Prius liftback still has the advantage of the cargo carrying capability and better mpg. Also, Toyota reliability for the hybrids is excellent, while for Honda/Acura, it is still TBD. One of my best friends had an 2008 Acura MDX suv, but it was very unreliable, and then the left fron LED headlight assembly went out, the dealer wanted 3K for replacement, so he drove with one headlight assembly working. A year later, the other headlight assembly failed and the dealer wanted 6K to replace both (as he had no headlights)...thus he ended up having to trade the car in.
My mother had a 2004 TL with 130+k miles and no major problems. Father claimed it got 30mpg on the highway with regular. They traded it in for Mini this year.
Huh? Here are the sales for the first 75% of fuel-efficient cars, 3 of 4 sold, . . . you know people buying cars: Column 1 0 [tr][th]model[th]Sep_13[th]Aug_13[th]Jul_13[th]Jun_13 1 [tr][td2]Toyota Prius Liftback[td2]9033[td2]16157[td2]15252[td2]14066 2 [tr][td2]Jetta Diesel[td2]3716[td2]5876[td2]4821[td2]3940 3 [tr][td2]Toyota Prius C[td2]3283[td2]5478[td2]3797[td2]3442 4 [tr][td2]Toyota Camry Hybrid[td2]3069[td2]4729[td2]4193[td2]3878 5 [tr][td2]Passat Diesel[td2]2784[td2]4470[td2]3997[td2]3405 6 [tr][td2]Toyota Prius V[td2]2422[td2]3932[td2]3428[td2]2987 7 [tr][td2]Ford Fusion Hybrid[td2]2265[td2]3694[td2]2914[td2]3057 8 [tr][td2]Sonata[td2]2102[td2]2303[td2]2200[td2]2129 9 [tr][td2]Nissan Leaf[td2]1953[td2]2420[td2]1864[td2]2225 10 [tr][td2]Chevrolet Volt[td2]1766[td2]3351[td2]1788[td2]2698 11 [tr][td2]Ford C-Max Hybrid[td2]1424[td2]2411[td2]2267[td2]2889 12 [tr][td2]Kia Optima Hybrid[td2]1272[td2]1601[td2]1241[td2]1100 13 [tr][td2]ES Hybrid[td2]1223[td2]1600[td2]1324[td2]1239 14 [tr][td2]Toyota Prius Plug In[td2]1152[td2]1791[td2]817[td2]584 15 [tr][td2]Avalon Hybrid[td2]1104[td2]1467[td2]1139[td2]1394 16 [tr][td2]Tesla Model S*[td2]1100[td2]1700[td2]1550[td2]1800 17 [tr][td2]BMW X5 Diesel[td2]939[td2]488[td2]468[td2]544 18 [tr][td2]Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid[td2]887[td2]712[td2]417[td2]438 Source: Jeff Cobb's Hybrid Market Dashboard - HybridCars.com (well worth reading!) Bob Wilson
You seemed, um, confused that it 'only' got 38mpg combined. The Civic hybrid gets 44mpg. The ILX is just an upscale version that gets a smidge more power, has larger wheels and wider tires, and is about 100 pounds heavier. Yes, the Prius sells well because of the 50mpg. The only other hybrid to challenge and surpass it was the original Insight. Its sales were hampered by only having two seats and being manual only at first. The Prius does well by being a well rounded car in addition to the fuel economy. While the Prius offered 50mpg for years, hybrid market share had stagnated. It took a widening of the segment to improve that. If it were just about high mpg though, then the Jetta should be selling better. The Camry and Prius v sell much better than it, and even the Fusion, and they are closer to the 38 than 50. Prius owners and supporters need to come down from the rarified air of 50mpg, and admit that 38 and 37mpg aren't low. Yes, they could be better. But 50mpg isn't good enough if it isn't moving the majority of people from the inefficient vehicles they are buying.
Well you are helping me to decide if I should include the "Hogan." Chris Hogan had created a metric: volume * MPG -> ft{3} miles / gallon :: a metric of usefulness I had not done this in the past because it means making another table to maintain with vehicle volume and MPG (using EPA from www.fueleconomy.gov). It remains a very useful 'number' for the utility provided by a vehicle. Smaller ones with very high MPG become competitive with larger ones with more modest MPG whereas if we looked at just MPG, we would have no idea. I'll probably have it in the October sales report at least for the top 20. There is less and less value in going down to the sales "noise." Bob Wilson
By next summer, the 2015 Acura tlx will have the hybrid powertrain of the New Accord, the 2015 Acura rlx & nsx hybrids. I think Acura will upgrade the ilx hybrid system, the same powertrain that will go into Insight & Civic. http://inhabitat.com/hondas-new-hybrid-powertrain-for-small-cars-gets-86-mpg-in-japan/
A good thing! I'd like to see the Hondas join the top-tier of fuel efficient vehicle sales. If nothing else but to displace or dilute the diesels. <grins> Bob Wilson
I forgot that this is also still the old IMA system. My main point is not to go and poo poo a car's fuel economy because it isn't as great the Prius numbers. The ILX hybrid's 38 mpg is a 33% improvement over its non-hybrid counter part. That is a big improvement. It won't have big sales, but the ILX is a Civic for people that think the Honda name plate is beneath them. It isn't a big market to begin with.
My wife has the ILX hybrid 2013. She gets 35 MPG combined real world. The interior is much nicer than my Prius 4. The stereo is superior, leather seats, dash is nice. Takes premium gas though. Car is light and small but drives good. Back seat not good for big adults. She likes the car better than her previous car a Acura TSX. She saved about $100 - $150 a month in Gasoline from the previous car. She will sell in 3-5 years from purchase to avoid major repairs. She thinks the Prius is better for long drives more comfortable
Curious, I don't remember mentioning the Prius in my original posting. For all you know, I could have had a bad experience with the number 38 (and when she was bad, she was wonderful). Whining like a Honda fanboy ignores the fact that this is "PriusChat." In contrast, I won't be running over to Honda/Ford/GM/Dodge/VW sites to post they should 'be nice to the Prius.' That would be like teaching a pig to sing, it won't work and the pig resents it. So instead of projecting something that isn't there, look critically at "38 MPG" and ask, "Is it good enough to be considered even 3d place competition?" You're talking GM Sonic range . . . maybe . . . only on the highway. Bob Wilson
Honda fanboy, please. Brand has nothing to do with it. It's about viewing the subject in the whole, not just from one end of the extremes. I have no interest in this car. For those that do, isn't it a good thing they have a choice of a high mpg model? Or would it be better if Honda had said,"We can't get 50mpg so eff it. Just offer the 28mpg and 25mpg models."? If the 38mpg was called out for reasons other than for fuel efficiency performance, then you needed to provide more context. As you say, it is Priuschat. It is a reasonable assumption that any other car brought up is being compared to the Prius.
I've heard about the Acura TLX coming out sometime. Good to hear they are planning a hybrid version. Hopefully Honda has done a great job with this 'Sport Hybrid' line of drivetrains. They need to make a big comeback because the Civic Hybrid, Insight II and CR-Z have been a disappointment for MUCH too long.
