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Featured PHEVs taking a hit in recent study

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Marine Ray, Feb 7, 2020.

  1. Marine Ray

    Marine Ray Senior Member

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    Not sure what I think about these recent headlines about PHEVs emitting more emissions. From what I can tell they didn't use a PP in their studies. From article - "A study conducted by The Miles Consultancy, a fuel management firm, found that vehicles produced by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, and Volkswagen often returned fuel consumption figures that are up to three times higher than advertised."

    PHEVs consume 3 times more fuel if not charged
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    because they are saying if not plugged in.

    it's basically an argument to support boris johnson's new push for bev's a la, "we can't trust that people would actually plug in their car if it has a petrol engine.

    and they are also using the smallest, lightest, most fuel efficient gassers fo the comparison.
     
  3. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Yeah, politically motivated studies to oust all gasoline engine automobiled. Of course, if BMW blatantly advertised 137mpg and not 137MPGe for their PHEV and no other numbers, then that's their fault. At least TOYOTA is smart enough to include 54mpg HV only efficiency.

    From the article:
    "187 regularly-charged BMW PHEVs were audited, and the average fuel economy is only 42 mpg (6.7 litres per 100 km) versus the claimed figure of 137 mpg (2.1 litres per 100 km)."
     
  4. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    A headline has so much power.
    The headline could have been, "PHEV's three times as efficient on electricity than gas!".

    Gives a whole new 'feel' to the article.
     
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  5. Marine Ray

    Marine Ray Senior Member

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    Heard reports like this a little while ago. After reflection I think these reports are back out in the forefront in the UK because of UK's recent ban on petrol and diesel by 2025.
     
  6. Chazman62

    Chazman62 Member

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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    3x more fuel than apollo 19, or 3x more fuel than a bicycle?
     
  9. smyles

    smyles Active Member

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    It's on Internet, so must be true.
     
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  10. Chazman62

    Chazman62 Member

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    I guess you only read the title
    The article says it uses 3x more than those manufacturers' claim.
     
  11. PT Guy

    PT Guy Senior Member

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    "hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars are normally heavier than their petrol counterparts due to the extra weight incurred by having an electric motor and battery pack."
    True

    "PHEV owners sometimes neglect to charge their vehicles, thus losing the benefits of electrification."
    True

    "187 regularly-charged BMW PHEVs were audited, and the average fuel economy is only 42 mpg (6.7 litres per 100 km) versus the claimed figure of 137 mpg"
    Terrible writing. We know that the U.S. EPA tests alternative fuel and plug in hybrids for "miles per gallon equivalent." MPGe. The test has specifications that some drivers may duplicate in the real world, and most won't. In any case, it is a useful yardstick. If the test BMWs were rated at 137 MPGe, OK, that's good for drivers who come close to the specs in the test. If they only got 42 actual combined electric and gasoline mpg, and were indeed regularly-charged (whatever that means), then something is very amiss.
     
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  12. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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  13. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    And my dodge has always consumed twice as much fuel in the winter but nobody seems to care about winter efficiency
     
  14. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    First paragraph of the article, "It turns out that plug-in hybrid cars are capable of emitting up to three times more carbon dioxide in the real world compared to advertised figures, and some of the cars are even more polluting than lighter petrol vehicles, the Daily Mail reports."

    Okay, it is using UK figures. The WLTP is just going into effect, and given the slant of the article, they are liking using NEDC for the advertised figures. The NEDC is an easy test with high efficiency numbers even on the consumer(window sticker) side. IIRC, they exceed the results of the pre-2008 EPA. Virtually all cars on the road in Europe are going to emit more CO2 in real world driving than what the test results state because of the difference between the two.

    On top of that, the official rating for PHEVs is combined figure of electric and ICE miles. It is actually difficult finding separate official figures for the different modes. So these cars' official, advertised figures are further improved by the inclusion of ICE fuel and CO2 free miles.
     
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    I get 60-70 mpg without plugging in.

    top that gassers! :p
     
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  16. noonm

    noonm Senior Member

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    So unrealistic lab test is unrealistic.

    Unless they also show the PHEV doing worse than the HEV or regular gasser version, I'm calling this article super misleading.
     
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  17. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    .... but where's the hysterical drama in that?!?
    .
     
  18. RomanCro

    RomanCro Junior Member

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    Your comment also is on Internet

    SM-G973F ?
     
  19. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    "Remember The Maine".
     
  20. markabele

    markabele owner of PiP, then Leaf, then Model 3

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    Even as ardent supporter of EV's as I am, I still believe PHEV's have their place. They are especially fitting for families that have just one vehicle, need to take a lot of road trips, live in cold areas that don't have access to lots of charging infrastructure, and might not have the means to buy a long range Tesla.

    I hope and expect this to change in the next 3-5 years.