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Kiwi's on Crack?!?

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by tripp, Apr 15, 2007.

  1. tripp

    tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

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    From tailpipe to the smoke stack

    This is a strange one from down under. The bloke's assessment of BEVs isn't accurate (he's a subscriber to the long tailpipe) and neither is his assessment of HEVs (unless he's lumped in the really mild hybrids). The end of the article makes a lot of sense though (smaller engines and conservation). It's a very bizarre thing. He misses the point and clearly doesn't understand hybrids like the Prius (he claims that in highway driving hybrids are a wash, compared to what?). Still, it's a different perspective from some ones who's not, as far as I can tell, a Detroit shill. I looked for a way to post a comment but alas, couldn't find one. Any Kiwis out there that'd like to send the Herald a rebuttal?
     
    #1 tripp, Apr 15, 2007
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    well he does make a point about lighter cars and less power lol.
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Apr 15, 2007
  3. tripp

    tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Apr 15 2007, 09:30 PM) [snapback]423825[/snapback]</div>
    Which is the part that is strange. All of us in NA are used to all of the usual criticisms with the "so drive the biggest SUV you can find" bit tacked onto the end. I found it rather interesting in that respect.
     
    #3 tripp, Apr 15, 2007
  4. donee

    donee New Member

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    Hi Tripp,

    A plain full hybrid is a wash on the highway. Plain Hybrid meaning the engine was not downsized to achieve the same accelleration, or changed in cycle and it uses the standard transmission (no eCVT). It can still be stop start, and electric drive up to slow speeds, as well as electric acceleration assist. If you are using the same size Otto cycle engine, and add on an electric drive besides, on the highway the electric drive is not doing anything, and the Otto engine is runing through the same transmission it would have anyway. An example of this is the Hybrid Accord.

    I think people forget the Prius is more than just a hybrid. It uses the Hybrid Synergy Drive transmission to allow it to use the Atkinson cycle engine, and the Hybrid Synergy Drive transmission provides CVT matching of the engine operating condition to the vehicle requirements more precisely. The Prius also has the downsized engine, so that it can run at more efficient levels during cruise and low speed travel.
     
    #4 donee, Apr 16, 2007
  5. tripp

    tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

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    Agreed, but considering that the Prius is the most visible and has by far the largest market share I think it's a really misleading statement. I don't think that it was intentional, but there it is. He definitely seemed to be throwing all hybrids into one pile.
     
    #5 tripp, Apr 16, 2007
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Well even on the highway, I still get better mileage than my dad's Camry (70mph is the marker), granted the difference is small (5.1L/100km vs 6.7L/100km on the Camry) but it's still a difference.

    Although, it must be the said that the Camry is a more comfortable highway cruiser.

    What's odd is that there's a particular stretch of road just across the river in the next city that I can P&G with the Prius. However if I set the CC, sometimes it runs the engine and sometimes it EVs. Now, if it runs the engine, the instant FE reads very very similar to what the Camry does on that same stretch of road on CC. The speed is 60km/h. Just thought it's interesting to point out that the two get almost identical mileage on that flat bit (very slight downhill in some bits ~100m tops) at 60km/h.
     
    #6 Tideland Prius, Apr 16, 2007
  7. tripp

    tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

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    The CC seems overly aggressive to me. Just the other day a drove a stretch of road about 10 mi long at speeds between 45-55 mph with occasional traffic lights. I didn't look at the milage bars on the way down (but I jumped quite a bit mpg wise), but on the way back up that stretch of road I got something like 70MPG with the same speed range. The terrain was slighly undulating but really pretty flat.
     
    #7 tripp, Apr 16, 2007
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tripp @ Apr 16 2007, 12:02 PM) [snapback]424142[/snapback]</div>
    Well I'm probably the last person to ask about CC since we had four Toyotas all with CCs so I'm basically moulded into Toyota's CC system so everything is business as usual to me.

    I had to fiddle around when I test drove the HCH-II cause its CC buttons are mounted on the wheel rather than on a separate stalk.
     
    #8 Tideland Prius, Apr 16, 2007
  9. Nevillewc

    Nevillewc New Member

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    Bottom of the Herald home page has a contacts link
     
    #9 Nevillewc, Apr 18, 2007
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