Hi,
Quote:
Originally Posted by Volkov
Well, I tried to keep the post from getting too long. Here's the clarification. We are a 3 vehicle family - my Impreza, her Beetle, and the family Yukon XL which is often driven by our nanny. The nature and schedule of our jobs requires a vehicle each.
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Thanks, I wanted to get the big picture and this clarifies everything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Volkov
The Yukon isn't going anywhere - no other real options for what it does. We are trying to relegate it to very limited duty ie. when everyone and a large amount of gear are going somewhere. We have decided to replace the Beetle with a smaller 6-7 passenger to achieve this goal. The Highlander is the front-runner here. The big issue was whether or not the HiHY would see the real world gains in our situation over the ICE Highlander that the EPA numbers suggest. If it does, it will be worth the extra $$ (Toyo dealers throughout BC will only sell the HY for msrp). If our driving habits are likely to degrade Hybrid performance much more than ICE performance and we won't see much benefit, then as stated we'd put cash towards a different project.
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Based upon what you'd previously posted with assumption of ~5 mi. trips with 'engine cool off' stops, it will be hard, even impossible to meet the EPA numbers, especially in the winter even with a block heater. The primary reason is the EPA tests are of 30 minute duration. If you are driving 5 miles in 30 minutes, that is an average speed of 10 miles per hour. I find my 20 minute commute just long enough to get my Prius to give efficient numbers and I live Alabama.
However, I would defer to any data points posted by Highlander, Ford or Lexus drivers. But very short trips and cold weather hit the current hybrid architectures pretty hard.
Bob Wilson