Car and Driver PRO-HYBRID opinion piece - GreenHybrid

lars-ss · #1 (**permalink**) 11-09-2005, 07:42 AM

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....ticle_id=10260

Really a good read. Plus, he reports on a test drive of an rx400h in MY NECK OF THE WOODS, Flagstaff to Phoenix, and how the engine cut off at 80 miles per hour on the downhill run.

Quote:

Interstate 17 pitches up and down, but mostly down, over the 140-mile run from Flagstaff to Phoenix, Arizona, descending from 7000 feet to about 1000. I was watching the Lexus's "power" screen out of one eye; it shows the flow of power through the hybrid system. With the cruise set at 70 miles per hour, I noticed the engine shut off when the downgrade got steep enough. So I kept inching up the cruise. How fast would it go without the engine? I ran out of hills before finding the upper limit. But I can tell you that the RX400h will dead-stick down at 80 with the A/C and power steering alive. If you weren't watching the screen, you'd never know the engine was off. Would a car that clever be a pleasure to you? It is for me.

gonavy · #2 (**permalink**) 11-09-2005, 08:43 AM

Brilliant comeback at the end for the 'payback' arguement:

"If you want to save money on your next car, here's my advice: Skip the onboard nav option. You'll never save enough in maps and 50-cent phone calls to get your initial cost back."

We've got an ally over there at C&D!

xcel · #3 (**permalink**) 11-09-2005, 08:56 AM

Hi Lars-ss:

___Nice article and by a very well respected member of the car mag consortium.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

Civic Duty · #4 (**permalink**) 11-09-2005, 09:02 AM

Quote:

By this time I was into the game. To keep my engineless streak going, I admit rolling past the stop sign onto the main road. No traffic, no foul. That left another 100 yards to the crest, gently uphill now, but also inescapably up . . . would it, could it? YES! Now a long, half-mile coast to the highway, 1.7 miles from home with the engine still off.

Hybrids are really fun for me.

It's nice to see a "neutral" party actually get swept up in what makes driving a hybrid fun. Whether or not the FE lives up to expectations, hybrids are still more fun to drive because of things like this. Driving every day is like playing a game. A very entertaining game where the winner is always your wallet and your planet.

Also, it's nice to see a magazine that typically glorifies throaty power and sleek options tip their hat to hyrbids.

What am I talking about, the RX400h has throaty power and sleek options.

EricGo · #5 (**permalink**) 11-09-2005, 09:36 AM

The last sentence on payback really was quite clever. Too clever, perhaps ?

His message was wonderful: Hybrids are really good, pleasurable cars in their own right; even before one considers the environmental benefits.

I could not agree more.

Pravus Prime · #6 (**permalink**) 11-09-2005, 12:29 PM

Heh, I liked. I'm amazed that we'd get anything that unbiased from them.

AZCivic · #7 (**permalink**) 11-09-2005, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pravus Prime

Heh, I liked. I'm amazed that we'd get anything that unbiased from them.

They've always written pretty positive articles about hybrids. Even way back to when the Insight was first released and the press got a shot at them about 6 years ago, they wrote about how captivating it was to drive the car for maximum efficiency. They pointed out (rightly so) that the Insight wasn't very practical owing it's 2-seat configuration and small-ish hatch area due to the space taken up by the battery pack and associated stuff, but they still enjoyed it.

Over the years they've written a number of articles covering the merits of hybrids and even ran an article about a year ago comparing the Civic Hybrid and Prius against the Echo (for a high FE gas-only car) and the Jetta TDI. The Echo finished last, followed by the Jetta. The Prius and Civic took second and first place overall both for their fuel economy delivered and the actual driving pleasure that can be derived from a hybrid.

C/D is the only magazine I maintain a subscription with. I'll buy a few of the others off the rack maybe once or twice a year if I hear about a great issue they've put out, but C/D is the only one that's consistently good enough for me to want to have a subscription with. They are primarily an enthusiast magazine, but it's not like it's Import Tuner or Fast Fords magazine. To a certain degree, it takes an enthusiast to fully appreciate what hybrids have to offer.

Monkey · #8 (**permalink**) 11-09-2005, 01:05 PM

That is a good read! It was nice how he started off debunking the asinine assumption that hybrids have to pay themselves off in fuel savings. His description of how he had fun staying in electric and coasting at 80mph are pretty good too! Maybe they will get some people thinking about how much these things might be worth to them.