Spinella's customer satisfaction surveys show that 62 percent of hybrid owners are dissatisfied with the fuel-economy performance of their cars given what they have paid for them.
Hmmm I was so dissatisfied with my 05 FEH that I went out and bought an 07 TCH! The FEH consistantly exceeds the EPA hwy number so I'm not complaining at all. The TCH has totally exceeded my expectations. I've got just over 2K miles on it and it is still not really broken in, yet here is the current tank.
What kind of driving do you do to get that kind of mileage? Is it mainly highway, local roads, what speed, etc. My commute is about 5 miles local and 10 miles expressway and I get low 40s on that.
What kind of driving do you do to get that kind of mileage? Is it mainly highway, local roads, what speed, etc. My commute is about 5 miles local and 10 miles expressway and I get low 40s on that.
Mostly freeway with rolling hills ( I-15, I-8 ), about 25 miles, with another 8 miles of local roads. I do 60 to 75 on the freeway depending on traffic, letting speed build and tapper off some going over the hills. I have occasional stop and go traffic in the morning, and lots in the evening rush hour. Typically 30 to 45 minutes under 15mph each afternoon. Yesterday it took over 90 minutes to go 15 miles.
Yet my mpg often goes up in the stop and go traffic... got to love that EV mode. Just watch the SOC on the battery so you don't get stuck idling to recharge while stopped. Just accelerate with the ICE anytime the SOC drops under 40% and that usually avoids the problem.
I've learned to use the instant mpg gauge. I often do 65 to 70 mph with the gauge showing 55 to 60mpg! When climbing hills I let the speed build to 70 - 75 if I can, right before starting to ascend. While ascending, I set the throttle so the gauge reads 25 - 35mpg depending on how steep the grade is, and let the speed slowly drop back to 60 - 65 mph.
The local street speeds are 25 to 45mph and I try to use EV mode on the level/slight downhill sections. I can usually do about 3 of the 8 miles on EV and still park with a SOC over 40%
I don't envy your commute. I've lived in southern California, NYC and outside of Boston, so I know what it could be like. Traffic is much lighter here, and I commute in the opposite direction of the traffic.
Sounds like you have it down to a science. You're giving % of SOC. Does the NAV version (I have non-NAV) give % of charge or are you just estimating? I'm also surprised at your highway mileage. Our speed limit is 55 around here. If I put it to 65-70 I would attract attention from the gentlemen with the blue lights. At 60 I'm getting about 40 - 50 mpg. Except for on base where I can keep it in EV mode I never accelerate without the ICE. It's almost impossible to do that without having the ICE kick in. Aside from which it seems the batteries are better at keeping the car moving than getting it going.
Part of my problem is that the local portions are at the beginning and end of my commute. At the beginning it takes a little for the engine to warm up and batteries to recharge so the ICE is on most of the time. Then I have the expressway portion where I can't use EV. So I only have the end of the trip to take advantage of that.
Can't wait to do a long highway drive to see how well the car can do.
One of the people at the gym just bought a Chevy Aevo. It is an absolutely cute car! But the thing that struck me was this: it's small and aerodynamic and close to the ground, so why is the gas mileage only 24-26 MPG?! A Subaru Forrester wagon does better than that! What's wrong with this car that it can't get 35-40 MPG like the Yaris/FIT subcompacts?
If this tiny, el-cheapo car actually saved gas, GM would have a winner. But as it is, you're better off spending $1000 more and get a Honda FIT.
People really get about 22-24MPG with a Forrester. Looking at user reports from fueleconomy.gov and Edmunds user reviews, 30MPG seems to be typical for the Aveo. So that's about 10% less than a typical Civic, and it's a very inexpensive car.
The Aveo, while light by today's standards, is still almost 50% heavier than a Metro. There's a price to pay for safety.
Does the Yaris get much better milage? Yes. But to cherry pick info and make the Aveo out to be a fuel hog is deceptive.
The Insight weighs as much as the CRX HF - 1,800 pounds. OK, that's not fair because the Insight is not alumium, but lets say steel brings it up to 2,000 - not very heavy still.
I don't know what your point is. One thing I know for sure is that I would not want to be in a head-on or offset collision while driving an Insight. The only exception would be if I were to crash into another Insight or Metro. Any other modern car is going to crush you like a tin can.
GM doesn't even put good technology or materials into their expensive models... yet you expect them to do it for a car that probably sells $9000 or less?
...The Aveo, while light by today's standards, is still almost 50% heavier than a Metro. There's a price to pay for safety...
My previous reply was to note there was no excuse for the Aveo to have so much worse fuel economy than the Metro, even if it's of steel construction and additional safety features. Honda and Toyota can do better even with their budget subcompacts
I believe the Insight scored 4 out of 5 on safety. It's not a Volvo, but neither is it a Yugo.
I hope you are not shifting from "it has bad fuel economy because it's heavier than a Metro", to "if it's almost as light as an Insight - it's a death trap". Kind of sounds like being bent on saying it's a bad car regardless....
I don't care if the Insight scored 5/5. It doesn't matter. It's called physics, and you lose. Check the government's vehicle death statics if you don't believe me. I'd have no fear driving a 2001 Chevy Blazer, which had poor impact test results, straight into your featherweight Insight. The Insight is a compromise of personal safety, reportedly comfort, performance, and even pollution in the case of the MT version, in an effort to demonstrate the best fuel economy obtainable.
Yes, the fuel economy is worse in the Aveo vs the Metro because it weighs much more. If I had to guess, I'd also guess that the Aveo is running on larger tires (safety), has much better impact protection (safety), airbags (safety), and better acceleration (safety to an extent). Maybe they could have put a higher top gear in (not sure of gear ratios)... that certainly would have helped my girlfriends Jetta.
GM has a reputation for selling cars way below their MSRP and offering zero percent financing. My guess is that the average Aveo selling price is well below the actual selling price of the Yaris. And even if it isn't, the Aveo is the least of GMs flaws.
Re: "They buy a Chevy Aveo . . ."
Just accelerate with the ICE anytime the SOC drops under 40% and that usually avoids the problem.
