230 MPG? Really?
by AK - Jeff 27 Replies latest social current
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daniel-p
Depends how much you drive.
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OUTLAW
I`m lucky to get 24mpg..You can`t live without a truck here..............OUTLAW
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John Doe
Yeah, but it's not getting all its power from fuel, so the number is meaningless. It's a plug in battery powered car with a gas engine backup.
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AK - Jeff
Seems to me that the 'real' cost is reflected in both the way you drive and the distance you drive.
If you drove without ever kicking in the gas engine [40 miles per day] or less, your cost would be for electric only - so about $2.75/100 miles.
Translating to 'fuel cost' at about $2.75 a gallon, it would mean that realistically, you could get the same as 100 MPG at the going price. Once the gas engine kicks in, you reduce that considerably. So, from a Mpg standpoint, probably a good deal. But with a $40,000 price tag, the payback would not be so great. In a couple of years other manufacturers are releasing similar [or perhaps better depending on the same criterion] cars that will beat the price by 10 or 15 K - making them look far more attractive.
Of course if fuel soars to $4 or $5 then the Volt looks good right away perhaps.
Jeff
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SixofNine
I think the EPA should just cut through the bullshit and publish a website calculator that consumers and researchers could use to plug in various cars: miles driven/average speed and get a common efficiency rating, or for that matter, a cost-of-trip based on current electricity rates and gasoline/diesel cost per gallon.
It would be very complicated, but very useful. Especially with so many variables coming into play wrt cost per mile in future tech vehicles.
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JWoods
Yeah, but it's not getting all its power from fuel, so the number is meaningless. It's a plug in battery powered car with a gas engine backup.
This is exactly the case...its MPG could be infinite if you never drive more than 40 miles between charges and never accelerate enough to kick in the tiny gas engine. On the other hand, it ignores how much electricity it takes in from the grid. If you simply equate the KWH component taken from the plug-in option, then it will be nowhere near 230 or so mpg. This number is from an artificial "city cycle" where the gas motor does kick in, but VERY rarely. It makes for an impressive number in that specifically chosen test for advertising purposes. Less impressive is the fact that it costs $40,000.
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BurnTheShips
Regardless, I still think it is a good thing. I would buy one if they would put a bigger battery in it so I could go close to 100mph on a charge --and still be inexpensive enough to justify it.
BTS
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straightshooter
Of course a person needs to save alot of gas to pay for a small $40,000 vehicle.
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daniel-p
Of course a person needs to save alot of gas to pay for a small $40,000 vehicle.
But some people are stupid. Actually, a lot of people are stupid. There is also the "ecologically righteous" factor, where the liberal well-heeled buy what they think is socially acceptable. That's why Prius's were essentially sold-out before they even hit the lots. Economically, they are a waste of money... but perhaps just as much a waste of money as your typical Yukon or Escalade or Silverado.