July 7, 2009 5:59 PM PDT
2010 Prius proves its fuel economy credentials
(Credit:
Corinne Schulze/CNET)
After a week of driving the 2010 Toyota Prius, we got into it one morning to find the gas gauge only showing one little digital bar. But a quick check of the range showed we could go another 45 miles, which is what the Prius is all about. At a consistent 50 mpg in real-world driving, this car sips gas. Toyota made a few improvements to the cabin tech, as well, but we were left wanting more, as other companies have raised the bar quite high.
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by digame
July 8, 2009 8:43 AM PDT
- Volkswagen Europe has a plethora of fuel-efficient TDi's that manage up to 50 mpg - subcompacts to small delivery vehicles like the "Caddy", which achieves 55+ mpg!
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by sommer182
July 8, 2009 7:06 PM PDT
- digame,
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(7 Comments)The Chevrolet Matiz - comparable to the domestic Aveo - achieves 40+ mpg (urban) to 67 mpg ("extra-urban"), for a combined rating of 54.3 mpg overall... and sells on the streets of London today for $11,500 USD - copiously equipped with all the "creature comforts" we Americans demand in our motor vehicles!
Smart Car diesel iterations return 84 mpg!
Even the venerable Citroen 2CV's returned 45+ mpg...
Now class, raise your hand if you remember the Honda 600 (70's), FE (80's), and VX (90's) models?
Hell, my '92 Geo Metro LSI convertible routines produces 48~50 mpg on road trips.. at speeds averaging 65 to 80 mph (while my 2008 Aveo 5 rarely exceeds 30 mpg on a good day)!
BMW and Fiat (among other) are planning to produce "micro-cars".
And let's not even MENTION all those luxurious, character-laden, highly-fuel-efficient and FUN "pocket-rocket" KEI-class vehicles (cars, vans, busses, trucks) that Japanese manufacturers have been producing and distributing around the globe for decades: Thanks to their government's more liberal regulations, Canadians are able to import those iterations 15-years or older with impunity (they're considering reducing that to 10 years) , while we Americans are hamstrung by an outdated, 25-year-old mandate).
ZENN motors of Canada is in the bring of revolutionizing the automobile as we know it, with an all-electric iteration of France's MicroCar - powered by EESTORE's phenomenal "ultra-capacitor"... capable of 250+ miles range and a 5-minute recharge estimate... that's impervious to weather, doesn't "deteriorate" as all other batteries inevitably do, and is completely non-hazardous with respect to puncture or accident damage: It never "wears out"!
MicroCar of France produces a line of extremely efficient transporters that achieve phenomenal mpg, and only require a motorcycle license to operate!
Do we REALLY need "G-force" acceleration capabilities, cocooned in a fortress on wheels?
Time to rethink personal transport, entirely.
Long past time to consider environmental consequences of our "divine obsession" with the automobile.
Let's shed our domestic "protectionist" policies of BIG OIL and BIG WHEELS (analogous to Wall-E's "Buy-N-Large" conglomerate), and join the rest of the global community with respect to (and for) environmental and economic considerations, while simultaneously returning the "fun" to our driving experience!
Here here!! About time someone spoke these words. You are 100% correct; car companies here claim "to expensive", "to long a time frame for new models", "technology is years away." Bull crap. These highly efficient cars EXIST and available just about EVERYWHERE except the USA. It is only the greedy pigs in Washington that keep the oil and Detroit love affair going. Time to ditch the big rigs and remember that transportation should be one of the most basic of needs.