NuShrike: Branding values - what you think is plusher etc has to do more with BS marketing if the feature/functionality set is the similiar and class difference isn't too significant.
Toyota and Honda are just Toyota and Honda in Japan - no Lexus and Acura (their real "plush" cars in the US). The Prius is a Toyota, not a Lexus. They have Lexus hybrids if you want luxury and their hybrid lineup is expanding though its more luxury/power biased rather than truly eco conscious - its for rich people who want to think they are making a difference when they could be making a bigger one if they bought smaller, cheaper, less powerful ICE or hybrid car.
>>"makes a hybrid’s fuel economy more sensitive to certain factors, such as colder weather and air conditioning use". Let me attack this. For Toyota's HSD, the AC is not coupled to the engine, and so is actually more efficient and less sensitive to weather and use than any other vehicle with belt-coupled compressors, and/or alternators. You can actually use the AC driving uphill and not heat up the engine or lower engine power.
Otherwise, for temperature, hybrids react exactly the same as any other ICE engine vehicle where MPGs drop EQUALLY across all vehicles in cold temperatures. Hybrids are NOT a special case.
The only possible difference is the battery doesn't like to be hot (it's cabin air cooled but a tiny factor), and the ICE doesn't run enough to keep itself warm (good for MPG).
Thats why the EPA gives a range for conventional and hybrid vehicles change in both the city and highway - it differs by make and model, still the combined dropped further in hybrids on average. Since there is no manual ICE prius, we can compare the ICE and hybrid Camry (which has the latest toyota hybrid technology - best on the market right now) drops are - 11% ICE (manual and automatic) and 13% hybrid - so yeah hybrid isn't that far off with the latest production technology in the same exact vehicle. TCO is 10(auto)-13%(manual) cheaper on the ICE 2.4L Camry and it has greater eco-friendly domestic assembly/content than the hybrid Camry.
>>Then again, why are hybrids singled out as not paying for TCO, and not your V6+/ Lexus/ BMW/ Mercedes/ Hummer/ which all obviously never pay for their TCO ever.
There are plenty of people who buy CPO/used vehicles - the vehicles will get completely used when they come off lease or are sold in a shorter ownership period - all that means is the original owners will take the big depreciation hit for you - saving money by letting some else do it is positive smart thing to do.
If being frugal and/or environmentally friendly is your ultimate goal hybrids are just around the corner for being the optimal choice, but right now you could do better with average ownership/usage with an ICE drivetrain. The new camry hybrid is probably one of the closest in the same class vehicle to come to beating ICE especially with the tax incentives and more domestic based assembly.
When lithium batteries and plug-in come into production, hybrids will probably be the way to go. Thats only a few years away...
"I'm moving to a small studio and for some reason the cable connection is in an awkward place and I need a way to transmit HD quality video and audio no more than 20 feet away. What is the best wireless HDMI transmitter / receiver for this situation? Thanks!"
The most commented posts on Engadget over the past 24 hours.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
NuShrike: Branding values - what you think is plusher etc has to do more with BS marketing if the feature/functionality set is the similiar and class difference isn't too significant.
Toyota and Honda are just Toyota and Honda in Japan - no Lexus and Acura (their real "plush" cars in the US). The Prius is a Toyota, not a Lexus. They have Lexus hybrids if you want luxury and their hybrid lineup is expanding though its more luxury/power biased rather than truly eco conscious - its for rich people who want to think they are making a difference when they could be making a bigger one if they bought smaller, cheaper, less powerful ICE or hybrid car.
>>"makes a hybrid’s fuel economy more sensitive to certain factors, such as colder weather and air conditioning use". Let me attack this. For Toyota's HSD, the AC is not coupled to the engine, and so is actually more efficient and less sensitive to weather and use than any other vehicle with belt-coupled compressors, and/or alternators. You can actually use the AC driving uphill and not heat up the engine or lower engine power.
Otherwise, for temperature, hybrids react exactly the same as any other ICE engine vehicle where MPGs drop EQUALLY across all vehicles in cold temperatures. Hybrids are NOT a special case.
The only possible difference is the battery doesn't like to be hot (it's cabin air cooled but a tiny factor), and the ICE doesn't run enough to keep itself warm (good for MPG).
Thats why the EPA gives a range for conventional and hybrid vehicles change in both the city and highway - it differs by make and model, still the combined dropped further in hybrids on average. Since there is no manual ICE prius, we can compare the ICE and hybrid Camry (which has the latest toyota hybrid technology - best on the market right now) drops are - 11% ICE (manual and automatic) and 13% hybrid - so yeah hybrid isn't that far off with the latest production technology in the same exact vehicle. TCO is 10(auto)-13%(manual) cheaper on the ICE 2.4L Camry and it has greater eco-friendly domestic assembly/content than the hybrid Camry.
>>Then again, why are hybrids singled out as not paying for TCO, and not your V6+/ Lexus/ BMW/ Mercedes/ Hummer/ which all obviously never pay for their TCO ever.
There are plenty of people who buy CPO/used vehicles - the vehicles will get completely used when they come off lease or are sold in a shorter ownership period - all that means is the original owners will take the big depreciation hit for you - saving money by letting some else do it is positive smart thing to do.
If being frugal and/or environmentally friendly is your ultimate goal hybrids are just around the corner for being the optimal choice, but right now you could do better with average ownership/usage with an ICE drivetrain. The new camry hybrid is probably one of the closest in the same class vehicle to come to beating ICE especially with the tax incentives and more domestic based assembly.
When lithium batteries and plug-in come into production, hybrids will probably be the way to go. Thats only a few years away...