Hybrids fuel confusion for buyers

Toyota pits Prius against other gas-electric vehicles to highlight full vs. `mild' differences

Jun 27, 2009

Special to the Star

Vancouver?Stephen Beatty isn't happy.

The managing director of Toyota Canada is talking about the all-new, third-generation Prius hybrid. And when the competition talks about their models, he doesn't think they're playing fair.

"We want the industry to use standard definitions," he says. Some manufacturers "overstate their claims" about fuel-efficient technologies, he says, alluding to Volkswagen, Honda and Ford. "People talk about `clean diesels,' and they're cleaner than old diesels, but not as clean as gasoline. And there are mild hybrids that are the least expensive, but they're not the same (as Prius)."

At an event here, Toyota has stacked the Prius ? which was the first mass-produced hybrid when it launched in Japan in 1997, although the original two-seater Honda Insight reached North America first ? against the Ford Fusion Hybrid, and an all-new Honda Insight that shares only its predecessor's name.

Honda says Insight is the lowest-priced hybrid in Canada, as it starts at $23,900 to the Prius's base $27,500, but their hybrid systems aren't the same. And while Ford advertises the Fusion as the most fuel-efficient midsize sedan in Canada, Beatty says that's splitting hairs.

"The Prius is a hatchback, the Fusion is a sedan," he says. "They used the Transport Canada (fuel) figures, but then used Polk (a global automotive data company) for the vehicle definition."

Hybrids are possibly the most misunderstood vehicles in the market, and buyers don't always understand how they work.

"Hybrid" means that the vehicle uses two or more power systems ? in this case, gasoline engines and electric motors ? and they're not all the same.

On all, the electric motor can run concurrently with the gasoline engine to boost its power output. A "full" hybrid, such as Prius and Fusion Hybrid (or Camry Hybrid), can run solely on battery power at low speeds from a standing start.

"Mild" hybrids typically either can't run on the battery alone, or if they can, it's only at specific cruising speeds, such as the 40 km/h where the Insight can switch to electricity only.

Mild hybrids cost less; the trade-off is that they can't offer gasoline-free operation on crowded city streets because their gas engines are needed to move the car in stop-and-go traffic. Their overall fuel efficiency as a result isn't as high as comparably sized full hybrids.

In either type of hybrid, the switch between gasoline, electric and gas-plus-electric is determined automatically by the vehicle's computers, depending on a number of factors, including vehicle speed, how hard you're pressing the throttle, how well the battery's charged, and temperature.

The newest Prius has a button that keeps it in electric-only for a couple of kilometres, at a maximum of about 40 km/h, although if all those factors aren't met, the system will take over and switch back and forth by itself.

All hybrids include "idle stop," which shuts off the gasoline engine when you come to a stop, providing the battery's sufficiently topped up and it's not too hot or cold outside. The lights, radio and climate control stay on, and since the electric motor restarts it, there's no conventional starter to wear out.

In Europe, some manufacturers are starting to use idle stop on regular petroleum cars. What a plan that would be over here! No wasted fuel in traffic jams or at red lights.

Hybrids' small engines and battery- assistance inherently give them better fuel economy, but how they're driven makes a huge difference.

Buyers looking at hybrids need to assess where and how they drive, and if they're willing to change their driving habits, such as being generally smoother in how you use the throttle.

Toyota pitted the Prius against Insight and Fusion, along a loop of road through Vancouver's Stanley Park. The park's limit is 30 to 40 km/h, and I racked up some impressive fuel figures by keeping to it. That's probably the speed you drive in a packed city commute. When the roads open up, these hybrids have displays that help coach the driver in more fuel-efficient driving.

One uphill climb on the loop accounted for almost all of my gasoline use in the Prius, and with a light foot that pretty much kept it in battery mode the rest of the way, I achieved 2.9 L/100 km (97 m.p.g.). The Insight came in at 3.9 L/100 km (72 m.p.g.).

It was more demonstration than scientific challenge, though, and since I got the Fusion last, after my colleagues had worn down much of its battery and it switched more often to gasoline, I hit 4.4 L/100 km (64 m.p.g.) for the Ford. In combined city and highway driving, the Prius is estimated at 3.8 L/100 km, or 74 m.p.g.

Battery recharge is done by the car. Hybrids that you plug into a wall socket to charge are coming, but they're not here yet. The current models charge their own battery when running, and by "regenerative braking": along with the ordinary brakes, the hybrid reverses the electric motor to slow the car down, converting this kinetic energy and storing it in the battery.

Some companies are also working on extended-range vehicles, such as Chevrolet Volt. These run solely on electricity, first on that provided by a plug-in battery and then, when that runs down, via a small gasoline engine that automatically starts up and works like a generator, feeding power to the motor to turn the wheels. There's no firm date on when they'll come to market.

Prius and Insight only come as hybrids; other models are hybrid versions of conventional gasoline vehicles, such as Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu and Nissan Altima, and SUVs such as Toyota Highlander, Ford Escape and Cadillac Escalade.

Despite its high profile ? in some circles, Prius is the generic name for hybrids, much the same way Kleenex is used to describe all tissues ? the 4,458 Prius models that Toyota Canada sold in 2008 were dwarfed by the 6,033 Camry Hybrids that went out the door. Both are midsize cars with full hybrid systems. "We underestimated the Camry name and how many people associate it with reliability," Beatty says. "Prius shoppers went specifically for a hybrid. With Camry, a quarter of the buyers went to the hybrid, but came in originally shopping for a conventional one."

And as long as shoppers know exactly what they're getting, Beatty will be happy.

Toronto Star