ADAC has published in their monthly member's magazine "Motorwelt", issue of June 2012 page 56, an interesting test about the newly available Peugeot 3008 Diesel Hybrid. They asked a Munich Taxi driver, that usually uses a Mercedes E 200D (13 years old) to drive 1 day the 3008 on the same routes he drove the day earlier. The taxi drive wrote down exactly what routes he did with the Mercedes and then re-did them the following day with the 3008. Whereas on average with the Mercedes he would do an average 9.1L/100km, he achieved a 6.1L/100km with the 3008. And he recognized that due to the lower sounds from the engine, less vibrations, silence at the traffic light and in 30km/h zones, he drove much more relaxes and stress free. The article closes by saying that "the experienced taxi driver could imagine to exchange his E-class with a Diesel Hybrid. But the diesel hybrid from Mercedes, available in summer, costs 52000€ - that's expensive. The 3008 is available for 34150€, a Prius from 26500€. The gas hybrid drives by the way even more efficiently and has been selected by ADAC as especially low-polluting "Eco-Taxi". With success: there are already many Prius in the yellow-taxi color". I was amazed, positively, of the final comment from ADAC. And I was amazed that the 3008 could not go down to 5L/100km. The overall test was on 120km total kilometers (a table is provided with times, routes, destinations and distances on the magazine - very accurate I would say). Nevertheless the baseline is that saving 3L, with an overall 50.000km driven yearly, that would mean about 1500L of diesel less (and related emissions), yielding a saving of about 2200€. If the 53000 Taxis in Germany, goes on the article, would use this technology, that would be a few million liters. Not even considering delivery vans or handicraftsman. But ADAC, is still ADAC, so although another non-EU and non-German technology can do clearly better and will less pollutants (fine particles which heavily affect EU cities air quality), the article is still titled "Hybriddiesel: Ideal für Taxis" / "Hybrid Diesels: Ideal for Taxis"...
Hybrid diesels - ideal for taxis? Only in Germany 6.1l/100km is good? I think I had mine down to 5.7l/100km on a 12 month average. I do like the Peugeot but worry of its long term reliability. Some cabbies here use the Merc E320 diesels but I find them way too expensive and the auto transmissions are unreliable. Don't Mercedes do a special German taxi model in beige or is that some urban myth from years ago? I'd have liked the Prius+ as a taxi but not at the silly money Toyota UK want for them.
