Follow-Up Test: 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid "A full-size hybrid SUV that offers a 3.1-mpg improvement in everyday fuel-efficiency might seem a little self-defeating, like too much iron in a very pale shade of green ... The reality is that this 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid produced a not-so-impressive 19.3 mpg average over the 887 miles we put on it in six days. About 60 percent of these miles were on the highway. We compared this to a nearly identical mix of city and highway driving in our long-term Tahoe (a four-wheel-drive model with the 5.3-liter V8, the largest engine available outside the hybrid), and it produced a 16.2-mpg average over those 3,000 miles. (Overall combined mileage for our long-term Chevy Tahoe over 21,000 miles proved to be 14.6 mpg.) ... But as we've said before, there's a price to be paid for hybrid enthusiasm, and it happens to be $9,100 in this case."
Hmm, some of the other test I've seen have it getting better mileage (or atleast better compared to the non-hybrid). For example: motivemagazine.com - Motive First Drive: 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid 2009 GMC Yukon 2-Mode Hybrid - First Test - Motor Trend REVIEW: Spies get a first drive in the new Tahoe Hybrid- Does it deliver? - AutoSpies Auto News Also, I believe Motor Week got 23mpg.
Well yaaaah, what would ya expect (heavily advertised by GM) motor trend & the like to say. Gee, go figure MPG in the teens (shaking head) . . . them and Lexus's mongo power luxury cars getting MPG in the 20's. Whatever.
This is also true for Prius with HSD. You never see this kind of information in Prius reviews when they compare to smaller Corolla with less standard features! 19% MPG increase seems too little too late but still 19% reduction.
My Dad approached the problem from a completely different angle. For the $9000 difference, he bought a small Kia for all the non-truck driving and only uses the big rig for big rig hauling. Vastly less gas use than a hybrid Tahoe.
Inflate or deflate: How hard is it to drive a little harder or easy, to get the result you want / need? You think the MPG 'estimates' weren't done that way for decades? Then, when Prius advarsaries wanted to take on OUR great (50mpg-60mpg) stated mileage results ... what happened? They drove the Prius a little more aggressivly. Of course, the down side was that Ford, Chrysler, GM results went even farther into the toilet. Yes, I think publications can and do inflate mpg results on an as needed basis. But 19mpg? 20mpg? 25mpg? All of that is horrible, and unnecessary.
Weight will stop a freight train. At 5,800 lbs, the Tahoe/Yukon hybrid MUST go on a diet if they are going to see any kind of city mileage into the 20s or higher. I wonder what the outcome would be like if the Tahoe/Yukon were to tip the scales at something like 4,800 lbs? I have a Volvo XC90 V8 that has an unladen weight of something like 4,800 lbs. and I routinely see 18 mpg City and 24 mpg on the highway if I keep the revs below 2,000 (~72 mph). With a hybrid power train at 4,800 lbs, I have to think that 23 - 24 City is doable.
