Hybrid vehicles' appeal still growing The following interesting paragraph is from the article: "The EPA announced last week that tests used to estimate a new car's fuel efficiency would be redesigned for model year 2008. Previous tests didn't accurately consider such factors as acceleration, cold weather and wind. City mileage estimates for standard cars will go down 10 percent to 20 percent, on average, while hybrids will see their in-town numbers fall by 20 percent to 30 percent, the EPA said."
Good Article - thank you for posting! I think everyone will be watching closing as to what the Prius' new EPA numbers are for comparitive reasons. These numbers will have everyone taking a closer look - especially those considering a new vehicle. Should we make a new poll and have a contest as to what those numbers will be in 2008? I agree with the article though, once those numbers are announced, there will be a dip in sales but only for a short time, once potential buyers sees the numbers on the competition.
I have a problem with the idea of dropping the "city" rating by 20%... that would mean that the Prius would be rated 48 MPG in the city... Maybe it's just that i've gotten used to the car and know what to do now... but i can blow past the current 60 MPG in what i would consider "city" driving... It's more of a challenge to get higher mileage around town than say on the highway... but the inversion of highway and city mileages on the Prius and other Toyota hybrids shows that "around town" driving has much more potential for high mileages than highway... done right you can get 60 MPG or more.
well the new numbers will be very interesting. lowering the city figures a little might be in line...but raising the highway a LOT is definitely in order. 51 mpg at 60 mph... even if i was hauling a trailer, i might not be able to get that low...
I completely agree with you LM, for the most part. However, in the interest of trying to stay balanced, I hope they test all cars over multiple days/weeks in multiple wind/rain/temperature situations. For me, perosnally, that would result in 49 MPG average, very close to the 48 you indicated as 20% off.
