It's never a good idea to let journalists loose on a prototype. Even the tamest of the breed feels obliged to point out the vehicle's deficiencies. In this case, AutoWeek's Hans Greimel flew to Japan to test Nissan's gas – electric Infiniti G35. Needless to say, it didn't fail to disappoint. "During a prototype test drive for journalists last week in Japan, the hybrid car suffered awkward lags when the engine kicked in to help the electric motor. Deceleration also was jerky because of battery regeneration. 'We still have a few issues with this development vehicle,' says Tatsuo Abe, manager of Nissan's hybrid engineering unit." News-wise, Nissan hasn't decided which Infiniti to hybridize, but it won't try to out-mpg the Prius. "Toyota is the current leader, and one of our intentions is to approach hybrids from a different angle," Product Veep Atsushi Shizuta told AW's Man in Japan. "This is as much about power assist as it is about fuel economy." Hans sees the flaw in that one. "Honda pitched the performance of its Accord Hybrid sedan but dumped the model at the end of the 2007 model year after lackluster sales. Honda is now planning a hybrid Fit small car, which should achieve excellent fuel economy."
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The difference between a G35 hybrid and the Accord hybrid is the Accord really isn’t viewed as a drivers car to most drivers, it can be fun to drive but it gets lost to the masses. The G35 on the other hand could make the performance hybrid work, provided they put a smaller gas engine in to get a boost in fuel economy. And you have the electric drive system to add that added boost so you can still drive it like you stole it.
I think this could work if they can make it as seamless as Toyota’s HSD, as long as there are still poeple who enjoy driving by the time this comes out. I think we are starting to become a very small minority amongst all the appliance seakers.
Redbarchetta
Exactly.
Think in terms of what BMW is doing with diesels in the US marker. They’re not offering their super-efficient diesels here in an attempt to garner green cred (which would be a hard battle and would damage the brand). Instead they’re trying to offer gas-like performance with a 20%-30% efficiency improvement. Similar to what it sounds like Infiniti wants to do here.
I’m not sure how well a hybrid G35 will sell, especially given the “meh” response to the GS400h. Every Prius driver I met mentions the packaging efficiency before they start talking mileage. Hybrid buyers seem to veer away from the more impractically-packaged choices, and the G35 isn’t exactly roomy.
Now, a hybrid EX, that would be sweet.
The most obvious application of hybrid technology in anything aspiring to sportiness or the typical midsize car – I can already hear the Prius fans out there screaming that the Prius is a midsize sedan, but it’s still just an economy car to me – making a 4 cylinder engine with it’s commensurate better gas mileage feel like a 6 cylinder when you floor the accelerator.
They need take a page from the Prius, and design the platform around the Hybrid bits, otherwise it will have compromised cargo room and funky dynamics (with the regen braking and likely CVT)
Is the year 2010 turning into its own cult?