What Car? magazine’s award for the year’s greenest car goes to the Volvo S40 DRIVe. The British magazine picked the diesel because its CO2 emissions are basically the same as a second generation Prius, but it’s considerably more fun to drive. The car is not available in the States, and the Honda Insight and 3-gen Prius were not available across the pond in time for eligibility. Still, it makes one wonder: Is the hybrid really the way to save the planet. I’ve driven both the S40 (regular gas) and the Insight, and, well, it’s like comparing apples and ice cream. If I could get all my vitamins in a scoop of Ben & Jerry’s, I’d never hear a crunch again, know what I mean?
The Volvo puts out 104 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Toyota is claiming the 2010 Prius puts out 100 grams of CO2 per kilometer. For comparison sake, that’s half of what an Audi A8 emits.
It definitely makes one wonder.
It also makes one wonder why Ford isn’t bringing this thing over here.
The idea of this car is great, and somehow pisses me off. All that whining about CAFE in the US and Volvo goes and slaps some aero bits, low resistance tires, better lubricants, and a small diesel into their cars and starts getting 50+ mpg? Instead of whining about CAFE and how good gas mileage and environmental concern is only for the smug, other automakers could have done the same thing.
Seriously, all of this stuff is damn obvious when it’s put together. Sure, the car is slow, but the base cars are slow already anyway. Here in the US the diesel is not going to fly, but even with a gas engine it seems they would see a significant gain. Why isn’t everyone doing this? Hell, GM had stop/start tech going for a bit (mild hybrids they sold as Saturn’s Greenline), combine some aero bits with it and you might actually see something impressive!
This car is strangely embarassing because it points out how simple efficiency gains are to get. Everyone should be doing this.
“Everyone should be doing this.”
Well, it depends. Last year, during the four-dollar gas times, I found myself shutting off the motor in drive-through lines and while waiting at the traffic light when I could see it would be a long cycle. Now we are fast approaching three-dollar gas; I may start doing that again. Maybe I can save enough money to get a big coke instead of a small one.
Yeah…people talk about efficiency gains. Best way to actually do that is to combine trips. Plan a little, don’t get stuck going to the store for a cube of butter or a bottle of wine. Go to Costco, and get gas while you’re there. You’ll need more storage room in the house but you’ll spend less time and money driving. (Of course this doesn’t work so well if your living circumstances are such that you’re a good Zip-car customer.)
I would suspect that just planning and combining car trips would save more money for most families than driving a Prius instead of an Accord or Camry. If you’re dedicated enough, of course, you can plan/combine trips and drive the Prius.
Why isn’t this diesel available here? Why do cars with great foundations in Europe come over here in some dumb-downed form? Will this ever change?
People need to start thinking in gallons per mile if they really want to “Save the world.” For example, my 2000 Integra (that I love) gets me about 31 mpg the last time I’ve calculated it out, using the trip meter and whatever I put in at the pump. My buddy’s Prius gets him 36 mpg by his count. Not sure if he’s driving it like an asshole, but I’m using .0322 gallons per mile, while he’s using .0277. He’s using 86% of the gas I do. Of course, I paid around $7k when I bought my car used, while he paid in the mid- to high-twenties. I think I’m winning, plus my car can outcorner his any day.
50mpg+ means nothing at some point – the marginal returns on trying to extract EVERY LAST MPG out of new tech get way too expensive. A car getting 70 mpg (which is nuts and sounds awesome) still uses about half of the gasoline I do, .014 gallons per mile). The jump from an SUV getting 14 mpg to a modest, non-hybrid compact sedan saves MUCH more gasoline than going from a medium sedan to a hybrid.
Also, that new Toyota commercial showing the world turning green as the Prius drives through the hills is hilarious. Who in their right mind thinks that driving a gasoline-powered car that gets somewhat higher mileage will actually HELP the earth?
I’d venture that most people don’t take most commercials seriously. “Drink this beer and hot babes will come to your pool party!” “Drive this car and save the world!” “If Buick is good enough for Tiger, it’s good enough for me!”
Who cares about CO2? It’s the other stuff that actually matters, which is why all of these euro diesels aren’t legal to sell in the US.
A Prius can be bought for $20k. How about the Volvo?
Is Volvo selling any vehicle in the US that gets 25 mpg in the real world without a downhill slope and a tailwind?
Also, that new Toyota commercial showing the world turning green as the Prius drives through the hills is hilarious. Who in their right mind thinks that driving a gasoline-powered car that gets somewhat higher mileage will actually HELP the earth?
So are you saying that the marketing of automobiles is fanciful? I can’t believe it. Here I was thinking that all commercials were entirely realistic depictions of how vehicles are actually used instead of idealized narratives meant to evoke emotional responses leading to purchase decisions.
Does this mean I can’t drive my new BMW on a giant canvas and paint a giant picture with my tires?
What’s next? Are you going to tell me Santa Claus isn’t real?
I think the DRIVe concept volvo came up with is an excellent shortcut to maximum efficiency. other companies have similar solution like the ford Focus Eco for instance and many other manufacturers would be able to offer even more efficient models if they put their minds to it.
i think fitting a regular toyota yaris with a minuscule engine, and lightweight construction, plus low resistance tires plus a an aero kit will make it a much more efficient car than the prius.
i think Hybrids are a good idea, but they are not The IDEA, i stand strong by saying the future belongs to the electric car, once they crack the battery technology…there’s only one snag, by the time they do crack the tech, there will be so much toxic waste that even if the whole world switched to the prius yesterday, it wont be enough to counter….
Havig driven the S40 with a more powerful engine than that I am not really all that sure that it is much more fun than the Prius to drive.
How someone can take the second generation Focus platform and dumb down the handling so much is slightly beyond me.