GM set off something of an insanity bomb a few weeks back by claiming their Volt moonshot would get 230 mpg based on draft EPA testing standards. Nissan countered via Twitter, claiming that its forthcoming Leaf EV would get 367 mpg using the same test, and the age of EV efficiency madness was initiated. Needless to say, neither the Volt nor the Leaf can be directly tested to give an apples-to-apples comparison to internal combustion-powered vehicles, and this opening salvo seemed bent on removing plausibility from the EV efficiency equation. But sanity in EV efficiency has an unlikely new champion in luxo-EREV maker Fisker.
Rather than trotting out an implausible number based on the same draft standards used by GM and Nissan, Fisker went with Society of Automotive Engineers standards. The result? Fisker’s four-door Karma EREV sports sedan is rated at a thoroughly sane, altogether plausible (by comparison) 67 mpg.
That’s not a bad number—considering the Karma claims the equivalent of 403 hp and a 0-60 time of about six seconds. Even so, there’s a thick stack of issues with any EV efficiency rating system. The Karma’s performance and efficiency depend heavily on the mode selected (e.g., Sport or “Stealth”) and the zealotry of the driver’s right foot.
Still, Fisker made an important statement by eschewing the testing system used for the Volt’s 230 mpg claim. The Karma will avoid the plausibility gap that will surely engulf the Volt if final EPA ratings bring the Volt’s sticker rating far below the 230 mpg mark. [ED: what are the odds?] And if the Volt’s rating reflects the testing that the EPA will actually be using, the Karma could find its rating improving when it goes to market. As Fisker claims that the Karma’s drivetrain is said to be highly Volt-related, the Karma’s extra performance probably won’t cost it 150 mpg.
Most importantly, though, Fisker has drawn a line in the sand by ignoring the siren call of EV mpg inflation. For that alone we should be grateful.
Would you trust a car with a Snidely Whiplash grille?
They need a three tier system equivalent MPG rating:
1)Drive it like you stole it
2)Drive it like a normal sane person
3)Drive it like a tree hugger
“considering the Karma claims the equivalent of 403 hp”
It’s not really “equivalent” horsepower, it’s just actual horsepower. The term is not tied to combustion engines.
How about a new measure of efficiency altogether? Distance per unit energy, like km per GJ, or miles per btu.
It won’t work of course, for the same reason that the US is still working with inches and pounds, but you could very easily compare vehicles with different propulsion methods.
@dean
I completely agree. This is the perfect time to introduce a new efficiency rating for cars because now is when new types of cars are coming out (in press release form anyway). Sure people will have to get a feel for a car that gets 400 Watt-hours/mile or whatever but at least its tied to reality. The 230 or 350 mpg is equally meaningless to the general public right now. Then theres the added fact that it’s flat out misleading and mpg units may or may not have anything to do with the way it consumes energy.
I hope the EPA doesn’t try and rate an EV in miles per gallon. Gas powered cars were never rated in bails of hay, carrots, and water consumed per day!
Kudos to Fisker for this.
@dean and ckb:
I also agree to an extent, however, mpg is what the average joe understands. To help people along I would hope that electric vehicle mpg equivalent with the assumptions out in the open (say 33% power plant efficiency, btu/gallon content, etc..) Then that value could be displayed right next to the (k)Whr/mile or miles/kwhr so that people can start to understand the magnitude of the conversion.
chuckR :
September 8th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
They need a three tier system equivalent MPG rating:
1)Drive it like you stole it
2)Drive it like a normal sane person
3)Drive it like a tree hugger
They need it for gasoline cars, too… they’ve needed it for decades. The old EPA ratings were around 2.5 on that scale… the new ratings are more like 1.5.
Thus, with the old EPA, people were all complaining that they never go close to that mileage. With the new EPA ratings… people are complaining that their cars are under-rated.
Interesting, according to the link the “generator” for the series hybrid Fisker is the 2 liter turbo direct injection GM Ecotec.
It’s good that someone is putting that amazing engine to work in something now that the mediocre-except-for-the-engine Solstice, Sky, Cobalt SS and HHR SS have been killed.
Bad cop: Volt, Leaf. Good cop: Fisker.
Has Tesla weighed in?