{"id":221,"date":"2011-11-19T21:06:23","date_gmt":"2011-11-20T05:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.skierpage.com\/blog\/?p=221"},"modified":"2011-11-19T21:06:23","modified_gmt":"2011-11-20T05:06:23","slug":"cars-progress-in-eco-not-in-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skierpage.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/cars-progress-in-eco-not-in-design\/","title":{"rendered":"cars: progress in eco, not in design"},"content":{"rendered":"

I went to the local auto show, a low-key affair compared with the\u00a0Los Angeles one<\/a>. Mercedes-Benz, smart USA, and Suzuki skipped it altogether, and there were no new reveals.<\/p>\n

Fuel efficiency<\/h3>\n

Toyota will be on a fuel efficiency warpath throughout 2012. The Prius v small van (44 city \/ 40 highway mpg) is already showing up at dealers, next the Camry Hybrid (43\/39) retakes the “midsize car with a trunk” (for people who don’t like the Prius look) crown from the Ford Fusion Hybrid, next the Prius Plug-in Hybrid (100+ mpg if you drive less than ~20 miles, around 60 mpg if you drive further), and then the Prius c compact car (?? 53 mpg?). The last one will finally reapply the laws of physics to gasoline-powered cars; since Honda killed the original Insight 5 years ago, you can buy a smaller car than the Prius, but in exchange for less room and a less powerful engine you get significantly worse<\/strong> mpg. The 2011 Prius gets 51\/48 mpg, astounding for a practical reliable midsize car.<\/p>\n

No small fuel-efficient all-wheel drive car<\/h3>\n

Unfortunately Toyota makes nothing for me, none of these are compact all-wheel drive snow cars. The Highland Hybrid gets 28\/28 mpg which is fantastic for a 3-row SUV, but way too big. Nobody else is doing much better since I wrote 4×4 x zero<\/a> 6 years ago: Audi’s A3 TDI isn’t available with AWD, the new Ford Escape won’t offer a hybrid variant and the Ford C-Max hybrid and C-Max Energi plug-in hybrids (not at the show) won’t have AWD. Supposedly Toyota will bring out the RAV4 Electric (not at the show) in 2012 with powertrain by Tesla, but it’s a beefy SUV and unlikely to be practical to drive to Tahoe. The chunky Mini Clubman is very roomy for its short wheelbase thanks to its height, but 25\/31 mpg is lame. As no one is making a small AWD hybrid, the best replacement for my aging Subaru is likely to be the new Subaru Impreza, which thanks to a smaller engine and a Lineartronic CVT gets an impressive 27\/36 mpg; it’s nice to see Subaru finally offering “premium” features on its small car like leather, heated seats and mirrors.<\/p>\n

Speaking of plug-in cars…<\/h3>\n