Right Lane Cruiser
08-20-2009, 07:57 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg Back in February, it quickly became apparent that switching on the window de-foggers front and rear, heated seats and lights puts a significant drain on the electrical system of the car. (http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/19/review-2010-ford-fusion-hybrid-what-a-difference-60-degrees-m/)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2010_Mercury_Milan_Hybrid1.jpgSam Abuelsamid - AUTOBLOG (http://www.autoblog.com) - August 19, 2009
These guys fail to note that conventionally powered vehicles have similar reductions in fuel economy to deal with in cold weather. There are a number of us with hybrids who get good winter mileage. --Ed.
Recently, we had our third opportunity to drive the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Actually, the last go around was with a Mercury Milan Hybrid, but aside from a different nose and fanny, it is the same car. Even though we did a full review of the Milan, we asked Ford for another go around because of the difference in fuel efficiency compared to the first drive we did last December in California. We managed to achieve 43.1 mpg driving around Hollywood, beating the EPA city rating of 41. But back home in Michigan, a week of driving around Ann Arbor yielded only 29.4 mpg with the first several days actually barely managing to crack 27 mpg.
Why the big drop? It wasn't that we drove the Milan like a race car, although the Fusion and Milan do have some very nice dynamic properties. No, this was all about climate. While the temperatures in Hollywood were a very temperate mid-70s in December, six weeks later in Michigan, we were barely breaking out of the teens with overnight and early morning temps in the single-digit range. What we're about to say is heresy to the hybrid true believers, but hybrids are not the best solution for every driving condition. Find out why after the jump.
We've had the opportunity to drive a number of different hybrids over the last several years and, without fail, when driven in winter conditions, the mileage significantly degrades compared to summer motoring. Naturally, all vehicles perform worse when the mercury drops precipitously, but this seems to be particularly true of hybrid vehicles. The problem is that hybrids (at least strong hybrids like those from Ford and Toyota) rely heavily on their electric drive systems for their efficiency improvements over equivalent conventional vehicles.
Anyone who has ever left a laptop, phone or camera in a car parked outside overnight during winter has discovered that electrochemical batteries (at least the ones we have today) don't perform very well when temps drop below freezing. The same is true for hybrid batteries. Nickel metal hydride batteries used in hybrids are reluctant to let electrons flow at temps much below the mid-30s. That means that a Fusion Hybrid that starts silently when you turn the... http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/19/review-2010-ford-fusion-hybrid-what-a-difference-60-degrees-m/
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2010_Mercury_Milan_Hybrid1.jpgSam Abuelsamid - AUTOBLOG (http://www.autoblog.com) - August 19, 2009
These guys fail to note that conventionally powered vehicles have similar reductions in fuel economy to deal with in cold weather. There are a number of us with hybrids who get good winter mileage. --Ed.
Recently, we had our third opportunity to drive the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Actually, the last go around was with a Mercury Milan Hybrid, but aside from a different nose and fanny, it is the same car. Even though we did a full review of the Milan, we asked Ford for another go around because of the difference in fuel efficiency compared to the first drive we did last December in California. We managed to achieve 43.1 mpg driving around Hollywood, beating the EPA city rating of 41. But back home in Michigan, a week of driving around Ann Arbor yielded only 29.4 mpg with the first several days actually barely managing to crack 27 mpg.
Why the big drop? It wasn't that we drove the Milan like a race car, although the Fusion and Milan do have some very nice dynamic properties. No, this was all about climate. While the temperatures in Hollywood were a very temperate mid-70s in December, six weeks later in Michigan, we were barely breaking out of the teens with overnight and early morning temps in the single-digit range. What we're about to say is heresy to the hybrid true believers, but hybrids are not the best solution for every driving condition. Find out why after the jump.
We've had the opportunity to drive a number of different hybrids over the last several years and, without fail, when driven in winter conditions, the mileage significantly degrades compared to summer motoring. Naturally, all vehicles perform worse when the mercury drops precipitously, but this seems to be particularly true of hybrid vehicles. The problem is that hybrids (at least strong hybrids like those from Ford and Toyota) rely heavily on their electric drive systems for their efficiency improvements over equivalent conventional vehicles.
Anyone who has ever left a laptop, phone or camera in a car parked outside overnight during winter has discovered that electrochemical batteries (at least the ones we have today) don't perform very well when temps drop below freezing. The same is true for hybrid batteries. Nickel metal hydride batteries used in hybrids are reluctant to let electrons flow at temps much below the mid-30s. That means that a Fusion Hybrid that starts silently when you turn the... http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/19/review-2010-ford-fusion-hybrid-what-a-difference-60-degrees-m/