"Carbon Fiber Sasquatch" (turbopumpkin)
09/11/2016 at 22:59 • Filed to: None
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"Carbon Fiber Sasquatch" (turbopumpkin)
09/11/2016 at 22:59 • Filed to: None | 0
| 15 |
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Notice that there is only really 3 because the Rav4 is on there twice as the 2016 and 2017, also the Lexus is the Rav4 in a nice suit so not all that different.
It seems like it would be something that car manufacturers would be fighting over because let’s be honest, the only real downside to the daily driving of a crossover is the needless mpg penalty for a little extra room over its compact or mid-size car sibling.
Ford and GM have been making some strong hybrid strides in their lineup as has Honda, yet there is no Hybrid Escape, Edge, Equinox, Trax or CR-V.
I only notice as my wife has decided to get a small crossover for her next car (the toddler has many toys) and I would love to not take such an mpg ding (I don’t mind when you get a big V8 and bad mileage but a 2.0l turbo should not be getting 22mpg)
Are there going to be more competitors? Seems like an easy way to spread the costs of hybrid development over multiple models right?
Some interesting cars for your time
Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch
> Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
09/11/2016 at 23:04 |
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Good point, the Edge is built on a variant of the Fusion’s CD4 platform. A hybrid variant would seem like a no brainer.
smobgirl
> Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
09/11/2016 at 23:07 |
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There was an Escape Hybrid, but it was discontinued for the third gen. Don't know why.
Phyrxes once again has a wagon!
> Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
09/11/2016 at 23:11 |
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It does seem odd that this segment which abounds with 2.XL w/ and w/o turbo engines has one hybrid choice. Mazda has been pushing their Skyactive tech to see what they can get without going hybrid, this may come back to bite them but who knows as they may just license tech from someone if/when they go hybrid. Aren’t most of these based on a platform that has at least some version of a hybrid drive train?
bhtooefr
> Phyrxes once again has a wagon!
09/11/2016 at 23:19 |
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In Mazda’s case, they’re already buying hybrid transmissions from Toyota to satisfy the Japanese market’s demands, for the Axela (Mazda3) Hybrid. (And Toyota’s licensing engine tech from them.)
The bigger problem that Mazda has there, though, is that their platforms aren’t set up for hybridization, so there’s nowhere to put a battery that doesn’t hurt cargo space.
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Phyrxes once again has a wagon!
> bhtooefr
09/11/2016 at 23:21 |
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Ah so the Mazda3 Hybrid is JDM only? On that note isn’t the next generation of the 3 due in the next year or two and with it a speed3?
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bhtooefr
> smobgirl
09/11/2016 at 23:23 |
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It was replaced by the C-Max Hybrid.
As I understand, Ford basically thought that the Prius’s sales were largely due to virtue signalling - or, in other words, conspicuous non-consumption. So, they thought that if they took a vaguely aerodynamic blob from Europe (that Americans weren’t familiar with), and hybridized it, they could convince people that it could virtue signal as well as a Prius.
Of course, by the time the C-Max actually launched, the Prius no longer virtue signalled successfully, as BEVs had taken that from the Prius. At that point, the reason people bought the Prius was because it’s a versatile, decently roomy, efficient car that’s known for reliability, from an automaker known for reliability. Contrast with the C-Max, which is an unknown quantity, that got caught up in a fuel economy scandal (mind you, it’s still efficient, just not as efficient as the launch models claimed to be), from Ford.
I’m under the impression that the C-Max is leaving the US market soon, to be replaced by an Escape Hybrid.
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smobgirl
> bhtooefr
09/11/2016 at 23:27 |
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Makes sense. I thought the Escape hybrid had solid sales but I’ve never seen a C-Max hybrid. Then again, I don’t pay much attention as I’m not likely to ever buy in that market.
LongbowMkII
> Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
09/11/2016 at 23:36 |
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The escape used to have a popular hybrid.
There's not much of an mpg gain for standard crossovers. Many of the efficiency gains are from the low cD and decreased frontal area.
hike
> Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
09/11/2016 at 23:40 |
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Gas is too cheap. The automakers probably could build one, but the price premiun needs to make sense with the increased fuel economy. With low fuel prices, it doesn't make sense to pay the premium.
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bhtooefr
> Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
09/11/2016 at 23:47 |
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It is worth noting that Nissan’s apparently doing a Rogue hybrid, in addition to the (just over your $40k mark) Murano hybrid.
Honda’s gunshy about hybrids lately (even despite them doing the NSX), AFAICT, between their early hybrid battery failures, the first Accord hybrid utterly flopping, the Gen 2 Insight and CR-Z utterly flopping, and the rest-of-world Jazz/Fit dual clutch hybrid system being unreliable.
Ford’s stupid, that’s all there is to it. They’ve probably learned, though, I’m guessing the next-gen Escape will have a hybrid model.
Nobody cared about GM’s mild hybrid crossovers, and couldn’t afford the large 2-mode hybrid SUVs (or, rather, the ones that could, either didn’t want to be seen in a SUV, or didn’t care about fuel economy).
Mazda’s strategy is to do all ICE all the time, and hope they can license someone’s hybrid or electric tech if they absolutely have to do it.
Hyundai/Kia... well, the Kia Niro will be a thing soon, and that’s a crossover version of the Hyundai Ioniq.
Toyota’s also bringing out the C-HR with a hybrid option (at least in Europe, the C-HR being a Toyota Europe-led project), below the RAV4. Lexus is also doing the UX presumably based on the same platform, and they’ve trademarked “UX 250h”.
Volkswagen, they’ve shown Tiguan hybrid concepts...
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bhtooefr
> smobgirl
09/11/2016 at 23:49 |
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I actually know someone who bought a C-Max Energi so that he could park his Passat TDI before the buyback. But, yeah, I don’t see many here either (then again, I don’t see many RAV4 or Highlander Hybrids either...)
(Which, there’s a fun thing with the Ford hybrids - the Energis are less than $4k more expensive than the same trim Hybrid. They’re eligible for a $4k income tax credit. Upshot is, if you don’t care about the cargo space penalty or the added weight in the back, it’s cheaper to get a 7.6 kWh battery than a 1.4 kWh one, and also be able to plug it in and use less gas.)
SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
09/11/2016 at 23:56 |
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Mitsubishi has the Outlander PHEV in some markets ( like Australia). It is the only hybrid SUV in Oz until you get into the Lexus end of the market...
Amoore100
> Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
09/12/2016 at 00:52 |
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Tadaaaaaa! The Peugeot 3008, the world’s first mass-market diesel electric hybrid.
Ok, it’s only one more and it’s not available stateside, but I had to make my point.
xyzabc
> Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
09/12/2016 at 06:45 |
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At some point everything will have “crossed over”....so the new automotive trend will be “Switch Back”?
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Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
> Amoore100
09/12/2016 at 10:00 |
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All the cool stuff is in Europe :(