Improvements to the Toyota Aygo mean that from next year the small city car will be capable of almost 100 miles per gallon.
The three-cylinder,1 litre petrol engine uses an Atkinson Cycle to help eturn up to 93 mpg – a rate of consumption equivalanet to CO2 emissions of less than 72 g/km.
If 93mpg for a petrol-powered city car sounds impressive, consider the XL1; a diesel two-seater hybrid from VW that returns over 300 mpg.
The car has been in development for ten years as part of the company’s goal of producing a car capable of travelling 100km using no more than one litre of fuel. The XL1 combines a small diesel engine with an electric motor and manages to surpass this target by ten per cent – the equivalent of 313 mpg.
Lightweight and slippery
The 800 kg XL1 is capable of 99 mph and a 0-60 time of 11.9 seconds. Its CO2 figure is a scooter-beating 24g/km.
The designers took the motor from a VW 1.6-litre TDI turbo diesel and chopped it in half before coupling it to a14hp electric motor. The car can travel for 22 miles on electric power alone. VW have made the XL1 as slippery as possible – the seats are staggered, which makes for a narrower and more aerodynamic shape (drag coefficient 0.186), and the car swaps wing mirrors for cameras.
Super-efficient, four-seater cars
VW XL1 may boast astounding fuel efficiency, but what if you need more than two seats?
The Automotive X Prize, a competition to find the best super-efficient vehicles capable of 100mpg (or energy equivalent), has been won by
The Edison 2 Very Light Car has a performance almost identical to the VW XL1, but can carry four passengers and return 120 mpg.
The distinctive-looking car uses a rear-mounted, single-cylinder motorcycle engine running on a blend of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol to produce 40 horsepower.
Andrew Harmsworth
Probababably a goood idea to ruuuuuun a spelling chequer over that article and re post it!
Ian Byrne
“…the small city car will be capable of almost 100 miles per gallon”. Unfortunately capable of, doesn’t mean “will achieve in everyday use”.
Official test figures are undertaken using something called the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) test. This places the test car on a rolling road, and a highly trained driver then drives as gently as he or she possibly can, to achieve the reported figures. Moreover there are some tricks of the trade that be used to flatter the results, such as over-inflating tyres, using the “wrong” gear, using special lubricants and removing the spare wheel to cut weight. Recent reports based on real life consumption and mileage data show that new cars (especially small diesels) can often get consumption that’s over 30% worse than test results, even with careful driving. See also http://energydon.blogspot.co.uk/ for more information about why official mpg and real mpg may not be on the same page.
Amoeba
Essentially as Ian Byrne said. Car manufacturers have been bending the rules and the EU rather unwisely had given the car manufacturers wiggle-room. Official fuel consumption figures are completely unachievable in real-life, which means they are de-facto lies.
A simple Google search for: car manufacturer fuel efficiency cheat will reveal the extent of cheating and deception used.
The Transport & Environment campaign group (T&E), which suggests the official fuel consumption cited by car manufacturers is on average almost 25% lower than that achieved in reality, and in some cases 50% lower.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/mar/14/car-manufacturers-manipulating-fuel-efficiency-tests#
Adrian Miller
I have driven a Honda Insight (mk1) for the past twelve years, 108k miles. Stop/start commuting to work returns 65 to 70 mpg. At 80mph does 60mpg. At 60mph does 82mpg. On two occasions I have switched off on the drive with over 100mpg indicated, but that requires very careful driving at no more than 55mph. It is an all aluminium two seater hybrid. 998cc. 0-60 in 10.5 sec.
Joanne McCudden
Sounds amazing. Yep the other commentators on this are right that it is unlikely to really get to that figure, but it will still be better than others on the market. I drive a Volvo C30 DrivE which was reported to do 84mpg….that was lab conditions and not my driving, but I still get about 60 mpg which is fantastic for speeds averaging 70-80mph most days (90% on motorways/ dual carriageways). I get 600 miles per tank of diesel, so am a happy camper!