Updated 2008 fuel economy numbers are now available
We've all know for some time that the EPA was revising the way they calculate the fuel economy ratings for new vehicles to hopefully make them more representative of real world driving. Well the new updated numbers are finally available at FuelEconomy.gov. As expected most numbers are down by 2-3mpg although some take a bigger hit, particularly some of the higher-rated hybrids.
For example the Prius drops from 60/51/55mpg city/hwy/combined down to 48/45/46mpg. Similarly the Honda Civic hybrid goes from 49/51/50 mpg to 40/45/42 mpg. Not all hybrids dropped as severely with the 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid went from 36/31/34 to 31/29/30 mpg. Since all hybrids are highly dependent on control strategies that are defined by software, they can be tuned to perform their best on specific circumstances.
What this seems to indicate is that Toyota and Honda tuned their strategies to work best on the EPA test cycles to the detriment of real world performance. On the other hand, Ford seems to have tuned their system to provide the best efficiency to the driver. That's not to say that the Toyota and Honda don't still provide outstanding efficiency, because they do. It's just that the previously published numbers are artificially inflated, perhaps in an attempt to get bragging rights. I'll have more to say on this subject in a piece following my upcoming review of the 2008 Escape Hybrid in a few days.
[Source: Environmental Protection Agency]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joseph 6:35PM (5/30/2007)
I used to think that maybe the car companies made the cars on purpose so that they performed especially well on the EPA mpg testing. But I have come to doubt that. From reading "The Car that Could" about the EV1, I realize the extrodinary amount of work to make a car work. The car makers are too concerned to make sure their car actually works to be able tune the car especially for EPA testing.
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Ian 12:40AM (5/31/2007)
"What this seems to indicate is that Toyota and Honda tuned their strategies to work best on the EPA test cycles to the detriment of real world performance."
You think Honda and Toyota have Carl Rove tuning their software? Did they think people weren't going to notice? Even after the more realistic ratings the Prius and HCHII are still the only two cars you can buy in the US that average over 40mpg (waiting on VW's next gen diesel).
I think the more ridiculous thing the new numbers show is what the largest of trucks and suv's are actually getting. And it's laughable that these new numbers almost negate the improvements of GM's upcomming large SUV hybrids.
BTW, Honda has always stated that 45 is a more typical average for the HCHII. I got 46 on my last tank. I don't feel cheated by Honda.
Lastly, even with their "underhandedness", the Prius remains the highest owner-satisfied vehicle as rated by Consumer Reports.
:)
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Peter 6:04PM (5/30/2007)
I agree that Toyota and Honda probably tuned their systems to pass the test more so than Ford did, but do you blame them for that?
If they want to sell cars on the merits of good gas mileage, they will tune their cars to perform well on the gas mileage tests. It is not their responsibility to make sure the test represents real world conditions.
Hopefully the new testing scheme really does represent real world driving and now tuning for the test and tuning for the real world will be the same thing.
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Mulad 7:45PM (5/30/2007)
I dunno, the mileage drops are fairly consistent, going down by roughly 15% for most vehicles. The numbers just work out to be more dramatic when you're looking at high-mileage cars. Of course, it looks to me that they ended up with numbers that are a bit too conservative. Looking at the "Your MPG" numbers in comparison, they should have only dropped mileage ratings by about half as much as they did.
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Gene 8:30PM (5/30/2007)
My 2001 Toyota Echo with 90k miles on it, gets 40 mpg around town. On the freeway at 80 miles per hour, it does 44 mpg! These numbers are consistent.
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mikeinBuilding7 5:06PM (5/31/2007)
A about Honda Civic sales vs. Toyota Prius: 8mpg in the city cycle is pretty outstanding. And this is probably the ONLY reason the Prius outsells the Civic hybrid. I really like the Civic, I like it's low and wide stance, but, I can't ignore an 8mpg difference.
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heeeat 11:41PM (5/30/2007)
that is funny... no toyotas or hondas are listed under 2008.
Are you guys making this up?
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/2008selemakef.jsp?year=2008
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Quentin 5:55PM (5/31/2007)
The GTI is rated at 29mpg highway now. I've only seen under 29mpg on 2 tanks in the 6000 miles I've had my GTI. One instance was the very first tank (expected) and the other was the most recent where I was driving like a general derelict. I suppose making the test cycle like the typical idiot driver would be most accurate, though, considering the piss poor driving I see on the roads.
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Owain Ozymandias Buck 7:58AM (5/31/2007)
The reason the "Your MPG" numbers are lower is that the vast majority of people lie about their fuel mileage. I honestly don't know why. I love it when somebody who has the exact same car as me tries to tell me that they get 10 mpg more than me, and I know for a fact they drive harder.
What's the reasoning behind this? Why do folks think they have to make up good mileage numbers for their cars?
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Sam Abuelsamid 8:05AM (5/31/2007)
heeeat, The resason there are no 2008 Hondas or Toyotas listed yet is that they haven't released and started shipping any early 08 models yet. Vehicles like the redesigned Escape are in production and classed as 08 models. Over the next couple of months the list will be updated to include all the 08 models.
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Owain Ozymandias Buck 8:08AM (5/31/2007)
Oops. I meant the "Your MPG" numbers are HIGHER.
These are an eye opener. I imagine these ratings will cause a little more research when shopping, at least as long as we have >$3/gal gas.
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Dave 8:15AM (5/31/2007)
Ok so the Pries and Civic dropped 16% and the Escape dropped 12%. Oh my god conspiracy! Thanks for telling us about the new numbers but leave the hybrid hate to the Detroit Free Press. Almost all vehicles dropeed 10-20%. My coworker was pointing to these numbers and mocked my Prius choice because of the drop. His SUV went from 18 mpg to 16. Yeah I am the one with the problem.
The EPA can revise the numbers down as much as they want, it's easier than passing new cafe standards and it just shows how far we have to go to get off our oil addiction.
Next thing I want is to get them to force car companies to advertise averge mile per gallon instead of highway miles per gallon.
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Marc 1:51PM (5/31/2007)
This is a misleading post. The EPA has not released 2008 mpg numbers for cars that have not been released as 2008 models yet. That includes the Prius and Civic. These numbers are estimates arrived at by mathematical formulas. Every few weeks, someone posts this as news. When the 2008 numbers are released, you will see a reduction, as with ALL vehicles. Until then, stop the conjecture and misleading information. (If you need any proof how screwed up these fake numbers are, look at the combined Civic mileage, it is higher than the presumed city or highway mpg.)
And BTW my Prius on the highway (with speeds from 67-70 mph) always averages over 50mpg. The highway numbers are not likely to go down as much as many people seem to think. City mpg will definitely go down, maybe by 10mpg.
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Michael Hippenhammer 1:12PM (5/31/2007)
I drive a 2000 Beetle TDI and it states that the new combined average is 38 mpg. I regularly get 42mpg in city driving with 150lbs of tools on board and a roof rack. I do not try to drive economically and I love jack rabbit starts. I get 48mpg on the hwy and this is with bio-deisel which has 5% less energy content.
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mk3 10:09PM (5/31/2007)
The new, 2008 numbers for the Prius and Civic Hybrid have NOT been released as stated in this post. The numbers for the Prius of 48/45-46 are a projection. So I think some of you are comparing actual 2008 mpg ratings to projected 2008 ratings.
Am I wrong? or are all the numbers being converted with an algorithm rather than with new tests?
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Lamassu 3:20PM (6/01/2007)
Hold your horses there. Before you throw a big pile of FUD out there do a little research. I spent 5 minutes looking at high mpg vehicles on the EPA mileage comparison calculator and guess what, every vehicle I looked at that got near or above 40mpg has a 15-16% drop in mpg with the new tests. This includes the 07 Prius, the 04 Honda Insight, The 2000 Volkswagen New Beetle (diesel), and even the 1989 Geo Metro.
Bottom line, before you go accusing hybrid manufactures of somehow building cars just to do well on EPA test, check your facts.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorSelectYear.jsp
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