winter driving

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Chevy Malibu Hybrid: The Fuel Economy Test Drive

December 31, 2008 in Consumer News, Hybrids, MPG, test drives by kristen | 1 comment

Chevy Malibu Hybrid

The Chevy Malibu Hybrid is the gas-sipping car for people who don’t want to look like an eco-freak. It’s a pretty big four-door sedan with lots of space, a solid feel, and comfy seats. Grandparents and salespeople will love this car. It’s not an incognito hybrid, though: there’s the green hybrid badge on the trunk and a large hybrid decal at the top of the back window.

This car got a little extra testing this week, as we got a load of snow dumped on us here in the Pacific Northwest. I drove the hybrid — carefully — on slick and snowy streets when it was safe. The traction control worked beautifully as long as I was going slowly. When the snow got deep, though, the Malibu stayed parked in the driveway for five days.

As a result of driving in less than optimal conditions, I didn’t get the best mileage. The EPA says the Malibu Hybrid should turn in 26 city, 34 highway, but I averaged in the low 20s in the time I had the car. The most helpful green feature in nasty weather was the automatic shutoff, which was indicated by a flashing green “ECO” light in the dashboard. The Eco mode shut down and restarted smoothly.

The Chevy Malibu Hybrid starts at $26,345, which seems par for the hybrid course. If it makes you, the consumer, feel any better, it’s not the most expensive Malibu trim level available. There’s a 3.6-liter V6 LTZ version that starts at over $26,000, making the hybrid look like a good value all around. Too bad Chevy lists it as having “Very limited availability.”

This car was provided for review by the manufacturer at no cost to the reviewer.

Electric Cars OK in Winter

December 22, 2008 in EVs by kristen | No comments

In honor of what seems to be a national snow day (I don’t even want to hear from my in-laws in southern Florida right now), I wondered how the EVs of the world were faring in cold, icy, and snowy conditions. Again, I turned to the helpful members of the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association to answer my questions.

A few of the problems with EVs in winter:

  • Some, especially conversions, don’t have a heater
  • The locks on older cars used for conversions can freeze up
  • Lead acid batteries left in the cold lose 10-20% of their range

A few benefits of EVs in winter:

  • They don’t have to warm up – “instant on” no matter the temperature
  • Newer lithium, NiCd, and NiMH batteries lose less power than older lead batteries
  • All batteries can be charged in a toasty garage with minimal power loss

One OEVA member said his ZAP car drives fine in the snow for his short commute, and another has a factory-built Chevy S10 pickup with a little diesel-powered heater, so he does fine. One guy mentioned that he’d put so much time into his conversion that he couldn’t bear to drive it in questionable conditions, so he drives his “store-bought” car when it’s snowy out, but one other guy said he’s got a battery-powered quad that he plays with in the snow.

So it looks like EVs aren’t much better or worse in the snow and ice than gasoline-powered cars. But the EVs can plug in overnight rather than take a trip to the gas station, and they emit zero pollution. So they do have that going for them.

Hybrid Fuel Economy Drops with the Temperature

December 19, 2008 in Hybrids, MPG by kristen | 1 comment

In my review of the Honda Civic Hybrid, I mentioned that my fuel economy was nearly 10 mpg lower than the EPA estimates, and wondered if it had to do with the cold temperatures that week. Could freezing temps have an effect on the batteries or the electric motor? Or was I imagining things?

I checked in with my informal panel of experts, the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association, whose members drive hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and EVs. According to these road-tested experts, I wasn’t imagining things, but I didn’t have the whole story.

First of all, Oregon adds ethanol to the gasoline in winter, which reduces fuel economy by about 4%, which I had forgotten about. Second, the snow and gravel would increase friction, which would lower the mpgs. Hybrids also lose energy heating up the whole engine and keeping it warm. Hybrid drivers can combat the drop in mpgs by turning off the defrost and heat while idling to get the gasoline engine to shut off as it does in more pleasant weather.

Several OEVA members also mentioned that everyone, hybrid and conventional car drivers alike, have been driving more carefully in the snow and ice. The techniques we use to avoid sliding into parked cars are the same ones that save gas overall and extend the range of electric vehicles:

  • Start very slowly
  • Take your foot off the gas far from the stop sign
  • Keep a huge gap between your front bumper and the next car’s rear bumper

One final word of caution: Hybrids are usually fitted with low-rolling-resistance tires to maximize the mpgs. These are pretty awful in winter weather, so if you’ve got a hybrid and live in an area that sees a fair amount of fluffy white stuff, it’s probably worth it to invest in a set of snow tires.

Honda Civic Hybrid: The Fuel Economy Test Drive

December 17, 2008 in Consumer News, Hybrids, MPG, test drives by kristen | No comments

2009 Honda Civic Hybrid

The first thing to note about my week with the Honda Civic Hybrid was that it was very cold. Not negative-degrees cold, but well below freezing cold. I wondered if the hybrid engine or fuel economy would suffer when the car and the street were icy. I’m not sure if it was the weather or my driving, but my mpgs came in way below the EPA estimate.

Over the week, I drove about 120 miles, and I managed to average 31.5 mpg combined city, highway, and icy roads. The EPA rates the Civic Hybrid at 40 city, 45 highway. Handling, however, wasn’t compromised, and I was glad to have stability assist, ABS, and 4- and 5-star crash ratings. Not that I crashed. The car is just fine. I’m an excellent driver.

The Honda Civic Hybrid makes heavy use of its Integrated Motor Assist technology, which uses an electronic motor mounted between the gasoline engine and the transmission for extra power. Honda says the electric motor can propel the car from a stop to 35 mph, but I had a hard time keeping the internal combustion engine from kicking in, no matter how carefully I drove.

The car does have an auto stop feature that cuts the gasoline engine out almost as soon as the car is stopped, and it starts back up seamlessly when it’s needed. A blinking green “Auto Stop” indicator in the dash lets the driver know that the car is supposed to be absolutely silent.

The poor-ish mileage was my only complaint with the Honda, and that was likely a function of the weather, not the car. But if you live in an area with regular harsh winters, you may only get 30 or 35 mpg with the Civic Hybrid. Keep in mind, though, that these days we’re calling anything above 30 mpg pretty good.

This car was provided for review by the manufacturer at no cost to the reviewer.