Idaho National Laboratory Completes 1 Million Miles of Plug-in Hybrid Testing

[MetroMPG]

The test fleet is made up of 215 vehicles, using 12 different models including the ubiquitous Prius...



... And the funky looking Renault Kangoo PHEV...



I haven't delved into the detailed reports, but for those interested in plug-in conversions, DOE's Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA), INL, and testing partner Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation have released a bunch of reports.

The goal of the test was to compare energy consumption of the PHEVs to non plug-in vehicles.

Not surprisingly, they determined that the main factors affecting energy use were driving style, state of charge, and ambient temperature.

Interesting nugget:

The INL reports that even in not-so-optimal environments, the PHEVs actually improved fuel economy by 30 percent. The highest fuel economy improvement they recorded was 95 percent.

Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity - Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

[ldjessee00]

So, even at their worst, they were better than the rest.

Hopefully consumers will now demand vehicles have a much higher level of efficiency and manufacturers will be forced to produce them.

[htomfields]

You can learn more about Idaho National Laboratory's research projects including more information about the hybrid vehicle testing results at the lab's facebook site.
Idaho National Laboratory | Facebook

[MetroMPG]

Thanks for the link, htomfields.