An interesting data point on this is the
X-Prize Knockout Round:
Quote:
So the lowest MPGe of an electric drive; the AMP'd Sky was 86.7MPGe (Tango was 86.8), while the best of a car with an internal combustion is the Edison2 #97 at 101.4. (Actually, the FVT has a ICE powered generator onboard, but did not need it *at all* in the X-Prize. It would be great to see how the eVaro does for MPGe in charging mode!) The hybrids all were all below the 67MPGe -- except the WWU at 92.5 (and the FVT).
The average of the 12 vehicles using electric drive MPGe (I'm including the FVT in this) was 134.7MPGe
The average of the 6 hybrids (not including the FVT) was 61.26MPGe (Please note, these are all parallel hybrids?)
The average of the 5 internal combustion drive cars was 82.92MPGe
|
The FVT is a serial (aka series) hybrid, and it did not use the genset at all in the X-Prize. It only used the battery power, so while it carried the weight of the genset around, it still managed 152.5MPGe.
The ICE powered cars all were very light -- the only one that weighed close to the hybrids and electrics was the BITW diesel Metro. So, weight matters less than drivetrain efficiency. But, when an ICE is involved, it may be that low weight trumps the small efficiency gains of a parallel hybrid? Of course the very low aero drag of the four Edison2 VLC cars also greatly improves the average of the 6 ICE powered cars, and advantage that only a couple of the electric cars could match.
Obviously, hybrids are better in most real world situations, with the crop of cars on the roads today. Another point is that the really efficient ICE cars are veeeery slooooow.....