Quote:
Originally Posted by RedDevil
My dad bought a Jazz (=Fit) Hybrid a few weeks ago.
Aha, there is your hybrid that was not designed to be more aerodynamical than a non-hybrid, apart from some details lile a slightly smaller grill (it does not need to be as big).
The Fit Hybrid is heavier, yet much more economical than the comparable CVT trannied Fit. It is also faster.
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What's sad is how few other platforms have that done to them. By and large, hybrid isn't a powertrain choice, it's a
statement! An
adventure! A
lifestyle choice!
In the overall fleet, they're adding hidden efficiency features as long as they think nobody will notice- or think other people are going to notice that they have them. Active grilles, stop/start and multi-displacement aren't visible, help on the EPA test and don't cost much. A whole hybrid system costs more to build, so it's sold as something separate. It's hard for customers to compare apples to apples if a conventional powertrain isn't available in the mpg chassis.
They need the mpg, but it still all comes down to marketing.