Top mpg nin hybrid cars at 70+ mph?

[redpoint5]

Back when I was considering a commuter, I had cars like Toyota Corolla, VW TDI, and Hyundai Elantra on my list of good economy cars. Ended up getting an Acura TSX because I fell in love with the 6-speed manual. It only gets 30 MPG though due to dumb gear ratios.

Back then I figured if I'm going to spend so much time in a vehicle, it might as well have a little luxury for comfort and entertainment.

[mpghunter]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Back when I was considering a commuter, I had cars like Toyota Corolla, VW TDI, and Hyundai Elantra on my list of good economy cars. Ended up getting an Acura TSX because I fell in love with the 6-speed manual. It only gets 30 MPG though due to dumb gear ratios.

Back then I figured if I'm going to spend so much time in a vehicle, it might as well have a little luxury for comfort and entertainment.

You might like a G1 insight then. Mine was very fun to drive with the manual

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by mpghunter

You might like a G1 insight then. Mine was very fun to drive with the manual

I'm sure I would, but I'm morally opposed to 2-seater "cagers". The number of seats should always meet or exceed the number of wheels for vehicles with the primary purpose of moving people.

[Autobahnschleicher]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I'm morally opposed to 2-seater "cagers". The number of seats should always meet or exceed the number of wheels for vehicles with the primary purpose of moving people.

Well, my bicycles all have twice as many wheels as they have seats.
Should I ride a unicycle around town now?

[Vwbeamer]

my 2 cents.

The VW TDI's love the open highway, they have long legs and can cruz the higher speeds. If can find a a nice one with a 6 speed. Look for a Jetta , golf, Passat or Audi A3. I have had 2 of them. I will tell you you need to keep up the maintance and avoid the dealers. These cars really require the owner to know a little about the cars, it's not a toyota.

Speaking of which, if you want reliability, get a Toyota. I'm guessing your avoiding hybrids because of reiability, the toyota hybrids are very reliable.

Lot of new cars to pick from, my dad had 2020 hyundai Sonata with the NA 2.5 litre engine. I didn't drive it much, but was impressed with Gas miliage. It's rated at 38 mpg. strong power.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Autobahnschleicher

Well, my bicycles all have twice as many wheels as they have seats.
Should I ride a unicycle around town now?

Yes!

I've been unicycling, and it's vastly superior to the mini Segway I was previously using.

Mostly my comment was a jab at those excited for trikes.

I am opposed to 2-seater cars though. More fun on a motorcycle, and if one wants to go fast, then that necessitates a single seat, like F1. A 2-seater is simply too compromised for utility, and too compromised for speed.

[Ecky]

In the G1 Insight, there is now a very simple way to remove all of the hybrid electronics and still "fool" the ECU into thinking everything is working. You'd be able to pass emissions and inspection, for the price of an Arduino Uno and half an hour of soldering wires to the board.

[mpghunter]

Originally Posted by Ecky

In the G1 Insight, there is now a very simple way to remove all of the hybrid electronics and still "fool" the ECU into thinking everything is working. You'd be able to pass emissions and inspection, for the price of an Arduino Uno and half an hour of soldering wires to the board.

Yes I heard about this. I am concerned about it affecting the reliability. Have you heard of anyone having issues with this setup after many miles? Also does it still have the problem of not charging the 12v battery when 4k rpm is hit? Im concerned that it will slowly ruin the battery and the dc converter. Reliability is important for me. Thats my Im interested in the mirage 5 speed and echo

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by mpghunter

Yes I heard about this. I am concerned about it affecting the reliability. Have you heard of anyone having issues with this setup after many miles? Also does it still have the problem of not charging the 12v battery when 4k rpm is hit? Im concerned that it will slowly ruin the battery and the dc converter. Reliability is important for me. Thats my Im interested in the mirage 5 speed and echo

There are ways of bypassing the 4K limit now as well

My insight has done about 50,000 miles with no battery but with the ima and cell on (non-inspection area)

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by mpghunter

Yes I heard about this. I am concerned about it affecting the reliability. Have you heard of anyone having issues with this setup after many miles? Also does it still have the problem of not charging the 12v battery when 4k rpm is hit? Im concerned that it will slowly ruin the battery and the dc converter. Reliability is important for me. Thats my Im interested in the mirage 5 speed and echo

Essentially all the arduino does is tell the ECU that the IMA system is "ready" but that the battery is at zero, so don't call for assist. I set this up and used it for around a year and, while the car was slower, it was perfectly reliable.

The 4k limit is hard-baked into the DC-DC converter, unfortunately, but it only cuts out for around 30 seconds (unless you're staying above 4k) - basically a non-issue, unless you're climbing the Rockies or something.

I replaced my DC-DC converter with an aftermarket unit which can charge all the way to redline, not because I was concerned with the OEM unit's reliability, but because the aftermarket one was considerably smaller, which let me free up a ton of space in the back of my car.

The DC-DC replacement probably isn't appropriate for someone in Texas, however, since the aftermarket units cut out at ~160F, and I imagine a closed car parked in the sun probably exceeds that during Texas summers. So, you'd start your car and the unit would already be in thermal protection.




To my knowledge, an Insight with the IMA delete is still more reliable and robust than a Metro, which are generally pretty "tired" by 200k. There are examples of Insights running around with 5-800k miles on the stock engine. The Metro engine seems to start burning oil and loses compression relatively young.

I'm unfamiliar with the Mirage's reliability, but I haven't heard anything to suggest unreliability.