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What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

8653 messages,  Last post on Nov 27, 2009 at 6:22 PM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires

What is this discussion about? Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, smart fortwo, MINI Cooper


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#6469 of 8653
Re: Those are a lot of straws to be grasping at. [snakeweasel] by dromedarius
Dec 07, 2007 (7:17 am)
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Replying to: snakeweasel (Dec 06, 2007 6:59 pm)

You're comparing Canadian mileage figures for the smart to American mileage figures for the Fit and/or Yaris but isn't the Canadian gallon larger???
 
 
#6470 of 8653
No... by bumpy
Dec 07, 2007 (7:48 am)
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5.9 L/100 km is 39.875 miles per US gallon
#6471 of 8653
Re: Interesting Discussion! [boaz47] by dromedarius
Dec 07, 2007 (7:54 am)
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Replying to: boaz47 (Dec 06, 2007 4:17 pm)

I completely agree w/you regarding the smart; I can't see it being a practical purchase for 99.5% of the US population.
 
However, you are 100% wrong saying there is no virtue to making do w/less (which I don't see as a sacrifice anyway). If EVERYONE in the US got 2 MPG better we would be MUCH better off. I don't care what the Chinese do. If they want to purchase more, so be it. If we can cut down on our polution and our dependence on foreign oil not only are we better off, but more importantly our children are as well. I don't like being at the beckon call of dictators who hate us and want to end our way of life. All these people claiming "I can do what I want" won't be able to much longer if we continue to live so frivolously.
#6472 of 8653
Re: Those are a lot of straws to be grasping at. [snakeweasel] by robertsmx
Dec 07, 2007 (7:59 am)
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Replying to: snakeweasel (Dec 07, 2007 5:08 am)

You're comparing two different standards. I used one. That said, I could see an impact of 4-5 mpg in midsize/20-22 mpg class. Once we get into high mileage cars, practicality becomes far more important than saving 10% on fuel economy, especially if those savings are limiting (and restricted to largely urban driving).
#6473 of 8653
Re: Interesting Discussion! [dgecho1] by boaz47
Dec 07, 2007 (8:07 am)
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Replying to: dgecho1 (Dec 07, 2007 5:48 am)

I think the whole subject is what is wrong with sub compacts. It would also seem as if that questions was aimed at the US consumer. The US consumer has shown preferences for larger vehicles than the Asians and Europeans so there must be a reason. we have more paved roads than they do. We average more miles than they do. We even tend to have larger houses than they do. Every country does what they feel is best for their country with little or no regard for other countries that is just how the world works. In African nations they drive even more diesels than they do in Europe. In fact most of the old Nissan and Toyota Diesel mini vans seem to have gone to Africa and Israel. On a hot day you can see and smell belching clouds of black smoke as each one drives passed using the lowest grade of diesel they can buy. Is there a condemnation for this practice? No because we aren't about judging how other cultures address these issues. Yet somehow we are expected to flog ourselves for the success of our nation and feel guilty for not having the same restrictions on transportation as some other have.
 
Sub Compacts have as much right on our roads as any other car, that has never been an issue or the question. We have just shown as a society a preference for something more comfortable or with more power and yes even something as large as a SUV. It does not make US consumers evil simply because we haven't embraced the plight of drivers in other countries. We had clean air standards when Europe was still burning peat as heating fuel up to about 15 years ago. No one assumed they were evil because they were spewing dirt into the air and didn't care about American air. we simply have a different lifestyle and SUV and quad cab trucks work for us better than they do for people in other countries. We have no reason to feel guilty for being successful as a nation and for taking advantage of that success.
#6474 of 8653
Re: Those are a lot of straws to be grasping at. [lilengineerboy] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Dec 07, 2007 (8:10 am)
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Replying to: lilengineerboy (Dec 07, 2007 6:04 am)

Once you get the Smart on the highway, it will, I predict, lose ANY advantage in MPG over a Yaris. The faster you run a small engine, the more fuel it consumes because you cannot gear it to overdrive.
 
The Prius has already suffered the same fate. It's got great city mileage but when people take it on the freeway, their overall MPG sits right around 41-44 mpg, and this was a far cry from EPA or Toyota brochures.
 
Once again, a SMART only makes sense to a city dweller/driver who values parking over everything else, and is willing to pay a premium for that one advantage (presuming his city allows perpendicular parking and offers other perks to SMARTS).
 
RE; LIARS -- I don't think the people reporting 40 MPG + on their Yaris on this site are liars. If they are, they must have all agreed to tell the same lie.
#6475 of 8653
Re: Those are a lot of straws to be grasping at. [snakeweasel] by robertsmx
Dec 07, 2007 (8:10 am)
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Replying to: snakeweasel (Dec 07, 2007 5:03 am)

People can misremember, calculate wrong, have wrong facts or just outright lie. When something lies way outside the norm, say like everyone reporting between 32 and 36 MPG and someone comes along and reports 42MPG you should look at the 42 with suspect.
 
Have you ever shared your numbers to EPA's website? Calling those who do liars is the last thing that comes to my mind. I don't know about you, but I find the new EPA rating ridiculous. There is no way I can get 26 mpg in my TL on highway, unless (perhaps) I drive at 90 mph all day long. I get 24-26 mpg (lately, 26 mpg has been difficult perhaps due to traffic congestion and winter fuel, still got 24.9 mpg on last tank). Same with 98 Accord. 27 mpg on highway? How about 32-33 mpg at 80 mph?
 
The worst tank ever in either car is around 23 mpg, and over 236K miles. Interestingly enough, even that is better than the suggested combined mileage by EPA. So, tell me why I should take EPA more seriously than my personal observation, and reporting by others who seem to get similar mileage as I do?
 
Interestingly enough, the one that seems to lie outside of the norm is the EPA rating. At their website, 2007 Fit/Auto has 26 observed fuel economy. Among those, reported with 40-60% city, all but one exceeded EPA's rating. You may choose to disbelieve them all and stick with EPA, I won't.
#6476 of 8653
Re: Interesting Discussion! [dromedarius] by oregonboy
Dec 07, 2007 (8:23 am)
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Replying to: dromedarius (Dec 07, 2007 7:54 am)

dromedarius, you make an excellent point regarding fuel savings.
 
The simple fact is that petroleum is a finite resource and while it won't run out overnight, at some point production will peak, demand will exceed supply, prices will increase dramatically (we ain't seen nothin' yet), and some areas will experience shortages. This may not happen this week, this month, or this year, but there is a very good chance that it will happen within ten years.
 
When it does happen, what do you want parked in your garage? What do you want parked in all of you neighbors garages across the city/state/country? Hummers?
 
The time to prepare is now, not after the situation becomes critical.
 
james
#6477 of 8653
Re: Interesting Discussion! [dromedarius] by boaz47
Dec 07, 2007 (8:23 am)
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Replying to: dromedarius (Dec 07, 2007 7:54 am)

All I am saying is the virtue is in your mind not reality. We already have cleaner pollution standards than Europe. They allow more particulants than we do. As we get more drivers we use more fuel and I can easily get 8 MPG better fuel mileage with a SUV simply by changing to a diesel. We could keep our vehicles just the way they are and save even more fuel if we refused to go shopping in the malls. we could save fuel even more if we went back to neighborhood schools and sold all the school busses. Cars only represent about 50 percent of the fuel and energy we use in the US. How much energy would we save by having smaller houses. After 911 fuel prices dropped by close to 75 cents a gallon simply because we cut back on Air travel just in this country. There are many things we could do that would save just as much as giving up our SUVs and trucks. Doing one of those things is no more virtuous than doing the other. It all depends on what soap box you are standing close to.
 
My complaint with Sub Compacts is they do not provide enough additional benefits over a current compact when the Corolla gets better fuel mileage than a Fit and the price is the same. I don't assume the owner of the Fit is an Ugly American because they decided the benefits of that car were worth the extra fuel it burns over the Corolla. It simply all breaks down to personal preferences.
#6478 of 8653
Re: Interesting Discussion! [boaz47] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Dec 07, 2007 (8:28 am)
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Replying to: boaz47 (Dec 07, 2007 8:23 am)

The Fit is far more versatile than the Corolla. It's more useful, that's why people buy it. And that utility doesn't give up gas mileage, so that's another perk. A Fit is not an irrational choice by any means, but a Hummer is unless you are a commando or a big game hunter I guess, where you really really need to crawl up the sides of mountains.
 

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