Fuel economy - Cali beats VW Golf hybrid!

[motacyclist]

We've been homeless the last couple of weeks, having sold our house we had to rent a cottage while we are waiting for builders to finish our new place.

So having nowhere to charge our plug in hybrid Golf it's had to run on petrol power alone, and I have to say it's not that impressive.

The other day, Golf and Cali set off together on a trip of 9 miles, one third 30mph roads and the remainder motorway. The Cali arrived 2 minutes before the Golf, and the trip fuel economy showed 34mpg. When Mrs arrived in the Golf, out of interest I checked the fuel economy and it showed 33.5mpg!

I know had we continued the Golf would have improved and the Cali would have deteriorated but nevertheless it shows that the Cali does really well for a heavy vehicle, and the idea of electric power is not the solution we really think it is. It's a pain trying to find somewhere to charge if you are away from home, if it wasn't for the tax breaks it would be a non starter for saving money, and I'm not convinced it's better for the planet. So I won't be holding my breath waiting for a hybrid electric California!

 

[kave]

That really shows what I have been thinking about hybrids all the time. Nothing earned by having two completely separate driving systems. They are only made for a specific purpose, lower tax for company drivers. Same with Prius, any decent diesel car gets lower mpg.
Proper electric or I can be without it. Here in Norway Teslas is like one of every 20 you meet, and up in the skiing areas its like 20% of cars among the SUVs.

 

[pjm-84]

I used ours last week for a 230mile round trip. I averaged 40mpg with one charge and I was driving like Miss Daisy. So the trip out with charge was 47mpg making the trip back without charge at 33mpg. Considering this is a 2.0litre engine and the car weighs in at 1800kg I wasn't that impressed. (I could have managed 26mpg in my 4.4 litre D3, which weighs in at 2500kg running on ATRs for the return leg)

That said the PHEV now has 9700miles with an average of 179mpg for that distance.

 

[motacyclist]

I guess if you have a commute less than the e-range and are able to recharge at work then you can get by without any petrol at all. Our Golf is mainly used for shopping trips but once a week Mrs visits her mum which is further than battery power allows so generally average fuel consumption has been in the region of 140mpg. The last few weeks have dented that though.

One thing many will not realise is that if the petrol engine is not in use then the battery also has to supply the heating/air conditioning, and as soon as that is switched on then the useable range drops. The Golf GTE we have is supposed to have an e-range of 31 miles, in practice we are lucky to get 23 miles then if the heatin/air con is on then this drops to about 19 miles. Imagine this in a Cali with a parking heater!

Finding charging points at the moment is a nightmare. Like mobile phones, they all have different providers and frequently all the bays are used (sometimes by "dirty diesels" who should have parked elsewhere). If you park in the same place every day then you can subscribe to that provider but if you are a wanderer you need to carry a smart card and subscription for each one. Best places are National Trust, there are no smart cards and the points are free (provided there is a free bay).

It's not all bad news though, the performance really is "electric" and it's a lovely car to drive. Not as nice as a Cali to be in though!