Review: 2013 Lexus GS450h
#32
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And you haven't driven the GS 450h.
You haven't driven the GS 450h.
#34
#35
I don't see how that ties in with what I was saying, though. I was discussing the reasons that many people often give for actually buying hybrids.......not just test-driving them. And hybrids, of course, differ widely in their design and intended driving-styles....one reason why a GS450H is a long way from a Honda Insight or Toyota Prius C.
#36
#37
That's simple physics - it takes energy to produce thrust and overcome weight there's just no getting around that. Dragging around a massive battery pack is not the way to achieve that goal. Gasoline is still the champ for producing power per pound. As you consume that fuel, the vehicle gets even lighter. Batteries don't do that.
As an example, take the Lotus Elise S: It gets 37.5mpg on the combined urban/extra-urban cycle while thrashing out a 4.2 sec 0-60 time, and a 145 mph top speed. It wrings this out of a blown 1.8 litre DOHC 4 cylinder, with dual VVT-i, 16-valve with Magnuson R900 supercharger making 217 hp, but the major contributor to this performance is its weight that comes in around one metric tonne, thanks to a pretty intensive weight-loss program. Weight is the great enemy of performance, and it shows quickly on the track and at the pump. As Colin Chapman used to repeat endlessly, "simplify and add lightness".
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