Audi A3 e-tron v BMW i3 v Citroen C4 Cactus v Toyota PriusEconomy comparison test part one..
The
BMW i3 range-extender model is said to use just 0.6 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres. That?s ridiculously low ? but if you think about it, it is a false economy because it won?t ever achieve that little if you try to drive more than a couple of hundred kilometres.
The reason being is that the i3 has a total claimed range of 300 kilometres, though the conditions would have to be absolutely ideal to reach that level.
The battery alone is claimed to offer 150km of range, while a 0.6-litre, two-cylinder petrol engine kicks in when the batteries start to get low to offer a maximum claimed range of 300km. The petrol engine never drives the wheels ? instead, it acts like a generator, using fuel from its on-board 9.5-litre tank to keep charge up to the batteries. Ah, yeah, the fuel tank is that small, so there?s a chance you could fill up for less than $10!
The second-most frugal of our competitors is claimed to be the
Audi A3 e-tron, another plug-in hybrid but this one works quite differently to its range-extender countryman.
The A3 e-tron also pairs a petrol engine to a bank of batteries and an electric motor, and the result is a claimed consumption of just 1.6L/100km. It uses more fuel if you option the larger wheels, though.
The petrol engine is a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo unit, producing 110kW and 250Nm. It is paired to an 8.8kWh electric drive system with 75kW/330Nm, and the maximum drivetrain output is 150kW and 350Nm. The electric motor is integrated into the six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
That?s a pretty big jump up on the i3, but it also has more weight to move
?A3 e-tron 1615 kilograms compared to the BMW?s 1315kg, because the BMW uses a lightweight and expensive carbonfibre body shell. That?s part of the reason the i3 is so expensive, and indeed it makes the A3 look like a practical bargain at $62,490 plus on-road costs.
Then there?s the
Toyota Prius. The world has come to know this car more than any other as the poster child for efficient motoring, and this new fourth-generation model is a lot more efficient than ever before.
It uses only 3.4L/100km, which is 15 per cent less than it did in the previous-generation model. Despite the fact it has essentially carried over the same 1.8-litre petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain, it has seen big efficiency improvements to its thermal efficiency, and you can now drive at speeds up to 110km/h (previously 70km/h).
The Prius?s engine produces 72kW of power and 142Nm of torque, while the electric motor produces 53kW and 163Nm. But the total combined power output is not the sum of its parts, with max power rated at 90kW. It still has a continuously variable transmission (CVT) auto, too.
It?s by far the biggest vehicle here, though it is the second porkiest of the cars on test,
at 1400kg
The cheapest vehicle here ? and thirstiest, if you could call it that ? is the
Citroen C4 Cactus diesel.
It is also the least technological drivetrain in this test, with a little 1.6-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder (producing 68kW and 230Nm) and a six-speed semi-automatic gearbox. It has engine-stop start, but that?s about all the engine tech it?s packing, but it manages to be so efficient because it is very light:
the diesel auto weighs just 1055kg.
All that aside, the fact that this little Cactus costs just $29,990 plus on-road costs is commendable, considering that its fuel economy is rated at a miserly 3.7 litres per 100km. That makes it the most efficient five-seat vehicle on the market that doesn?t use a hybrid drivetrain.
It?s kind of fitting that the cheaper the car gets, the more fuel it is claimed to use. But the gap is a monstrous $39,910 between the coin-conscious Citroen and the big-buck BMW
By the numbers
According to the Green Vehicle Guide, the cars will use the following (litres per 100km):
Urban fuel use_ Highway fuel use_ Combined fuel use
Audi A3 e-tron_ n/a_ n/a _ 1.6
BMW i3_ 4.4_ n/a_ 0.6
Citroen Cactus_ 3.9_ 3.5_ 3.6
Toyota Prius_ 3.4_ 3.5_ 3.4
As you can see, the official figures make it a little dodgy to compare them back to back. But we made it simple for ourselves.
This part of the test covered 100 kilometres of urban driving. At the end we aimed to stop and check what each car was claiming to have used over that distance. There are no lab coats here!
Conclusion
At the end of our 100km of urban driving there was a variance of less than 3km/h in calculated average speeds between the four cars, and the odometers clearly were not synchronised, as there was also 3km difference between the trip computer measurements despite us staying in convoy the entire way.
So there?s a clear winner in the urban environment, and it?s the BMW i3 range-extender.
This is a little electric plugger that clearly feels at home in the hubbub of the city, and with a fuel consumption of 0.0 litres over 100km of urban driving, it?s hard to argue with.
It had 46km of electric range remaining, according to the car?s on-board computer, with an overall remaining range of 179km ? pretty close to the claimed range of 300km total.
If you?re into the electricity side of things, it used 16.7kWh per 100km, which seems reasonable. We just hope that there?s a faster charge system in the works, or you?d want to be able to plug in at work and home to ensure it?s always full.
The next best was the Audi A3 e-tron, which had a predicted 52 kilometres of electric range when we set off. It managed 49km on EV power alone, and continued to revamp its batteries when the possibility arose along the way.
The result in the end was a displayed fuel consumption of
3.9L/100km, with 2km of electric range remaining, and a total range remaining of 542km.
The Toyota Prius did as expected ? it was frugal around town ? and it relied upon its batteries a lot more than we?d thought it would. The trip computer showed
4.0L/100km, but with 67 per cent of all driving having been in EV mode.
The Prius had a staggering
827km of combined range remaining, according to the dashboard.
That was extremely close when compared with the sole diesel model here, the Citroen C4 Cactus. The digital display in that car read
840km distance to empty, and it, somewhat predictably, used the most juice: 5.4L/100km. That?s high in this test, but hugely impressive for a practical and comfortable small SUV.
As the most efficient diesel five-seater on the market, the
Cactus makes a lot of sense whether you spend all your time around town, or touring longer distances.
The diesel works well in traffic, but the auto gearbox isn?t perfect.
The general consensus, then is that the A3 feels normal, the i3 is a little bit too compromised as an all-round offering, the Cactus is a distance tourer par excellence, and the Prius ? well, it?s still efficient, but no-one wanted to take it home.. :?: :?: ....
Insomma nessuno di loro si porterebbe a casa la Prius... e chissà perchè.... :!: :?: :?:
Citroen Cactus 1055 kg
BMW i3 1315 kg
Toyota Prius 1400 kg
Audi A3 e-tron 1615kg
http://www.caradvice.com.au/431925/audi-a3-e-tron-v-bmw-i3-v-citroen-c4-cactus-v-toyota-prius-economy-comparison-test-part-one/
Attached files /attachments/2097697=51019-Eco-Test-Urban-loop-Audi-A3-e-tron-v-BMW-i3-v-Citroen-C4-Cactus-v-Toyota-Prius-54.jpg