Thumbs Up! for VW’s hybrid contender?
Will small ever be sexy in America?
Who needs hybrid technology anymore?
According to VW, the upcoming Up! subcompact is going to offer up to 56 mpg, or even 73 mpg with the natural gas version, when it launches later this year. Sure, the Up! achieves these numbers using only a tiny 3-cylinder engine and a manual transmission that offers a maximum 74-horsepowers in a body only 140 inches long. Then, of course, the Up!’s fuel economy numbers won’t stand up to the EPA’s methodologies either.
So, does the Up! demonstrate the value of hybrid technology, or its irrelevance?
Granted, without final pricing and EPA numbers, it’s a little premature to have this conversation. Nevertheless, every time a small compact comes out of Europe, we hear these stellar fuel economy numbers, only to learn they don’t really match up in the US. In fact, Europe’s testing is more like CAFE. Thus, 56 mpg will probably mean more like 40 mpg according to the EPA.
Fortunately, 40 mpg combined is still great fuel economy, at least relative to today’s US averages, and the Up! demonstrates that achieving 2025 CAFE requirements is already achievable today, without the need for any battery technologies, as long as you don’t mind a tiny, slow ride, especially if the vehicle is loaded with a family of four.
In order to add size and power to 40 – 50 mpg cars, however, battery technologies are needed.
Still, if consumers can’t afford something like a Toyota Prius or a Honda Insight, which both offer much more size and power than the Up! — as well as better fuel economy — consumers will have options, and that will eventually be important, whether forced by higher gas prices or increasing CAFE requirements.
Alternatively though, why not offer a hybrid version of the Up!?
Yes, space might be a bit of an issue, but the space needed for hybrid powertrains has shrunk quite a lot over the last decade. Add lithium and even more downsizing is possible. Then the Up! might actually achieve 60 – 70 mpg combined in the real world, while also adding some extra horsepower. Couple with natural gas and an 80 mpg+ vehicle might be possible for under $20,000, without the need for any tax credits or range anxiety.
Even then, I doubt most Americans would ever buy something like the Up!, at least not until they have no other choice, which might happen by 2025. When that happens, it will be interesting to see how many consumers accept the hybrid premium — or a full EV premium – in order to gain size and power, or whether they’ll simply downsize considerably.
