All-electric Mini Vs. Ford Fusion Hybrid

(CNET)  CNET's green tech reporter Martin LaMonica test drives the all-electric Mini Cooper and Ford's hybrid Fusion

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It's not every day that you get to drive an all-electric
car and a brand new gas-electric hybrid. But that's just what I did last week when I took both the Electric Mini Cooper and 2010 Ford Fusion for a spin.

The two cars represent two technical approaches to gaining fuel efficiency through bigger car batteries.

Like the Toyota Prius, the newly released Ford Fusion is a gas-electric hybrid that drives primarily on the gas engine, supplemented by a nickel-metal hydride battery. By contrast, the Mini Electric, which will start to be leased to drivers next month as part of a trial, runs entirely on lithium-ion batteries, the latest battery technology.

The trade-offs of both approaches are pretty apparent. The Fusion gets over 40 miles per gallon and it's more or less like any other car you've driven: you fill it up with gasoline and it goes.

The Mini Electric, on the other hand, sacrifices the entire back seat for its battery pack. That allows it to go 100 miles on a charge--sufficient for most daily driving. But two of its advantages are that you never go to a gas station and there are no emissions from the car itself.

Meanwhile, there's yet another technology in the mix--what General Motors calls a range-extended electric vehicle or what engineers call a series hybrid (as opposed to a parallel hybrid). In that case, an internal combustion engine does nothing but charge the batteries that propel the car.

On the road

There's a lot of focus on how lithium-ion batteries are paving the way for cars with a longer range (although cost is still a serious concern). But in both the Ford and the Electric Mini, there are a number of other fuel-saving tricks at work.

The big one is regenerative braking, where the battery charges when the driver presses the brake. The Ford Fusion didn't feel very different from any other automatic transmission car. But the regenerative braking in the Electric Mini was different. When I took my foot of the accelerator, the car slowed significantly. It's noticeable but something that I got used within a few minutes of riding.

Automakers say a key component to mainstream electric car adoption is an in-board feedback system that lets drivers know how to maximize their efficiency. This is probably old hat to Prius drivers looking for ways to save on gas. But it becomes particularly important in all-electric cars, as automakers don't want drivers getting stuck with an empty battery and no place to charge.

The Ford's dashboard LCD shows when you're using the gas motor and when you're running on battery. The way to optimize for efficiency is to get to cruising speed and then tap the brakes to charge the battery, I was told. The car also has an on-dash rating system that displays a plant sprout. More leaves distinguishes the hypermilers from the lead-foots.

The Electric Mini feedback system is pretty simple: how much juice you have left is on the front dash while another meter shows whether you're drawing from or charging the battery.

How did these autos drive? For somebody with admittedly pedestrian taste in cars, I thought they both were great to drive.

If I had to pick, I'd say the Mini is more fun simply because it's a small car with a lot of pep. But then again, without a back seat to speak of, you're not going to bring your Saint Bernard to the beach in an Electric Mini.

Representatives from Ford and BMW were kind enough to hold the video
camera while I drove these cars around the block in California last week and to answer my questions about what's under the hood. You can see the Ford Fusion video here and the Electric Mini video here.



By Martin LaMonica

[dixxson]

With the Mini you get a Van with 2 Seats!
With the Ford Fusion you get a whole car!
The Mini will not even take you from Los Angelos California to Vegas.
The ford will take you coast to coast and Back again and again!
And if the ford is like other Hybrids, that runs primarially of the Battery first!
And the gasoline engine kicks in around 40 mph!
Then they are not giving you the straight "dope" on the Fusion!
The car could go for "THOUSANDS" OF MILES without refueling".

[FauxNews]

2 cars that you can't even buy.

[au_fait]

And by the way, my civic hybrid did not cost $30 - $40K and it gets 42 mpg combined highway/city when I'm driving with my usual leadfoot style. If I drive more conservatively, I get 50 mpg.
Posted by skeezix06 at 4:16 AM : May 3, 2009

i call shenanigans, we have the same model (3 of them) and lead footing brings the MPG down to 36. 50 MPG is correct though as a high. As for the price before the spike in gas you could pick a new one up for about 21K. Just pissed they did not offer leather or a sunroof (almost broke the deal for me)

[jonesjep]

2 cars that people do not want.

[Sky017]

Tesla Model S all-electric:

teslamotors.com/models/index.php

youtube.com/watch?v=HvzOdYVw6Pw


*BYD E6 *
(A huge battery maker now getting into cars. Warren Buffet has invested in this company.)

youtube.com/watch?v=IMl657r6DX4

The E6 will be a 5 seater with an acceleration of 0 to 100 kph of around 10 seconds. Top speed should be top speed of 160 kph (100 mph), and the battery pack, which is located under the rear passenger seats, will be based on BYD's own lithium-ion iron phosphate technology. Range per charge is expected to be 300 km (186 miles).

BYD projected the battery had a life of 2,000 cycles, for a lifetime range of about 600,000 km (373,000 miles).

*Bringing the electric car to the world:*
youtube.com/watch?v=OmOW0z__AMI

(Nissan and Renault have stated and committed to a future of electric vehicles. They are skipping hybrids, and they are not going into hydrogen or fuel cell cars.)

economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11332425

Final note:
The first laser printer was $10K. Should it NOT have been introduced?
Now you can get a laser printer for $250.
Like with EVERYTHING else... the first of anything is more costly, but the early adopters buy them. Then economies of scale and vendor competition kicks in and prices drop.

The naysayers also said the first iPod was 'nice' but expensive. And look at the proliferation of iPods now.

****

[sjc_1]

A Fusion hybrid here on the lots is priced at over $31k, you can buy a standard 4 cylinder automatic for about $21k. You would have to drive the hybrid more than 10 years at 15k miles per year with gasoline above $4 per gallon to pay off the price difference.

[growlll]

Coasting in netural is pretty much illegal here in the US though.

[daffy64]

One of these days, carmakers will finally! realize that women want an all-electric car/vehicle simply b/c it has fewer moving parts (to break down) and it's easier to maintain (no oil and gas irritations to bother with -- messy!).

The carmaker who does, will get most, if not all, of that business -- $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Guys -- and internal-combustion engine enthusiasts -- can still have their V-8's, etc. -- who ever said it had to be one or the other -- why can't we have both??

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I'll take the electric car. I don't rely on an internal combustion engine to define ma-chis-mo.

Besides, I can use the cash savings to buy more beer.

[ToolMangler1]

At 35 mph I get 40 mpg,
At 45 mph I get 55 mpg,
At 55 mph I get 60 mpg,
At 65 mph I get 58 mpg,
At 75 mph I get 52 mpg,

(and for those that are curious At 125 mph I get 30 mpg)
(The vehicle of choice is a 1994 "Bought new) Honda PC with 128000 miles on the Odometer)

[cs4466]

Electric's the way to go, mini wins, hands down.