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Ford Fiesta Econetic Diesel Offers Lower Fuel Consumption than Prius in Australian Combined Cycle Testing; Prius Still Offers Lowest CO2
1 November 2009
Australia’s GoAuto notes that the new Ford Fiesta Econetic diesel (earlier post), with fuel consumption of 3.7 L/100km (63.6 mpg US) under the Australian combined fuel test cycle, offers lower fuel consumption than the third-generation Prius, with 3.9 L/100km (60 mpg US) under the same test cycle.
However, the gasoline-fueled Prius still comes out with the lowest CO2 emissions of any car on the Australian market at 89 g/km, due to the differences in gasoline and diesel fuels. More specifically, according to the Australian government’s GreenVehicleGuide:
| Ford Fiesta Econetic and Toyota Prius | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle | Fuel | Fuel consumption (L/100km) | CO2 | Air pollution* | ||
| Comb. | Urban | Extra | ||||
| Prius | Elec/Gasol. 95RON | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 89 | 8.5 |
| Fiesta Econetic | Diesel | 3.7 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 98 | 5 |
| * The air pollution rating is based on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the lowest. | ||||||
Australian vehicle emission standards and fuel cycle testing (Australian Design Rules, ADRs) largely reflect international standards developed by the United Nations. These standards are adopted in Europe and many other countries around the world, and are known as the Euro standards.
An updated ADR, ADR81/02 Fuel Consumption Labelling for Light Vehicles, came into effect from October 2008 for vehicle models sold in the Australian market for the first time and from April 2009 for all new vehicles sold in the Australian market.
November 1, 2009 in Brief | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Posted by: mahonj | November 01, 2009 at 09:27 AM
Ford Fiesta is a smaller car than the Prius. Also, diesel fuel contains 13% more energy per gallon than gasoline. Also, diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline, at least in the USA. Overall, the Prius is still more efficient and costs less to operate. As far as acquisition cost, it will depend on emission standard of respective countries. To bring the emission standard of diesel vehicles on par with gasoline-electric hybrids would probably make diesel vehicles just as expensive to purchase.
Posted by: Roger Pham | November 01, 2009 at 02:59 PM
Talk about BENDING test results to suit your opinon.
What this test proves is the Prius is unbeatble in Urban driving (which is what it was DESIGNED for). Even a much smaller vehicle like the Fiesta Diesel uses around 20% MORE in Urban driving and the fuel it uses is generally more expensive!
Posted by: Paul | November 01, 2009 at 04:17 PM
.....but aren't urban journeys the easiest to reduce if there are viable alternatives, such as light rail, bus, or even cycling or walking? This makes me ask; what is the point of a city car?
My ability to walk and use the light rail, means that my car spends most of its time outside the house. The car that I do use may be bigger and emit more CO2, but then I use it for long roadtrips with at least myself and a passenger, camping, visitng friends and so on, which often involves carrying luggage and equipment, many times to full capacity. This is better than having a car that is driven by one person absolutely everywhere because it is "green" (...well greener at least!).
Posted by: Scott | November 02, 2009 at 03:08 AM
A PHEV with a small light weight diesel genset may be the ideal all around vehicle for both city and longer trips.
Vehicle size would depend on specific usage. A very large vehicle, if used ONLY occasionally, may not be justified. Short term rental may be more economical.
Posted by: HarveyD | November 02, 2009 at 01:56 PM
Scott,
What you state makes sense if your city offers mass transit as you describe and right-of-ways for pedestrian and bicycle use.
Posted by: Patrick | November 02, 2009 at 03:59 PM
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It is very similar to the Opel Corsa we had last week - 3.7 L/100km and 98/99 gms/Km.
So, if you drive mostly in a city (and can afford it), get a Prius, if you drive a lot on open roads and don't carry heavy loads, get one of these.
I imagine the Fiesta/Corsa would be a good deal cheaper to buy.
All 3 cars show considerable progress in highly economical driving: Japan using hybrid, Europe using diesel.