All Smarts to get start-stop standard
The already fuel efficient Smart fortwo will soon become even more stingy with the petrol when start-stop technology is employed fleet-wide beginning in October. The start-stop technology, which is called "micro hybrid" by Smart, works by cutting off the engine during braking when the vehicle speed drops below five mph. According to Smart, the engine restarts immediately when the brake is released and the technology will result in a fuel savings of 8 percent, bringing consumption in the US EPA cycle to about 44 mpg on the highway and 36 mpg in the city. CO2 emissions will also be reduced by 9g/km, now netting 103g/km. The technology will also be available on the CDI Smart when it hits production next year, but as of right now, the diesel fortwo isn't coming Stateside.
[Source: Autocar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jan 4:34PM (7/11/2008)
do not get your hopes up, the "micro hybrid" ones have been around here for some time. every review confirmed that they actually consume MORE fuel than the standard non-mhd smarts.
Reply
geo.stewart 4:50PM (7/11/2008)
how is it anything hybrid? There is no other power source involved?
like Coupe, there are those who dont understand the meaning of 'hybrid'.
sheesh. if you dont get cars, dont get into marketing for cars
Jan 4:53PM (7/11/2008)
exactly right, that is one of the other main points of criticism and has been a matter of discussion throughout german car-forums.
EVan 5:14PM (7/11/2008)
@Jan...
Come on now kiddo, you're going to have to provide a link or some sources for that kind of made up BS.
Jan 5:19PM (7/11/2008)
made up bs? what is your problem? the mhd-smart cars have been on sale here since october 07.
but since you demand proof for my "bs", i provide a link, coming from germanys biggest carmagazine.
http://www.autobild.de/artikel/verbrauchswerte-auf-dem-pruefstand-teil-2_453344.html
see for yourself and STFU.
Bungle 5:26PM (7/11/2008)
@Jan:
Looks to me like the micro hybrid uses fewer Liters per 100 km, which is *better* gas mileage than the regular Smart.
Bungle 5:36PM (7/11/2008)
@Jan:
I think you need to go back and read the article. They're saying that the Smart MHD gets worse mileage in testing than the factory rating specifies, which is true of most cars in the world.
They still concede that it gets better mileage than the Smart without MHD. If you look at the numbers, they're both rated at approximately 50% higher mileage than they actually get, but the Smart MHD still wins out by a considerable margin.
Jan 5:42PM (7/11/2008)
another reliable source for information ist spritmonitor.de. our biggest and independent database for fuel consumption. there are currently about 140.000 privately owned cars logged. if you do the search and compare, then the regular petrol smart achieves around 4.5l/100km, which is about 52 USMPG for you. the mhd-version can manage 5.5l/100km which is about 42 USMPG.
Jan 5:47PM (7/11/2008)
bungle, you are correct. i was enraged by evans comment. but check spritmonitor.de. it is based on peoples experience. theres an english version, too.
tankd0g 6:32PM (7/11/2008)
Bungle: This thing only saves gas when it's turned off. So does my car. So does everybody's car. B-F-D
Torrent 3:26PM (7/12/2008)
Hybrid? They're small and save gas, but they're no hybrid.
why not the LS2LS7? 4:35PM (7/11/2008)
I cannot comprehend how this raises EPA highway mileage, yet the article says it does.
Reply
Yar 4:44PM (7/11/2008)
City mileage. To travel 10 miles in the city you stop 5 times at a light. If you don't run the engine while you're stopped, then you burn less fuel. Burn less fuel over the same distance and you get better mpg.
Yar 4:46PM (7/11/2008)
whoops, completely misread everything.
IGNORE ME!
MikeW 5:31PM (7/11/2008)
The article says the composite mileage is raised.
It doesn't say what the makeup of the composite is, 1:1 city/highway, 2:1
So an increase of just city mileage can raise the composite.
tom 9:47PM (7/11/2008)
I was wondering the same thing LS2. Maybe the part of the EPA's highway testing simulates traffic jam situations?
Bungle 5:22PM (7/11/2008)
You know, that's a very good point. The Smart USA website lists 33 city/41 hwy according to 2008 EPA standards. Unless there's another technology being integrated (or some sort of calibration that raises highway efficiency) that they don't mention, the extra 3 mpg on the highway makes absolutely no sense.
gattguy47 4:45PM (7/11/2008)
cool idea. But turning your engine off and on a million times is not good for it. Also engines use a lot of fuel when they turn on, its been proven.
If they want to make the smart better, introduce a hybrid. That would get some serious mileage. Or make it all electric.
Reply
Jared 4:54PM (7/11/2008)
I guess that you didn't know that hybrids, like the Prius, turn off the gasoline engine at at a traffic light. That is one of the major ways that hybrids achieve high fuel mileage. And the Prius engines don't seem to be suffering ill affects from being turned on and off a lot.
tom 9:50PM (7/11/2008)
Who has that been proven by? A lot of people say that if you're going to be stopped for more than 30 sec. it's more fuel efficient to turn your car off (hey The Car Guys said it, it must be true.). Haven't seen any proof of that either to be honest.