Gasoline-price trauma renders vehicles like the Toyota's gas/electric hybrid Prius and the diesel-powered Volkswagen Golf TDI worthy of a long second look.
And it wasn't the recent outrages at the pumps that prompted this particular inquiry. Our transformation came a month earlier, when fuelling the $119,500 Volkswagen Phaeton after a blissful week behind its substantial wheel.
The splendid Phaeton, Volkswagen's rich-people's car, had commanded the road with an assurance comparable to that of the latest cruise ship. Its 12-cylinder engine was nothing short of exhilarating. Massaging seats and like gimmickry coddled me and delighted my visiting grandson and the neighbourhood children who came to gawk.
All too soon, though, came the time to fill up.
The highest octane gasoline is specified. The 89.9 cents a litre of Petro-Canada Superclean (premium was that low in the good old days of early April) and the 52.399 litres required before the pump clicked off meant the Phaeton had consumed 22.7 litres for every 100 km travelled in my city-area driving. This worked out to $20.40 for each 100 km.
Admittedly, someone who purchases a $119,500 Volkswagen isn't motivated by saving pennies at the pumps as VW Beetle owners of earlier days were. Certainly $90-plus fill-ups are routine for drivers of Lincoln Navigators and Range Rover SEs and the like, as well as luxury sedans more comparable to the Phaeton such as the Mercedes-Benz S600.
Such is life in the luxury lane.
But the notion of every 100 km requiring more than $20 in fuel so horrified this reporter that the question of what life might be like in vehicles at the opposite end of the consumption scale grew.
Family day at the grandson's school in Baltimore provided the opportunity. A Prius was selected for the journey and two figures loomed large as Toronto filled the rearview mirror and Buffalo beckoned:
First, the fuel-consumption readout on the Toyota's central information screen indicated consumption of 6.0 litres per 100 km in city-area driving up to that point. Second, gas station signs were now taunting passing motorists with the latest price hike, up to 89.9 cents for regular.
A little mental math suggested the cost of feeding a Prius for 100 km of stoplight-to-stoplight combat had been some $5.40, a quarter of the luxury car's diet. Whereas, the Phaeton with the latest price increase (premium typically adds at least 10 cents per litre over regular) now projected to $22.70.
The Prius delivered relief from petroleum pain as quickly as any potion might promise for acid indigestion.
Over the next 880 km, though, we'd come to grips with matters beyond the price of fuel. What of the Prius's comfort? Its ability in traffic? And how close would it come to the Transport Canada fuel-consumption ratings of 4.0 L/100 km in city driving, 4.2 highway? In our experience, vehicles never match the ratings.
Toyota claims in its press release that the second-generation Prius is the first hybrid vehicle to "provide the comfort, features and performance of a midsized sedan."
To a large degree this claim holds up. Prius is extremely roomy for four adults, the air conditioning is efficient and stereo strong, and keeping up with traffic presents no challenge. All true, and yet the Prius could never be mistaken for any other midsize sedan.
Its aerodynamic, unbroken silhouette (labelled "monoform" by Toyota) makes the Prius look like an environmentalist's dream. So many folks assume the Prius is an electric car you plug in at night, a block-heater cord hanging from the grille would cinch the matter.
We know better, of course: The nickel/metal hydride battery powering the electric motor that works along with the 76-hp gasoline motor is automatically recharged in normal operation. The Prius is never "plugged in."
Startup is accomplished by inserting a plastic cube (not a typical key) into the dash, stepping on the brake and pressing a button. A toggle-like gearshift sprouting from the dash is flicked toward Drive or Reverse (thereafter returning to its original position, bewildering the Prius novice, although the car is in fact ready to go forward or backward as commanded).
Thereafter, only a remarkably unobservant driver would fail to remark on the sensations and feedback being unique. Some would describe it as addictive.
The steering is so effortless, so eerily removed from road feel, that at first, it's difficult to hold a straight line. You get used to it, but those drivers who find exhilaration in the sensation of feeling connected to the road are unlikely to ever find it acceptable. You learn to avoid letting your gaze wander with the scenery, lest you find yourself driving off the road.
Crossing the Burlington, Ont., skyway with a high-winds warning in place, the Prius tacks within its lane like Volkswagen Beetles of decades past. Strong crosswinds often cause twitchiness in cars with highly aerodynamic bodies, and the Prius's 0.26 drag coefficient is among the lowest of any production vehicles.
This not only improves fuel efficiency, but renders the car impressively silent at cruising speed with wind noise hushed. The erratic behaviour is only noted in blustery winds.
Hundreds of kilometres pass and affection grows. The roads through central Pennsylvania twist and turn, and the Prius's handling proves capable enough. The ride is smooth until harsh, broken pavement is encountered, at which time it becomes choppy.
One difference from "normal" cars, is that the Prius doesn't slow down as expected if you lift off the throttle. Engine-braking can be increased, the owner's manual instructs, by shifting to the "B" position, but that's a bother and if you forget to return to "D," fuel efficiency is effected.
Pulling away from a standstill, under electric power, enjoying the moment of utter silence before the gasoline engine engages, is neat.
On the other hand, the noise in all-out acceleration of the engine revving its little heart out in partnership with the continuously variable transmission (CVT) is terribly irritating if terribly fuel-efficient in maintaining ideal gearing.
In Baltimore, it must be reported, the grandson who was agog over the Phaeton's charms was underwhelmed by the Prius. He is 10 and growing up in the United States and doesn't care how much gasoline a car uses. My 18-year-old son, on the other hand, who knows the price of a litre of fuel, was quite transfixed by the Prius's operation.
Our own verdict, returning from Baltimore with more than 1,700 km on the trip odometer, is that Toyota's latest hybrid is most impressive at the fuel pump: We averaged 5.8 L/100 km in our 120-km/h driving, and cruising closer to 100 km/h yields sub-5.0/100 consumption.
On the road, the Prius simply isn't as comfortable as a $35,000 automobile ought to be, with hard, flat front seats that are the least supportive found in any Toyota, aggravating the harsh ride. Too bad Toyota's engineers didn't invest as much in the suspension as in the power train and aerodynamic shape.
Volkswagen's diesel-powered models (Jetta, New Beetle, as well as Golf) hardly differ from their gasoline-fuelled counterparts, in contrast to Prius standing apart from other Toyotas in appearance as well as power train. Not a fuel-economy readout is to be found, let alone the Prius's dual-function screen with charts and diagrams. Yet the fuel gauge remains stuck at the full position very nearly as long.
The Golf GLS TDi also feels like any other car, except it benefits from stronger in highway acceleration than many gas-powered four-cylinder models as a result of its greater torque.
Ride and handling and interior comfort cannot compare with the Volkswagen luxury liner that inspired these drives, of course, but the Golf TDi's road manners are far superior to those of the Prius, despite its base price coming in some $5,000 below the high-tech Toyota. And it comes surprisingly close to matching the hybrid in fuel-efficiency.
This test drive takes us beyond Belleville, Ont., in lieu of Baltimore, totalling 384 mostly highway kilometres and yielding a consumption rate of 6.8 litres/100 km. City area driving subsequently produces an even more impressive figure, 6.5L/100.
Any comparison with Prius or any other gasoline-fuelled car must consider that diesel fuel typically costs less than gasoline: 72.9 cents per litre on our full-serve fill-up at a Scarborough, Ont., station where regular gasoline was commanding 86.5 cents.
Of course, the stink of diesel fuel is a downside. Once you've made contact, as often seems inevitable in a self-serve fill-up, it stays with you like a cheap perfume (a rubber glove kept in the trunk in an air-tight freezer bag comes in handy). Finding full-service stations with diesel on offer can be difficult; a search for even self-serve diesel can necessitate a trip beyond your local station.
In Europe, diesel is widely considered a responsible approach to reducing greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide ratings are common reference points, and here, a diesel Golf issues 143 grams per kilometre, compared to a gas Golf's 163. Even the thirsty Phaeton is available with a diesel motor in Europe: it's rated at 308 in the C0{-2} index against the Phaeton W12's 374.
American authorities differ. Even though Alan Lloyd, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, has allowed that diesel fuel probably has a clean future, at this point, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues to view diesel power as polluting.
The EPA Green Vehicle Guide, a Web resource for clean-air advocates, rates the Prius as nine out of 10 (9.5 as equipped in California), whereas diesel-powered Volkswagens only are accorded a score of four out of 10.
The Golf with a gasoline-powered, four-cylinder, by contrast, is an eight.
An EPA question-and-answer resource explains it rates diesels lower despite their superior fuel efficiency "because diesels tend to have relatively high N{-0}X, which contribute to smog and particulate matter [a lung irritant]."
So we have it.
The Prius emerges as the best alternative for those among us seeking a clean conscience, the TDi impresses as the economy choice and the Phaeton remains an engaging possibility for those among us who just don't care about the price of a litre of fuel, not to mention the cost of the car.
Specifications
2004 Volkswagen Phaeton
Type: Luxury sedan
Price: $119,500
Engine: 6.0-litre, W-12
Transmission: Five-speed auto
Horsepower/Torque: 420 hp/406 lb-ft
Fuel economy: City, 19.6 L/100 km; highway, 12.4 L/100 km
Alternatives: Mercedes-Benz S600, BMW 760Li, Jaguar XJR
Like: Comfort, road manners
Don't like: Thirst
2004 Toyota Prius
Type: Midsize sedan hybrid
Price: $29,990 (as tested, $34,055)
Engine: 1.5-litre, four cylinder and magnet-synchronous electric
Transmission: Constantly variable automatic
Horsepower/Torque: 76 hp/82 lb-ft and 50 kW
Fuel economy: City, 4.0 L/100 km; highway, 4.2 L/100 km
Alternatives: Honda Civic Hybrid
Like: Fuel efficiency, clean conscience
Don't like: Seats, ride, steering
2004 Volkswagen Golf GLS TDi
Type: Four-door hatchback
Price: $24,720 (as tested, $26,810)
Engine: 1.9-litre, four-cylinder turbo diesel
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Horsepower/Torque: 100 hp/177 lb-ft
Fuel economy: City 6.2 L/100 km; highway, 4.6 L/100 km
Alternatives: VW Jetta TDi, New Beetle TDi
Like: Comfort, all-round ability
Don't like: Buying diesel fuel
