Posts Tagged ‘cars’

You want to do your part for the environment, but is paying a little extra for an eco-friendly set of wheels worth it? While the price tag on these cars remains higher than their non-hybrid cousins, some provinces offer rebates for buying hybrid or electric vehicles.

But what we wanted to know was how they drove. This past fall, we took five green vehicles for a spin. Here’s what we thought of our rides.

2012 TOYOTA PRIUS V

Toyota Prius V

Suggested price: $27,200 (base); $38,500 (premium)
What it is: full hybrid: its electric motors are powered by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack and a 1.8 L four-cylinder engine. Note: premium gas required.
Fuel economy: 4.3 L/100 km city; 4.8 L/100 km highway
Nice to know: The climate-control system uses an electric compressor, meaning you don’t need the engine to run the air conditioning.
Review: "I fell hard for this car. The comfy interior has a surprising amount of legroom, even in the back. One huge bonus: the hatchback design and fold-flat seats let you cram in anything from suitcases to 2x4s. Running the car in Eco mode drained its pep, but Power mode allowed normal acceleration when zooming onto a busy highway. I loved watching the display to see how often I could get the electric motor to take over. It made me want to start hypermiling!"
– Tina Anson Mine, executive editor, Food & Books

2012 HYUNDAI SONATA HYBRID

Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

Suggested price: $29,999 (base); $34,499 (premium)
What it is: full hybrid: its electric motor is powered by a lithium-polymer battery pack and 2.4 L four-cylinder gas engine. Note: regular gas required.
Fuel economy: 5.5 L/100 km city; 4.6 L/100 km highway
Nice to know: Designed for highway driving, the Sonata can reach up to 100 km/h in electric-only mode.
Review: "The zippiness of this car is a pleasant surprise. I expected a hybrid to need time to switch operating modes, but it reacted just like any other vehicle and, in some instances – like when I accelerated to merge on the highway – it performed better. I also enjoyed the extras. If you know where to look, the computer tells you how "green" you're driving. The one downside is the size of the trunk; since that’s where the battery is stored, space is limited."
– Erin Poetschke, managing editor

2011 FORD FUSION HYBRID

Ford Fusion Hybrid

Suggested price: $34,499
What it is: full hybrid: its electric motor is powered by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack and a 1.4 L four-cylinder gas engine. Note: regular gas required.
Fuel economy: 4.6 L/100 km city; 5.4 L/100 km highway
Nice to know: The interior seating is made from 85 per cent post-industrial materials.
Review: "It’s a good thing the dashboard lit up when I turned the car on; otherwise, I never would’ve known it was ready to go – it’s that quiet! It rode just as smooth as a non-hybrid when I took it for a spin through the city streets and later on the highway. With the fun displays tracking my eco- status, I made it my mission to improve the car’s fuel economy from when I got it on Friday to when I turned it in on Monday. Mission accomplished! My only complaint: For vertically challenged drivers like myself, seeing out the rear-view mirror is a strain on the neck."
– Wendy Graves, senior editor, Life

2012 CHEVROLET VOLT

Chevrolet Volt

Suggested price: $41,500
What it is: electric with extended range – when the battery is depleted, a gas-powered generator kicks in. Note: premium gas required.
Range: between 40 km and 80 km on electric power (depending on driving style and conditions); up to 580 km total
Nice to know: If you only use the car for short trips and are diligent about charging it, you may never need to use the gas engine. Since this actually isn’t good for the vehicle, the Volt will occasionally ask for permission to turn on the engine to keep it fresh.
Review: "I was initially intimated after my how-to lesson on where to find power stations to plug the car in and how to “power up” at home. But after 10 minutes of driving, I realized this is one of the coolest vehicles I’ve ever driven: it’s electric first, gas second. I liked the centre-stack LCD screens that are touch-sensitive, highly interactive and easy to use. While the price tag is high, there are cash-back incentives through government programs. Combine that with your gas savings and suddenly the cost is a little more palatable."
– Susan Antonacci, editor-in-chief

2012 NISSAN LEAF

Nissan Leaf

Suggested price: $38,395
What it is: full electric
Range: up to 160 km on a full charge (depending on driving style and conditions)
Nice to know: The “Approaching Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians” system gives a whole new meaning to safety. With no internal combustion engine, the car is quite quiet. At speeds slower than 26 km/h, the car will emit an “approaching sound” so pedestrians know your car is nearby. Once the car reaches at least 31 km/h, the car becomes “audible” on its own.
Review: "The first thing I noticed about the Leaf? No tailpipe. It felt good driving away and not leaving a trail of carbon dioxide in my wake. A quick switch over to Eco drive mode improved my mileage but made for a slightly bumpier ride. The eco display system not only showed me how much distance I had left with the charge, but also how much more I could have if I turned the air conditioner off."
– Wendy Graves, senior editor, Life

Do you drive an electric or hybrid vehicle? And if not, how would you rate your interest in trying one out?

Forty-five minutes to an hour. That's how long it typically takes me to drive to work each morning. And that, my friends, is 19 to 34 minutes longer than the average Canadian's commute time of 26 minutes.

Canadians' average commute times
It's no surprise that Canadian cities (by census metropolitan area) with a population of more than 1 million reported the highest average commute times.

Here are the country's top three cities with the longest commute:

A little Toronto traffic in action.

33 minutes - Toronto
31 minutes - Montreal
30 minutes - Vancouver

I live in Toronto but on behalf of my city, I'd like to offer up the title of longest commute time to another great Canadian city. Montreal? ...Vancouver? ...Any takers?

Road rage just might begin with a full bladder
When traffic moves nicely, I enjoy my commute. It's a precious piece of "down-time" when I can listen to the radio and ease into and out of work mode. But I've come to learn that the frustrating combination of nasty traffic, inconsiderate drivers and a full bladder can bring me to the brink of tears.

I've learned a thing or two three four about dealing with a frustrating commute.

1. Relax! Yes, you're frustrated but unless you can wave a magic wand and command cars to float up into the sky and out of your way, accept that there's nothing you can really do about the situation. Breathe. Accept that things are out of your hands and you'll be better equipped to relax and then decide whether to stay the course or take another route.

2. Create a diversion. Distraction is a treasure when you're stuck in a traffic jam. Play Bumper Stumpers if the licence plates around you are accommodating, admire your fellow road warriors, day dream (that image of cars floating up into the sky at my wand's command didn't  just hatch itself, you know )

3. Turn up the radio -- but not so loud that you can't hear sirens from emergency vehicles. I find that listening to music that reminds me of a vacation works best for soothing the savage beast (a.k.a road rage). That's why my car is always stocked with reggae and Latin music. My car tunes have healing powers.

4. Pee before you flee. Yep, that's right. Expect the unexpected on the way to and from work. While you might expect that you'll be home with full access to your private bathroom in 20 minutes, a traffic jam could make your ride home very uncomfortable if you need to use the restroom.

Now it's your turn to share. What are your best tips for dealing with road rage? And how long does it take you to get to and from work?

How patriotic of you, ladies! A recent Leger Marketing survey, for Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd., reveals that Canadian women are much more likely than men to buy a red car (13.8 per cent vs. 8.9).

How important is colour when it comes to buying a new car?
According to Ford's internal research, 40 per cent of us would walk out of a car dealership if they didn't offer the car colour we wanted.

I can understand this logic. A car is no small purchase so why not get exactly what you want -- even if that means something as cosmetic as colour? Maybe the more money you spend on something, the more demands you attach to the buying process.

Regional differences in car colour
Leger's research reveals local trends in car colour.
Atlantic Canada is more likely than the rest of the nation to drive a gold or red car.
Quebec drivers are more likely to choose an uncommon colour (none of the eight most popular colours).
Ontarians are more likely to have a black car.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan drivers are most likely to have 'green'/ec0-friendlier cars. They ranker higher than average for white cars.
B.C.'s drivers have more green-coloured cars.

Can you guess what the most popular car colour in Canada is?

Red? Nope.

Black? Uh uh.

Silver? Bingo! You got it!

The most popular car colours in Canada are:
1. Silver/grey
2. Black
3. Blue
4. Red
5. White

Mine's black. Whether it's new or used: What colour is your car?

How often do you put your car in park?

Yesterday was World Car Free Day, and I hope you joined folks all over the world in leaving your car at home and put on your walking shoes, getting on your bikes or riding your local transit system.

I think World Car Free Day is a great way to reflect upon the harm cars can do to our environment, the state of our public transit systems and the way our cities have developed. But as responsible citizens, we should do better that once a year.

Have you contemplated leaving your car at home often? Say, once a week, or once every two weeks? Do any of you take part in a car-sharing program?

Cars produce over 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year (not to mention the amount of mining that goes into manufacturing cars and harmful petroleum extraction), so imagine the difference if we all dramatically changed our driving habits. Cycling and using public transit are great ways to explore a city, and think of how much less frustrated you'll be because you don't have to sit in traffic.

How have your driving habits changed?

I realize some of you might live in rural communities, where you have to be much more dependent on cars, but have you been able to make any changes?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway and you could be one of two winners. I'll announce the winners on Friday!