Review Give Toyota its due, it’s wringing the maximum amount of value from the Hybrid Synergy Drive power train. The 1.8 VVT-i Atkinson Cycle petrol engine and associated electric motor have already turned up in the Prius and Auris Hybrid, and now you can have them in a posh frock with a Lexus badge on the nose.
Lexus’ CT200h: the nose looks better than the rest
Called rather inelegantly the CT200h, Lexus’ new baby is being billed as the first full hybrid in the premium compact sector. Or, to put it another way, a semi-sporty but still eco-tuned posh hatchback to compete with the likes of the Audi A3 and BMW 1 series. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Peugeot has been criticised for losing the plot with its small and medium cars over the last decade, but that shouldn’t obscure the fact that it has made some fine D-segment motors in the same period, including the 406 and 407.
The 508 Active e-HDI: Peugeot’s latest micro-hybrid stop-start system on board
The newest inheritor of this fine tradition is the 508, which replaces both the 407 and 607, and comes with Peugeot’s latest micro-hybrid stop-start system and electronically controlled six-speed manual gearbox.
In simple terms, micro-hybrid means a start-stop that’s been at the Shredded Wheat. In the 508, the system – called i-StARS (Starter-Alternator Reversible System) – consists of a 2.2kW starter-generator and a set of ultra-capacitors which provide a boost to the 12V battery. Read the rest of this entry »
Review In the race to popularise the hybrid, Honda has been shown a clean pair of heels by Toyota. This situation is graphically underlined by the fact that Toyota’s Prius is currently on its fourth incarnation since its launch in 1997, while the Honda’s Insight is only on its second since 1999. Between 2006 and the launch of the new model, the Insight didn’t exist at all.
Honda’s Insight: hard to tell apart from the Prius?
So has the new Insight been worth the three-year wait?
It probably wasn’t ideal timing for the new Insight to arrive on the forecourt at the same time as the latest Prius. After all, they look alike, have broadly similar powertrain concepts and are probably the only two hybrids the man in the street could name if you stopped him and asked.
The Insight’s exterior styling is certainly eye-catching but it’s also not wholly dissimilar – again – to the latest Prius. Honda prefers to emphasise the Insight’s similarity to its hydrogen-powered big brother, the FCX Clarity. Line all three cars up and remove the badges, and many people would struggle to tell them apart, suggesting that this is the shape you get when you ask a large computer to design an aerodynamically efficient five-door hatchback. Read the rest of this entry »
