Julian Edgar, 50, has been writing about car modification and automotive technology for nearly 25 years. He has owned cars with two, three, four, five, six and eight cylinders; single turbo, twin turbo, supercharged, diesel and hybrid electric drivelines. He lists his transport interests as turbocharging, aerodynamics, suspension design and human-powered vehicles.
When getting good fuel economy doesn’t mean driving like a tosser
The stories we ran a few months ago on getting best fuel economy included one on driving techniques (see Savings on Fuel – Part Three). None of the techniques mentioned were startling or new; if you read pretty well any of the books on driving published over the last hundred-odd years, you’ll find mention of being smooth, ‘reading’ the traffic flow, rolling up to halts rather than braking at the last minute, and so on.
And while they might not be new ideas, they’re still certainly quite valid when it comes to getting best fuel economy.
Another characteristic of those habits is that they all fall into the category of ‘good driving’. It doesn’t really matter what vehicle you’re pedalling – whether it’s a huge prime mover or a tiny economy car or a turbocharged rocketship – all will respond favourably to these driving habits… habits which will cause little or no concern to other drivers. In fact, you’re much less likely to have accidents if you drive in these ways.
I kinda took that symbiotic relationship for granted – good driving, low accident rate and better economy – until I was rudely awakened by discussion of an ‘economy’ driving technique that seems custom-designed to infuriate other road users… and simply could never be described as good driving.
Thankfully, it’s currently not a widespread practice, is limited to just one type of car, and is pursued by those who can only be – quite charitably – referred to as tossers.
The car is the hybrid Toyota Prius. I know, I know. You’re saying: “What? Why does anyone have to use special driving techniques in a Prius? Didn’t Toyota spend billions designing and building it so that it can be driven as a normal car – and yet still get brilliant economy?” Well, tell that to the marines. Or at least, to one group of Americans who have come up with what they grandiosely call the ‘pulse and glide’ technique. In short, it involves accelerating to 40 mph, backing off and slowing to 30 mph, accelerating to 40 mph, backing off and slowing to 30 mph – and so on and so on. All the way down the road… Apparently, if you’re really good at it, you can reduce the speed variation to only 5 mph or so.
It’s hard to think of a driving technique that is more stupid. As well as sending insane anyone who happens to be stuck behind one of these lame-brains, varying in speed by up to 25 per cent throws out of whack everyone’s mental calculations as to the progress of the car they’re about to drive out in front of….
But that’s not all. The first two model Pius (the NHW10 and NHW11) are really very slow cars. 0-100 km/h comes up in around 15 seconds, and while they have good rolling torque (and so seldom feel this slow on the road), they are definitely the sort of car that has to be driven with a clear eye for not embarrassing other road users. (The current model NHW20 is much faster – 0-100 km/h in the Tens.) In other words, in aggressive city traffic, the driver of an early Prius needs to be quick to respond to green lights, be prepared to use full throttle if the green light is at the start of a hill, make lane changes neatly and decisively, and so on. As with all slow cars, it’s a car that needs to be driven well.
But this is news to some Prius owners. They write proudly of crawling up hills well under the speed limit. Of leisurely pulling away from traffic lights, or of getting off the gas and rolling to red lights positioned – by the sound of it – some kilometres away. Why? Because they then get better fuel economy!
As (1) another technique apparently purpose-designed to send everyone else on the road mad, and (2) about the very worse advertisement for a hybrid car that you can imagine, this approach is right up there with pulse-and-glide. (No doubt, there are some extreme exponents who combine all the techniques. They must don industrial ear muffs so as to not hear the abuse, leave several hours early to visit the local shops, and just about wet themselves when they see the fuel consumption read-outs.)
The other day I followed my lady in our Prius – it’s one of the slow ones, an NHW10. (Yes, even with the turbo, it’s still slow.) We were returning a press car to a local metropolis, an 80-odd kilometre journey on freeways, main roads, suburban roads, back streets. Note once – not once – did I notice a single aspect of the Prius that was unusual. It wasn’t slow on the hills, it wasn’t slow away from traffic lights, it wasn’t apparently any different when trundling along at a walking pace in traffic.
But over the journey it used half as much fuel as pretty well all of the cars around it.
Now that is something to be proud of in Prius ownership, something enthusiasts of this technology can happily tell others. But as to getting astonishing economy figures by driving like a tosser, well…..
