Hybrid Cars Vs Clean Diesel

Automobile manufacturers are producing more eco-friendly cars and trucks these days. Most options you will see available in the US market are hybrids, however, there has been a slow exposure to a second option - clean diesel - brought to you by the European car makers. These two designs of eco-cars are both beneficial to the environment. The Toyota Prius reigns supreme in the hybrid sector and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI is working itself into a very competitive market and makes for a great comparison. Both the Prius and the Jetta are great compact sedans that offer different technologies to buyers who are in the market for an eco-friendly car. Looking at their combined fuel economy and emissions, their performance and comfort, and their overall value, a buyer can better decide which direction to go for their next "green car" purchase.The technology that powers the Toyota Prius is the hybrid method (dubbed by Toyota as their "Hybrid Synergy Drive" system). This technology allows for the simultaneous use or independent use of two separate power plants. The first power plant, a 1.8 liter VVT-i (variable-valve timing), 4-cylinder, gasoline engine produces 98 horsepower. The second power plant comes in the form of a 650-volt Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) battery-powered electric motor capable of producing 36 horsepower, and when combined with the gas motor, they produce 134 horsepower. The Hybrid Synergy Drive system allows the gas engine to be used during high acceleration or during high speed travel independently, while the electric motor can be used for the slower in-town driving entirely or can assist the gas motor when needed. This system greatly improves the gas efficiency and keeps the emissions very low. The Prius is capable of getting 51 MPG zipping through the city and 48 MPG for highway travel, while only emitting 8,688 lbs of CO2 a year during an easily driven 15,000 miles of use and only expect to pay an annual cost of $819 in fuel.As far as performance goes, don't expect a miracle. However, by hybrid standards the acceleration is not that bad. The Prius is capable of getting you from a stand-still to 60 mph in 9.2 seconds. Not sports-car fast, but remember this is a green, gas-sipping compact sedan. Couple that with the independent suspension and you are in for a very enjoyable ride. The interior is very spacious for a compact car as well. The Prius seats 5 and has an interior passenger volume of 93.7 cubic feet. The cargo capacity will allow up to 21.6 cubic feet for those long trips or busy supermarket days.Some may expect hybrid car's to have a high MSRP, but the entry cost of the Prius is surprisingly low. The starting MSRP for the Prius is $22,800. Add on some high-tech options like solar powered ventilation, collision detection and GPS navigation and the cost can jump to well over $28,000. Toyota will also back your purchase with a 3-year/36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, a 6-year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty along with an 8-year/80,000 mile warranty for hybrid component systems. Now on to the competition.The Volkswagen Jetta TDI implores a completely different type of technology, a turbo direct injection (TDI) diesel engine that produces 140 horsepower and a staggering 236 lb-ft of torque. Now, this diesel engine is mechanically no different than other diesel engines except for the fact that it is capable of using Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD). This cleaner diesel fuel contains lower sulfur amounts than the previous diesel fuel of the past. In fact, ULSD contains 97% less sulfur than the older standard of diesel contained (15 ppm vs. 500 ppm). This new standard was to be fully implemented in the United States by 2010 by all fuel stations and refineries and is mandated by law. The use of ULSD allows the Jetta TDI to implement pollution technologies that will filter out the other emissions that come from the burning of the diesel.Since the Jetta takes advantage of the technology it uses to lower emissions, the fuel economy of the car is improved as well. This diesel sedan can get 30 MPG in town driving and 42 MPG on the highway. In a year, driving 15,000 miles, the Jetta TDI outputs 10,717 lbs of CO2 and will run you about $1,314 in fuel cost. The optional 6-speed manual transmission or 6-speed automatic sport-shift transmission make the Jetta sportier and more fun for the driver. These options also allow the Jetta to edge out the Prius in the 0-60 stat by 1 second or so at 8.2 seconds. The Jetta's cabin can seat 5 as well, but lacks in the interior volume compared to the Prius, only providing 91 cubic feet of space for it's passengers. The cargo space is also less coming in at a mere 16 cubic feet.A clean diesel Jetta TDI will cost you a minimum MSRP of $22,830. The high-tech features for the Jetta pale in comparison to the Prius, however, premium options such as GPS navigation, chrome side mirrors, body kits as well as larger alloy wheels can take you well over $27,000. Volkswagen will back your Jetta for 3-years/36,000 miles bumper-bumper, a powertrain warranty of 6-years/60,000 miles and they top it off with a no-cost scheduled maintenance of the Jetta for 3-year/36,000 mile coverage.Ultimately, if you are buying the car for an eco-friendly purchase, the Prius is still on top. In the world of green automobiles, gas mileage and CO2 emissions is king, and the Prius delivers on all fronts. Despite the sportier advantage the Jetta TDI offers, it is still far from the best choice of these two green cars. The clean diesel vehicles have not yet become competitive enough to win this battle, however, word of a Mini Cooper D coming to the United States is starting to take wind and is getting 72 MPG in Europe, but we shall see. Either way, a clean diesel or a hybrid vehicle are a much better alternative to a standard gasoline vehicle if you are trying to buy "green".

Diesel vs Electric vs Hybrid Cars

When the glossy marketing techniques of the automobile companies make it so difficult to choose just one of the "perfect", highly developed cars of the future, as they are presented to you in all those commercials, it's more and more difficult to weigh your choice. Let's see beyond the shiny coachwork, the comfy leather seats and the multi-tech car stereo and focus on the element that makes all the difference: the car's engine! Diesel, electric or hybrid motor, now that is the big question? The major advantages (and since during crisis the one that tends to outshine all the other advantages) of Diesel cars is fuel economy and therefore money saving. If we were to compare it with a vehicle with gasoline engine, we would see that the Diesel car needs far less fuel helping you, on a long term to recover the costs implied by its purchase. Another big pro, sustained by all Diesel cars owners, is driving performance, given by the fact that they deliver much more of their rated power than a petrol engine, givine you the chance to drive quicker from a stop sign, giving you a sensation similar to the one you have when driving a sports car. Still, there's still a long road to take till technology and mechanics, working together, reach perfection. There are some big minuses, too, that Diesel cars have. The first major inconvenient about Diesel motors is given by its costs. They are more expensive than the gasoline engines, even though, as I have mentioned, those costs can be recovered by the money savings you will make in fuel buying. Another "handicap" would be their weight, since they have much higher compression ratios .Now, for the nature friendly drivers, Diesel's emission of smelly smoke can be a real problem, not to mention that they are a lot noisier the gasoline engines.


Now, let's continue climbing this pyramid of the car engine's technology and make an inventory of the pros and cos of the electric cars. This type of car seems to be any environment concerned driver's dream. Using one or two motors for propulsion, therefore converting fuel into electricity, they are the less polluting type of vehicles at the moment. That's not all. If you're a speed addicted, you will surely appreciate its second major advantage: it can launch from standstill with maximum force, where do you add that, from a mechanically point of view, is much easier to get it repaired. To lower down your enthusiasm, I will have to remind you, though, that you should schedule your driving sessions way in advance, for it will take a while till you get its batteries charged. Also, another issue is represented by the recharging stations' infrastructure, their high costs, to be more specific, which instantly increases the costs of electricity for the electric cars driven there to recharge their batteries.


We have finally retied the highest position in the hierarchy of car technology, where we can find, nicely displayed, the car of the future: the hybrid car, the one that brings together the energy of the electrical motor with the power of the gas-powered engine. Immediately a thought crosses our minds: it's the environmental friendly car we have all been expecting, with lower pollution emissions. There's more! We might be concerned about pollution and CO emission, but we cannot stop thinking about the effect a new car's purchase might have on our wallet. Luckily, its batteries do not need to be charged by an external source and hybrid cars determine a reducing of the dependency on fossil fuels. You might be thinking: since this is the closer to perfection car of our-days, what disadvantages might it present? Well, the first one would be that they are not accessible to everyone, being expensive even from the car lot. The second problem, that we've tackled when we focused our attention on Diesel cars, would have to be the engine's heavy weight. Now, one embarrassing problem and concern for manufacturers would be the high voltage accumulated in its batteries, which diminishes its safety in case of car accident. In conclusion, dear future buyer, it's you who decides which is the most important quality from your perspective, the one should prevail in a car: safety, speed, environment safety, costs, reliability etc. There's no such thing as the perfect type of car, only the newest type of car! Get informed about the latest discoveries and technologies in car science reading the expert articles you can find on the car science and the car audio expert!