Quote:
Originally Posted by azdave
All wheel drive is another marketing ploy that I don't really understand. I know in MN. all wheel drive is very nice to have. Here in AZ. I checked out an R32 and it is all wheel drive, mpg sucked. Stated 18 and 22 but the salesman was upfront and said he gets about 16 in the city and never over 20 on the highway. Size of a GTI and gets SUV mileage. The Audi all wheel drive cars are the same plus you need to put in premium fuel.
Smart car only gets 38 mpg so the Minis, Toyotas, Mazdas are equal or better than. As far as Hybrids go the Prius gets the best ratings and battery costs are going to go down, not up as more and more people get these cars.
|
I don't really think most people don't need AWD... it's more of a 'performance' oriented thing. Even if you live in a snowy area, a set of good snow tires will help you get through the fluff a lot better than AWD. Especially for people who live in flat areas. If you have mountains (Colorado, Vermont, etc.) that's a different story.
The R32 AWD and the Audi Quattro system are actually a little different. The R32 has a Haldex developed AWD system which is what Volvo and Saab use. The power from the engine is distributed more evenly to the four wheels which drains efficiency more. The 280 hp VR6 in the R32 also likes to drink a lot of gas! The Audis use their in-house developed quattro which is probably one of the best systems for optimizing fuel economy because the power split is 90/10 between in most situations.
I'm not completely convinced on the hybrids yet either. I think someone making a decision would need to look critically at the way they drive and how they use their car.
Some manufacturers defintely over-advertise the fuel economy of their cars. My sister has a Chevy Equinox that hasn't touched it's advertised numbers. On the other hand, I've owned 2 VW's in the last 8 years, my first was a 2001 Jetta 1.8T and my current is a 2008 4dr GTI. In my experience VW underadvertises the power and fuel economy of their cars. My Jetta was advertised at 23/30 and I would average about 27 combined. My GTI was estimated 22/29 and right now I'm getting about 28-29 combined and around 32-33 for long highway trips. That's pretty good for a car that is as quick and powerful as the GTI.