We Could Learn from Our European Neighbors

By: Chris Olliff, Senior Editor

Ahhhh…Driving in America. The land of wide open spaces, Big Macs, Big states, and BIG CARS! Where else can you be a single male and drive a Chevrolet Suburban and be seen as a hero like you are saving the American Dream? Is this a dream…or a NIGHTMARE?

They are everywhere…these big, 6,000 pounds goliaths (and even mid-size SUVs), and the only thing worse is the fact that most don’t even need the space. Yes….you families with ranches and boats are off the hook here. Confront those drivers who are guilty of waste, and they will often say that “they like to sit high up” or “they like to haul things from time to time”. I must say, this is absolute RUBBISH, especially when you consider the trade-offs.

SUVs are styled like appliances, heavy and clumsy, bouncy, hard to get in and out of, hard to drive ‘round corners, hard to park, hard to maneuver, expensive, have poor resale value, and get poor fuel mileage. I can just hear it now…..the cries from all of the SUV owners this summer as fuel hits $3.00 a gallon……again!

In Europe, yes….there are a few SUVs, but people make do with vehicles that better suit their lifestyles while taking size, practicality, and economy in mind. Instead of driving a Ford Explorer which handles like a drunken Hippo, single people drive VW Golfs and Seat Ibizas. Yes, they still carry as much as we might on a weekend holiday, but they make better usage of the vehicles space. OK, to be fair, a European family may have to drive a Renault Modus or Grande Megane Scenic to get the space that an American family may use in an Explorer, but they will be getting at least 30% better fuel economy to boot!  

 

I know….”fuel is more expensive there”, you say….”so they NEED to drive smaller cars”. This is true, but we could learn from our European neighbors to use vehicle space better and be more efficient. How can we do this? Here are some ideas…

- Don’t buy more car than you need. There are several hundred choices out there, so pick a vehicle that is “just right” for your needs. If you are single and carry stuff occasionally, try a small wagon or even a Prius and use a roof carrier. If you are a family of four and want space, try a Mazda 5 with three rows of seats and get 27mpg instead of 17.

- Go after vehicles that have better fuel economy and may have a better impact on the environment

- If you can, drive a vehicle with a manual transmission and you will get better fuel economy and performance

- Look for vehicles that use technology to save fuel like hybrids, diesels, direct injection, and cylinder deactivation

- Look for vehicles that use maximum efficiencies of interior packaging.

- Support car makers who are serious about their global footprint, their commitment to advanced technologies, and environmental outlook. 

 

These are just a few ideas….please feel free to write in with others.

Lest you think I don’t ascribe to any of these myself, I do. My wife drives a Scion xB, which is a very efficient vehicle in terms of economy and space. The vehicle gets an average of 35mpg, and has 2 cubic feet less of total interior volume than a Ford Explorer. Me? I drive a 1998 BMW 323 ic which gets 33mpg as well, and is about the largest vehicle I will ever drive…

In the face of looming fuel hikes and environmental regulations here in America, we should do our part and buy vehicles that are more efficient for our needs. As I have just brushed across this subject one thing is clear: we could learn from our European neighbors…. 

   

Comments

[Cheese]

Nice article. I totally agree with you.

[Jon Bjornstad]

Is there something about the American lifestyle
that REQUIRES such large vehicles? I have wondered
about this for years.

Toyota makes large SUVs just like American manufacturers
but I do wonder if any of them are sold in Japan!
I suspect that Toyota is manufacuring them in the U.S.
for sale only in the U.S.

Thank you for your uncommon common sense!

Check out my website:
http://www.logicalpoetry.com/transport

[Anne]

I am a student and my diploma thesis is about the new idea of hybrid-cars. It´s a current and exciting topic. I would be glad if you could tell me what you think about hybrid-cars. Even if you don't know anything about it.

This is my short questionnaire:
http://cmc.psych.uni-goettingen.de/wsg/index.php?sCode=005962f161b15fc8

Thank you for helping me.
Anne

[Robin]

Hi, I live in the UK and i might be in the minority but i'm quite happy with the level of fuel taxes here. To pay for all the public services we have (whether there should be more or less of them is another debate), i'd much rather pay my taxes through fuel duties, than higher taxes on income or general sales tax. Also they discourage polluting the environment, which is an added benefit. I think it's fair that those who pollute the most should pay the most tax, to discourage this undesirable and unsustainable behaviour.

To me, a 323i sounds quite a large engine for a 3 series. Here, the 3 series is quite common, probably the most popular car of it's size, and the most popular engine by far is the diesel 320d. With over 180hp and 0-60 in 7.5 secs, it's hardly slow. It's also rated 60 mpg combined. It's difficult to compare between US and European mpg figures, but i find the US ones tend to be around 70-75% of the European ones for the same models. That would rate it at around 42-45 mpg combined in the US.

I imagine you must be driving quite carefully to achieve 33mpg.

The Scion xB isn't sold in the UK, but that size of car is the best selling of all in the UK - cars like the Ford Fiesta, VW Polo, Vauxhall (General Motors) Corsa and Toyota Yaris. These typically have 1.2 or 1.4 petrol engines. With this size of car here, diesels are less popular as they are more expensive to buy and cars of this size are typically driven less and often the second car in the family. Also, in the UK we don't tax diesel less than petrol, like the rest of Europe, so the savings are smaller. Diesels get more common the bigger the car.

A great website is www.whatgreencar.co.uk, where you can compare the environmental performance and fuel economy of every car on sale in the UK quite easily. You will see that by using smaller diesel engines, even large, practical cars can be very efficient. For example the Volvo V50 1.6D DriveE Start/Stop gets 72.4mpg. It's about the size of a VW Jetta wagon. The VW Polo Bluemotion gets over 80mpg. And the VW Passat Bluemotion gets 64.2mpg. Even quite powerful cars can be efficient like the 3 series i mentioned or a 520d auto gets 54.3mpg (it's an 8-speed auto, it's very good). People mention kei cars, but when you can get better mpg out of a more practical and comfortable diesel powered car like a Polo, i dont see the point.

[Robin]

Forgot to mention, BMW also do a 320d EfficientDynamics model which gets 68.9mpg on the European test cycle (in comparison the current Prius gets 72.4mpg, and i imagine would be worse in the real world). It still does 0-62mph in 8.2secs so still gives good performance.

Here's a review from Car Magazine:
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Green-Cars/Search-Results/Drives/BMW-320d-EfficientDynamics-2010-CAR-review/

[cardealerships]

I totally agree with you. Small cars give more mileage.