As the promised summer 2012 California and Oregon rollout of Honda's 2013 Fit EV approaches, the battle for "fuel" efficiency supremacy has begun. Honda has announced that its new battery electric vehicle has received a combined adjusted Environmental Protection Agency mile-per-gallon-equivalency rating of 118 MPGe (1.99 L/100km equivalent), nudging it ahead of all of its nearest rivals in the emerging EV market.
Honda reports that the EPA has given its Fit EV (which made its debut at last year's Los Angeles Auto Show) a rating of 132 MPGe (1.78L/100km) for city driving, 105 (2.24) for highway and 118 combined, plus a very low consumption of only 29 kWh per 100 miles (160 km), a combined city/highway estimated driving range rating of 82 miles (131.9 km) and an estimated annual "fuel" cost of just US$500. As you can see from the table below, that puts the five-passenger battery electric vehicle ahead of all of its nearest competitors - the i-MIEV, the Leaf and the Focus Electric:
The vehicle features a 20 kWh Li-ion battery that can be recharged in less than three hours from a 240-volt circuit, and a 92 kilowatt/123 horsepower high-density coaxial electric motor which delivers 254 Nm of torque (compared to 143 Nm offered by the gas-powered Fit/Jazz vehicle). The Fit EV has a top speed of 92 mph (148 km/h) and can sprint from zero to 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in 9.5 seconds. It also benefits from fully-independent suspension and a three-mode drive system adapted from the company's CR-Z Sport Hybrid model.
The initial leasing cost of the 2013 Fit EV has been slightly revised since launch to $389 per month for three years, and the MSRP comes in at $37,415.
Source: Honda
I have a feeling that bringing back electric trolleys (or, in general, mass public transport) for all of our major cities (and ban individual cars, except for perhaps taxis and delivery vehicles) would really help to solve our congestion/ oil dependence/ parking/ pollution issues...
Anyway, my 2 cents. Michael Mac
If you are one of those commuters who "drive" the "average" US commute of 10 miles then you comment might be valid. I put drive in quotes as operating a motor vehicle for just a brief period can hardly be called driving.
In my context this vehicle might be a valid choice due to my circumstances. I drive 65 miles each way five days a week at 30 miles per gallon. That means I burn 1200+ gallons of gasoline a year just to get to work. If I had a charging station near work this could save me $3000+ per year or $30,000 in a ten year span. If the battery lasted only the minimum ten years then I'd have still saved money over the life of the car. However the batteries tend to last longer than rated so I could probably squeeze another 5 years out of it raising my overall savings to $45,000 prior to replacing the battery.
To further illustrate my point. I did the math on owning an EV as compared to owning my current Sentra. I keep a logbook in my car of all expenditures related to the vehicle so I can see when it needs a little work. It has cost me about $0.10 per mile counting fuel, oil, coolant, tires, brake pads, and repairs. Taking into account electricity prices in my area; owning an EV that needs no oil, coolant, few brake pads, etc. It would cost me about $0.015 per mile to operate. So I would save $0.085 per mile. Multiply that by the 34000 miles I drive annually, just for work, and you get $2873 time 15 years and you get $43000 in savings. These numbers will only become more favorable as fuel prices spiral out of control.