Prius c
 

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h338/phenoyz/1.jpg
would you trade it for this to get that mpg?

it looks like what the CRZ should have been

Eff no... thats just... no

Sure, i'd rock that car, but how would I get into the boot

Short answer? No.

Long answer? NOOOOOOOOOO.

;D

Looks good. But I don't like to worry about the life of the batteries and the cost of their replacement. Fit's engine is perfect, if a bit too big for my taste. I would really like a 1 liter powerplant... or the diesel.

Small displacement 3 cyl commonrail turbodiesel-electric is what I want to see.

Edit: In something that doesn't weigh two tons. With the motors mounted in-board to reduce unsprung mass.

I heard the 3 cylinders are not commonly used because of them being inherently unbalanced and balancing them with heavy crank counterweights defies any benefits of of 3 cylinders vs 4.

:)

Kinda the other way around actually.

I4 motors often have to use "silent shafts" weighted shafts that spins 180* out of phase at twice crank speed to reduce the associated secondary harmonics. Usually this is on larger than 1.8L.

As far as NVH is concerned, its a diesel, few consumers would be able to tell the difference. And since the diesel will run constant speed in a diesel electric setup you can use the softest conceivable mounts because it is connected to a generator head and not the drivelines.

Heavy counterweights are not a huge concern either because there is typically a damper on the timing case side and a flywheel on the bell housing side of most motors that weigh a ton anyways.

The FoMoCo has talk of a turbo 3 cyl. gas fiesta coming out in 2013.

When this product is available...supposedly in about a year, I'll be interested. A Honda Fit "like" vehicle that get's 60+ mpg? With gas prices rising, and only likely to rise over the next 5 years...what's NOT to like?

This however, I believe is a picture of the prototype, concept. Recent heavily masked spy shots suggest the vehicle will be much more conservative in appearance, looking something like a Prius and a Honda Fit morphed.

It seems the 3 cylinder is always described as having inherent balance problems.

Engines with more than two cylinders with characteristic balance problems include:

• I3 engines have a strong balance induced rocking motion

Taken from: Engine balance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Also check here: http://www.autozine.org/technical_sc...ne/smooth1.htm
it describes the balancing challenges for 3 cylinder engines.

I rather take the Prius minivan they have in Japan.

Cuz when I want technical engine information I go to wikipedia... and from your own link:

The only type of engine that is going truly out of balance is a single cylinder.

Every engine has secondary harmonics. The closest to "inherently balanced" would be a I6/H6 or V12.

If 3 cylinders were so bad why would Daimler Benz use them in the Smart? Or VW with the Polo? Or any of the other 3 cylinder cars throughout history?

And again: in a diesel electric you can put the 3cyl on some super soft or even active engine mounts because it is attached to a generator head and not a transmission with a physical mechanic link to the ground. Aside from startup, the engine should be running at a constant speed anyways so you can pick an RPM point that doesn't produce undesirable NVH characteristics.

No , but I'd trade my current Fit for this Hybrid one:
http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezfl...ticlesmall.jpg