Rather embarrassingly, I haven’t managed to write up my roundup from GreenFleet Scotland 2017 at the Royal Highland Centre. The last couple of months have been hectic, with the house move taking up a lot of my time (and energy), meaning things like this have taken a back seat. No excuse, I know, and I’ll try to be more diligent in future.
Anyone looking for more of my witterings, both motoring and otherwise, follow me on Twitter, or check out these articles I’ve produced for the site Supercars.net.
I’m a big fan of what GreenFleet are doing. Their annual events break down the anxieties of electric and hybrid powertrain sceptics by allowing fleet managers and the general public to get up close and hands on with these vehicles, helping to encourage uptake in a fleet sector that put 1.38 million vehicles on UK roads in 2016.
Showing posts with label Hydrogen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hydrogen. Show all posts
Sunday, 9 July 2017
Tuesday, 26 April 2016
At a Glance - Lexus IS 300h
So, what is it?
This is Lexus' mid-size executive saloon, their answer to the might of the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Jaguar. As you can see, it's quite a sharp looking thing, the split LED-running lights and xenon headlamps an interesting detail that helps it stand out from it's German rivals. It's got a 2.5 litre petrol engine driving the rear wheels, aided by - get this - an electric motor,
It's a hybrid?
It certainly is. That little 'h' on the boot lid isn't silent, though the drivetrain it signifies can be at town speeds.
But I thought hybrids were stuffy, slow things? This Lexus sounds alright.
That's where you're wrong. A number of manufacturers are now experimenting with hybrid tech across their range, but Lexus' parent company, Toyota, has been honing their Hybrid Drive for years. The system in the IS is a development of the thinking first seen in the Prius. This iteration is somewhat more powerful than the Prius motor though, the engines combining to push out 220bhp and 221 ft-lbs of torque through the rear wheels.
A RWD 200bhp+ Japanese sports saloon? OK, I'm listening. What's it like to drive?
It's fast, but not in any kind of aggressive way. Smoothness is a byproduct of the hybrid drive and this car has that in creamy bundles. The hybrid IS makes short work of the straights, and it's well-behaved and dignified in the corners, not full-on tail-out dorifutu-style.
The well-appointed interior is clad in fine leather, and the satisfying appearance of a central analogue clock in the dash - refreshing in an age where even watches are touch-screen - goes well with the encouraging steering feel.
A good cruiser, then?
Absolutely. Lexus know their market, and if it's silly slidey fun you're after, Toyota can sell you a GT86. With the duo of motors combining with advanced aero technology, the IS 300h has a claimed range of over 900 miles, which is impressive for a car that feels so reassuringly hefty behind the wheel, and ideal for long cross-continent schleps - the car likely outlasting most humans in between fuel and comfort breaks.
What's wrong with a diesel? I hear they get great fuel economy.
Well for one thing, the amount of harmful gases diesels emit are not renowned for being insignificant - you may have heard about the current emissions scandal surrounding fiddled engine maps that run differently in test scenarios than in real-life motoring. The scandal involves 'cheat devices' manufacturers like VW and Mitsubishi have been caught fitting to their diesel cars in an effort to make them appear more friendly to the environment, but recent figures suggest the problem could be more widespread. In independent tests, as many as the top 37 selling cars in the UK could be emitting much higher levels of these dangerous chemicals in real-world driving than the official tests have shown.
Plus, diesels aren't typically as smooth as petrol engines, or, indeed petrol-electric hybrids, and in a car that can take you from Lands End to John O' Groats and still have enough range to see most of the Shetlands (once you've crossed on the ferry).
These are both reasons for Toyota's decision to move away from diesel engines in favour of cleaner-burning petrols and hybrids. But there's another, bigger H approaching - Hydrogen.
I thought hydrogen power was years away though?
Perhaps not as far away as you think. Toyota are looking to get in early with hydrogen technology in their cars, much like they did with hybrids like the Prius, back in 1997. A few weeks ago, at EVOLUTION Motor Show, I had my first look at Toyota's Miraii concept. Without a second glance it could easily be mistaken for a Prius or an Auris, demonstrating that fuel cell cars need not be a complete transformation of the car as an entity.
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| The IS 300h - blue tinting on the badge hints at the hybrid heart |
This is Lexus' mid-size executive saloon, their answer to the might of the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Jaguar. As you can see, it's quite a sharp looking thing, the split LED-running lights and xenon headlamps an interesting detail that helps it stand out from it's German rivals. It's got a 2.5 litre petrol engine driving the rear wheels, aided by - get this - an electric motor,
It's a hybrid?
It certainly is. That little 'h' on the boot lid isn't silent, though the drivetrain it signifies can be at town speeds.
But I thought hybrids were stuffy, slow things? This Lexus sounds alright.
That's where you're wrong. A number of manufacturers are now experimenting with hybrid tech across their range, but Lexus' parent company, Toyota, has been honing their Hybrid Drive for years. The system in the IS is a development of the thinking first seen in the Prius. This iteration is somewhat more powerful than the Prius motor though, the engines combining to push out 220bhp and 221 ft-lbs of torque through the rear wheels.
A RWD 200bhp+ Japanese sports saloon? OK, I'm listening. What's it like to drive?
It's fast, but not in any kind of aggressive way. Smoothness is a byproduct of the hybrid drive and this car has that in creamy bundles. The hybrid IS makes short work of the straights, and it's well-behaved and dignified in the corners, not full-on tail-out dorifutu-style.
The well-appointed interior is clad in fine leather, and the satisfying appearance of a central analogue clock in the dash - refreshing in an age where even watches are touch-screen - goes well with the encouraging steering feel.
A good cruiser, then?
Absolutely. Lexus know their market, and if it's silly slidey fun you're after, Toyota can sell you a GT86. With the duo of motors combining with advanced aero technology, the IS 300h has a claimed range of over 900 miles, which is impressive for a car that feels so reassuringly hefty behind the wheel, and ideal for long cross-continent schleps - the car likely outlasting most humans in between fuel and comfort breaks.
What's wrong with a diesel? I hear they get great fuel economy.
Well for one thing, the amount of harmful gases diesels emit are not renowned for being insignificant - you may have heard about the current emissions scandal surrounding fiddled engine maps that run differently in test scenarios than in real-life motoring. The scandal involves 'cheat devices' manufacturers like VW and Mitsubishi have been caught fitting to their diesel cars in an effort to make them appear more friendly to the environment, but recent figures suggest the problem could be more widespread. In independent tests, as many as the top 37 selling cars in the UK could be emitting much higher levels of these dangerous chemicals in real-world driving than the official tests have shown.
Plus, diesels aren't typically as smooth as petrol engines, or, indeed petrol-electric hybrids, and in a car that can take you from Lands End to John O' Groats and still have enough range to see most of the Shetlands (once you've crossed on the ferry).
These are both reasons for Toyota's decision to move away from diesel engines in favour of cleaner-burning petrols and hybrids. But there's another, bigger H approaching - Hydrogen.
I thought hydrogen power was years away though?
Perhaps not as far away as you think. Toyota are looking to get in early with hydrogen technology in their cars, much like they did with hybrids like the Prius, back in 1997. A few weeks ago, at EVOLUTION Motor Show, I had my first look at Toyota's Miraii concept. Without a second glance it could easily be mistaken for a Prius or an Auris, demonstrating that fuel cell cars need not be a complete transformation of the car as an entity.
 |
| Toyota's Miraii concept. How long til the big H makes it onto the back of a Lexus? |
Wednesday, 20 April 2016
The Green R-EVOLUTION Is Upon Us - EVOLUTION Scotland 2016 Round Up
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| Visitors to the RHC were greeted by hindsight in the form of the original Honda Insight. |
Fiat group impressed once again with their offering, bringing a wide range of cars, each of which with it’s own green tech. Their Fiat 500 and Panda both sported different flavours of TwinAir engine, a small capacity petrol unit turbocharged to increase both power and efficiency in different driving scenarios. Supremely characterful, this is an engine that loves to be revved.
Also on show and available to drive, was the Alfa Romeo Giulietta with the company’s JTDM engine, putting out 120hp and returning impressive economy figures of up to 74mpg. Figures like these may not entirely stir the soul the way Alfa Romeos should, but if ever there’s a place where red leather should be fitted in a steely grey car, as in the case of this one, then it’s in a Giulietta. ‘Nuff said.
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| The mighty Panda Cross was more character than car. |
Renault arguably had the most varied selection of cars on show, drawing crowds with the nifty Twizy electric car. Closer to a motorbike than a car in a lot of ways (with a notable exception being the two extra wheels), the Twizy aims to solve the issue of inner-city streets clogged with swollen diesels all vying for the same limited parking spaces by being as minimalist as possible. Keep an eye out for our review of this head-turner.
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| 'Look at me, look at me!' -Twizy, 2016 |
At the other end of the scale, the company’s recently launched Kadjar crossover was on show, which draws on the company’s relationship with Nissan, yet manages to retain a character all of it’s own, adding some French flair to the tough-yet-sleek lines of it’s Japanese counterpart, the Qashqai.
Not to be outdone on the greener side of things, Renault also brought along Zoe, sister car to the popular Nissan Leaf EV. With a serene cabin and near-silent running, it demonstrates the levels of refinement on offer to the EV motorist whilst providing the practicality of a mid-sized hatchback car.
Toyota had a raft of hybrids on show, alongside their Mirai concept, which shows off their idea of what a mass-produced, hydrogen powered car would be like. Clearly building upon the familiar lines of the Prius, the Miraii shows that hydrogen motoring isn’t as far away as we think.
The absence of diesels from the Toyota lineup is notable, with the Japanese manufacturer and their premium brand, Lexus choosing to focus on petrol/hybrid drivetrains as they aim to drop the average emissions across all their cars to under 70g/km.
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| The Miraii hints that a Hydrogen future may not be as far away as we think |
Jaguar brought along their XE and XF (the preview of the former can be found here) for eager drivers to get behind the wheel of, both sporting the company’s new Ingenium 2.0 diesel engine, presented here in its 160bhp, 280 lb-ft form. Impressively, CO2 emissions for this power point in the XE come in below the 100g/km-mark, and a still-quite-remarkable 104g/km in the larger XF.
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| The JLR stand, in 'stealth mode' |
The baby Range Rover was joined by its cousin, the Land Rover Discovery Sport, which proved itself to be a commanding vehicle, and very smooth on tarmac. Plenty of glass lends a light air to the cabin, something the more upmarket Evoque has to do without.
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| A Kouple of the Kias at Ingliston on Saturday |
Keen to impress were Kia, who brought along a cross-section of their range, spanning the terrified-looking Sportage, the nifty Pro-Cee'd, the Optima -which has the Mondeo firmly in it’s sights - and their own interpretation of what an EV should be, the Soul EV. I was very impressed with the electric Soul, it’s useful, quoted 130-mile-plus range lending it perfect to commuting, while the wide apertures and vast tailgate tick many practicality boxes.
We can’t talk
about EVOLUTION without mentioning the stunning BMW i8, which once again proved itself the darling of the show,
with queues for drives just about out the door and tensions running high
between excited plug-in fans waiting their turn. This purified expression of what a plug-in-hybrid sportscar can be has its sharp and focussed nose pointed straight at the future. McMotors took a closer look at the i8 and it's sister, the i3, after they delighted the crowds at last year's EVOLUTION. Check that out here.
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| The ever popular i8 in a brief moment of rest at the show |
BMW also took
the opportunity to show off its hybrid tech in the X5, bringing PHEV ability to it’s op of the range SUV. This may
seem like a strange choice of vehicle for pioneering green technology, but when
you take into account that it has a CO2 figure of just 77g/km, you realise this
may not be such an odd thing after all.
The car which seemed to do the most laps of the track, though, was the remarkable Tesla Model S, which I experienced not long before the EVOLUTION show. You can read about my experience of Elon Musk's super-EV, not to mention what it did to my spine, here.
All of this, and a lot more besides (too much to fit into one post!) was available for the all to see and try up-close, at the EVOLUTION Motor Show at Ingliston this year, and, if things carry on this way, there’ll be a lot more again next year. Record interest in the cars on show, plus the amount of effort and enthusiasm put in by car manufacturers across the globe prove that the wheels of the green revolution are very much in motion.
 |
| Ludicrous mode proved ludicrously popular |
The car which seemed to do the most laps of the track, though, was the remarkable Tesla Model S, which I experienced not long before the EVOLUTION show. You can read about my experience of Elon Musk's super-EV, not to mention what it did to my spine, here.
All of this, and a lot more besides (too much to fit into one post!) was available for the all to see and try up-close, at the EVOLUTION Motor Show at Ingliston this year, and, if things carry on this way, there’ll be a lot more again next year. Record interest in the cars on show, plus the amount of effort and enthusiasm put in by car manufacturers across the globe prove that the wheels of the green revolution are very much in motion.
We’ll have more in-depth features and reviews of some of the cars from the show in the coming weeks.
Let us know what your highlights of EVOLUTION 2016 were @Jack_McMotors on Twitter.
Wednesday, 2 March 2016
Some Things To Be Excited About At Geneva 2016 If You Can't Afford A Bugatti Chiron
If you haven't already heard about it, the new Bugatti Chiron has been unveiled ahead of it's official launch at the Geneva Motor Show this week. Its astronomical power figure of 1,478 horsepower is surpassed only by the £1.9 million price tag, and that's all just fine.
If you can afford to buy the Chiron you probably already have access to somewhere with enough room to enjoy all of that power, and maybe even get it up to it's top speed which is claimed to be around 261mph. But what about the rest of us mere mortals? What is there for us to enjoy?
Oddly, the first thing that caught my eye at Geneva was Vauxhall / Opel's GT Concept. This tiny coupe may not have reached the realms of reality yet, but fingers crossed some of the ideas will trickle through from the matrix to our dimension. The concept, a two-seater could see production as a front-drive car with a 1 litre, 3-cylinder engine putting out around 143bhp. This should keep running costs nice and low, whilst also delivering punchy performance. It's early days yet, but this fairly un-Vauxhall car could put the company into competition with sports car stalwarts like the Mazda MX-5, which is very dangerous territory indeed.
Bedroom walls across the land should be sorted, with Lamborghini unveiling their bonkers new Centenario LP770-4 poster child. Produced as a 100th birthday present to honour the company's late founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, the Centenario will see very limited production at just 20 coupes and 20 roadsters. At the heart of it's carbon fibre body sits a higher-revving version of Lambo's legendary V12 engine, with power output upped to 759bhp. It runs the Bugatti very close for price, but this car is built as much to dwell in the imagination of children, spitting flames and spinning wheels in a very exciting manner, as it is to hide under covers in the ultra-secure garages of the super rich.
At a very different end of the spectrum, Morgan will be bringing along their EV3, showcasing a 'pre-production phase' of their take on what an electric vehicle should be. Sticking to form, the EV3 is a super light three-wheeled two-seat roadster, using a combination of carbon fibre and aluminium body panels built around an ash frame to give a weight of less than 500kg. Up front, the 1983cc V-Twin of the current car is replaced with cooling fins for the 20KWh lithium battery, which combine with a liquid-cooled 46kW electric motor to zip the whole thing from 0-60 in under 9 seconds. The range, thanks no doubt in part to the car's tiny weight, is slated to be up to 150 miles.
Pininfarina have also brought their idea for a performance car with a progressive drivetrain: the H2 Speed utilises hydrogen fuel cell technology which has been track-tested by GreenGT, a company focussed on bringing hydrogen fuel tech to motorsport. The H2 produces 503 horsepower and is capable of 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, and with the only exhaust being water vapour, this makes it the world's fastest steam cleaner. Having been draped in Pininfarina magic, the H2 Speed is also the world's prettiest steam cleaner, with sleek lines and a paintjob that harks back to the 1969 Ferrari Sigma Formula One show car, presented to the public by the Italian design house at the Geneva show that year. If this is a showcase of what a hydrogen powered sports car could be, then I for one can't wait for a Formula H racing series.
Speaking of sleek lines, how could we ignore the new Aston Martin DB11, which sneaked its way into the public eye at the start of the week. The successor to the DB9 shows off heavy styling influence from the bespoke DB10, wielded by James Bond in Spectre, with added aggression from the limited-run One-77. The aluminium body incorporates aerodynamic elements, including a special AeroBlade system, consisting of cleverly hidden ducts beneath the C-pillars which channel air over the back end, helping to reduce rear lift. Under the bonnet sits a new 5.2 litre, twin-turbo V12 pushing out 600bhp. Whilst the Aston may not be within most peoples budget (including mine!), it'll certainly drop a few jaws as it barrels along the motorway.
If you can afford to buy the Chiron you probably already have access to somewhere with enough room to enjoy all of that power, and maybe even get it up to it's top speed which is claimed to be around 261mph. But what about the rest of us mere mortals? What is there for us to enjoy?
 |
| The Opel GT Concept, with its boss. |
Bedroom walls across the land should be sorted, with Lamborghini unveiling their bonkers new Centenario LP770-4 poster child. Produced as a 100th birthday present to honour the company's late founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, the Centenario will see very limited production at just 20 coupes and 20 roadsters. At the heart of it's carbon fibre body sits a higher-revving version of Lambo's legendary V12 engine, with power output upped to 759bhp. It runs the Bugatti very close for price, but this car is built as much to dwell in the imagination of children, spitting flames and spinning wheels in a very exciting manner, as it is to hide under covers in the ultra-secure garages of the super rich.
 |
| Interesting headlamp arrangement adds to asymmetry and alliteration. |
Pininfarina have also brought their idea for a performance car with a progressive drivetrain: the H2 Speed utilises hydrogen fuel cell technology which has been track-tested by GreenGT, a company focussed on bringing hydrogen fuel tech to motorsport. The H2 produces 503 horsepower and is capable of 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, and with the only exhaust being water vapour, this makes it the world's fastest steam cleaner. Having been draped in Pininfarina magic, the H2 Speed is also the world's prettiest steam cleaner, with sleek lines and a paintjob that harks back to the 1969 Ferrari Sigma Formula One show car, presented to the public by the Italian design house at the Geneva show that year. If this is a showcase of what a hydrogen powered sports car could be, then I for one can't wait for a Formula H racing series.
Speaking of sleek lines, how could we ignore the new Aston Martin DB11, which sneaked its way into the public eye at the start of the week. The successor to the DB9 shows off heavy styling influence from the bespoke DB10, wielded by James Bond in Spectre, with added aggression from the limited-run One-77. The aluminium body incorporates aerodynamic elements, including a special AeroBlade system, consisting of cleverly hidden ducts beneath the C-pillars which channel air over the back end, helping to reduce rear lift. Under the bonnet sits a new 5.2 litre, twin-turbo V12 pushing out 600bhp. Whilst the Aston may not be within most peoples budget (including mine!), it'll certainly drop a few jaws as it barrels along the motorway.
 | |
| Thought I'd treat you to a nice big picture of the DB11, for obvious reasons. |
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