Cool technology for Audi A6

Cool technology for Audi A6

We do write about cars often, but with the Singapore Grand Prix happening this weekend, we're suffering from a little bit of motoring fever.

Thus,  for 3G connectivity so that you can surf the Web, too (Warning: Not recommended while driving).we hopped into an Audi A6 hybrid--because we're trying to be environmentally friendly--which has just been introduced in Singapore.

On top of your usual run-of-the-mill Bluetooth connectivity and proximity sensors, the vehicle features an impressive range of (optional) add-ons, too. For example, Google Earth offers turn-by-turn navigation and displays more details about your destination, such as contact information.

Of course, there's a SIM card slot for 3G connectivity so that you can surf the Web, too (Warning: Not recommended while driving)

The onboard multimedia interface (MMI) navigation system has an integrated touchpad that has handwriting recognition. There's also voice control as well, so that you can search for destinations or contacts by speech, but we didn't manage to test it out.

Using a combination of sensors and cameras, the A6 hybrid is even capable of helping you to park by doing the steering (you'll still need to engage the gears and foot pedals). The night vision assistant uses thermal imaging to sense any pedestrians or animals in dark areas, highlighting and emitting warning sounds if you fail to spot them.

he vehicle runs on a parallel hybrid system, meaning that the engine runs on fuel, while the electric motor runs on batteries located in the trunk. Unlike all-electric vehicles, you don't need to charge an A6 hybrid.

Audi claims the car can reach a top speed of 238kmh, but that drops to 100kmh on electric power alone. And don't count on going too far on electric power alone either--you'll only travel up to 3km at an average speed of 60kmh.

The upside is knowing that you're doing your bit for the environment--the electric motor is able to recover energy when you decelerate. This "recuperation" ability converts the vehicle's kinetic energy into electric energy, which is then stored in the battery.

Plus, you're saving more money by consuming less petrol, with the A6 hybrid sipping a mere 6.4 liters per 100 kilometers.

In Singapore, the eco-friendly car costs S$278,150 inclusive of the certificate of entitlement (COE), about S$30,000 more than the normal saloon version. It's the first Audi hybrid to be commercially available in the city-state, although there are other models from car makers such as Lexus, Honda and Toyota already.

We also saw the Audi A1 e-tron concept car, which is scheduled for road testing in Southeast Asia in the near future. The A1 e-tron is powered by an electric motor and a Wankel engine, which kicks in when the battery supply is depleted and acts as a "range extender". Since it's a concept vehicle, you can't exactly go to a showroom and ask to take it out for a test drive, unlike the A6 hybrid.

We can tell you how it sounds like, though: Not much. The electric motor is so silent that Audi's acoustics experts have created an "e-sound" for its e-tron models. Our verdict: It lives up to its name with an audio signature straight out of the "Tron: Legacy" movie.

Toyota’s Camry Hybrid is the top car on road

Toyota’s Camry Hybrid is the top car on road

The Camry Hybrid XLE doesn’t make us feel like we’re giving up automotive civility in the name of economy.

The novelty of specialty gas-electric cars has worn off, so now we can focus on them as transportation instead of mere marvels of engineering. As well, hybrid drivetrains have been put into many everyday cars, such as this Toyota Camry, which in addition to shutting off its gas engine at stops also has an ECO mode and even an “EV” switch for electric-only operation.

But in EV mode I haven’t been able to go farther than six-tenths of a mile, and that only by creeping along a flat road at less than 25 miles per hour. As soon as the battery icon shows three-quarters empty, or a hill or traffic demands more throttle, the gas motor kicks in.

So why the EV button? The Camry Hybrid can, if conditions are right, cross a mall parking lot in dead silence, sneaking up on pedestrians along the way. Or maybe it’s to reduce exhaust fumes in urban congestion? But, at least in the cities I know, if you’re not willing to goose the throttle to close gaps and dart across intersections, you’ll be sliced, diced and left for dead. Your teenagers might thank you, though, for a car that lets them sneak silently up the driveway long past curfew.

But this isn’t driving, it’s playing computer games. I fiddle with the eco settings on this car until I’ve had enough, and then I look at the road instead of the dashboard, put my foot down and drive normally. This may be what Toyota wants, as then we discover that the TCH is a pretty decent car—better even, in some ways, than the regular version.

For starters, it’s a Camry, so it should last until heck freezes over. As befits one of America’s perpetual best-sellers, it is also handsome, spacious, comfortable, quiet, neatly screwed together and priced well. Unlike its gas-electric sibling, the Prius, a Camry Hybrid doesn’t feel like an ultralight airplane; it’s a substantial, if unexciting family sedan. Unlike the Prius, it doesn’t have an annoying backup alarm that only people inside the car can hear, or a goofy shift lever, or weird, grabby brakes. And, unlike even the 268-horsepower, 6-cylinder gas Camry, the Hybrid responds instantly to the throttle with a highly agreeable shove of electrically augmented torque.

Most of the creepy shudders, silences and dynamic deadness of other hybrids have been engineered out, so this car feels quite normal. Even the continuously variable transmission behaves like a “real” automatic. The Camry Hybrid doesn’t make us suffer in the name of saving gas.

It’s not even all that expensive. Camry Hybrid prices start at $26,750, delivery included. The upmarket XLE TCH starts at $28,160 (4-cylinder gas XLEs start at $25,535); with a backup camera, a touch screen and all sorts of connectivity features, ours stickered at $30,021—a bit less than an entry-level 6-cylinder gas Camry.

The feds rate the Camry Hybrid XLE at 40 miles per gallon in the city and 38 on the highway. (Hybrids do better at slower speeds because that’s where the electric motor can help.) The other night I drove this car on the interstate for 198 miles at computer-reported averages of 67 MPH and 35.7 MPG. Since then, I’ve racked up another 99 miles in town and on local roads, to the tune of 40.9 MPG.

The 4-cylinder gasoline Camry XLE is rated for 25 MPG in town and 35 on the highway. But on the highway, where the electrics are just tagging along for the ride, why doesn’t the gas car rate 38 MPG, same as the Hybrid? Especially since a 4-cylinder gas XLE weighs 3,245 pounds to the hybrid’s 3,441 pounds.

Maybe Toyota could create a hybrid that lets us simply undo a couple of latches and drop 200 pounds of batteries and electric motor at home before we set off on a road trip. Then we’d get 40-plus MPG in town, with electric help, and—with a lighter car—on the highway too.

Certified Used Hybrid Vehicle Program launched by toyota

Certified Used Hybrid Vehicle Program launched by toyota

In canadas history for the first time toyota is launching the Certified Used Hybrid Vehicle program.The company claims this is an expansion of their Certified Used Vehicle program,“designed to enable Canadians to buy previously-owned hybrid models with maximum confidence.”
Tony Wearing, Senior Managing Director, Toyota Canada Incsays, “Hybrids are as reliable, and as easy to own and drive, as conventional vehicles”. “So it’s natural to build on our program for certified pre-owned vehicles with this new initiative tailored to those built around Toyota’s proven hybrid technology. Add in the ability to view Toyota Dealer hybrid inventories online plus special financing rates, and it’s never been easier to shop for the right hybrid vehicle.”
Toyota certified used hybrid vehicles are treated like all other Toyota CPO vehicles, plus they undergo a special 134-point inspection, are reconditioned, and then backed by Toyota’s comprehensive warranty, including  Toyota’s eight-year/160,000 km warranty on all hybrid components.

“This new program is yet another example of why we have declared 2012 The Year of the Hybrid in Canada,” Wearing added.