Published October 8, 2012
By Philippe Crowe
For the third straight year, the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid (PHV) has led Toyota Canada to victory in the Rallye Vert de Montréal, a world championship of “green” rallies.
The Rallye International Vert de Montréal is the seventh of nine such event held around the world this year and the only Canadian stop on the annual Fédération Internationale de l'automobile (FIA) Alternative Energies Cup tour. It’s a three-day “green” rally covering a distance of 600 kilometers.
Challenging advanced technology vehicles to be as efficient as possible, the rally includes eco-friendly cars using alternative energy or fuel sources such as gasoline, electricity, propane, biofuel and diesel.
The PHV, with its Hybrid Synergy Drive platform, placed first in fuel consumption, with only 19 liters of fuel used for the 530 km of rallying, returning an average fuel efficiency of 3.6L/100 km.
As an additional highlight for the Toyota family, the Lexus CT 200h recorded the second-best efficiency, at 4.3L/100 km. The results are notable, particularly as other companies have been comparing the performance of their vehicles to the Prius, and Toyota says results like these demonstrate how it remains the benchmark for green vehicles.
The PHV was also first in regularity (speed accuracy). A key element of winning the rally is a combination of the fuel consumption and regularity rankings. By placing first in both categories the PHV was the rally’s decisive winner, with the CT200h placing a strong second.
“The PHV has consistently demonstrated that its user-selectable EV mode for short trips and hybrid fuel efficiency for everything else is a winning combination,” said Stephen Beatty, Chief Environmental Officer of Toyota Canada Inc. “The key to victory for the PHV was its engine, which allows the driver to manually select between the EV and the hybrid mode seamlessly. The outstanding performance of the PHV and CT 200h in the Montreal rally was a compelling demonstration of the depth and breadth of Toyota’s leadership in green engineering.”
With the PHV winning the Montreal rally, Toyota Canada has earned a berth in the Rallye Monte Carlo des Energies Nouvelles, to be held next March. The Monaco event is the world’s oldest and most prestigious green rally. It will be the first rally on the 2013 FIA Alternative Energies Cup calendar.
The PHV was driven by Vinh Pham, Toyota Canada’s Advanced Technology and Powertrain Engineer, who was assisted by navigator Alan Ockwell. Pham was also behind the wheel when Toyota Canada claimed the 2011 title.
Readers can visit the Toyota Canada Prius Plug-in Facebook page to learn more about the PHV and see pictures of the Montreal rally.
Information about FIA's Alternative Energies Cup can be found here.
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