Hybrid Model X competitors

[T@oo]

No Diesel below 5 sek to 100kmh that i know of. The only one beeing the prospected BMW M550xd. A 3 Liter 380Hp, tri-turbo.

www.autobild.de/artikel/bmw-m-diesel-2323039.html

[ElSupreme]

Calling someone who knows the European car market better than me. I know across the pond, you guys have some efficient diesel people haulers and efficient AWD vehicles. I wonder if there are any efficient AWD, people haulers, with clearance and handling more like a sedan that goes from 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds? Hmm.. it might be hard to find a good comparable.

The only thing I can think of that is even close is the V8TDI Touareg 2. It is in about 5.7seconds according to Wikipedia. I thought the first generation V10 TDI did it around 5 seconds but Wikipedia seems to disagree.

Volkswagen Touareg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[mnx]

Audi Q7 v12 TDI is pretty quick.... (500 horsepower and 758 pound-feet of torque). 0-100km/h in 5.5s... Still slower than what Tesla is proposing though.

The only thing I can think of that is even close is the V8TDI Touareg 2. It is in about 5.7seconds according to Wikipedia. I thought the first generation V10 TDI did it around 5 seconds but Wikipedia seems to disagree.

Volkswagen Touareg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[mikevbf]

those diesels might not be able to go 0-60 in under 5 sec, but they could probably haul a 747. No lack of power there, just fuel economy. My vote for best competitor would be the toyota/tesla new rav4 ev if it ever materializes and/or volvos upcoming xc60 plug in hybrid which might be in North America the same year the model x comes out. Neither are people haulers like the model x, but both offer reasonable handling and power, pretty good ground clearance, awd and good energy/fuel economy.
Toyota Concept Vehicles -- RAV4 EV
Volvo XC60 Plug In Hybrid shows where the company is headed

[dpeilow]

Mitsubishi will debut production-ready extended-range Outlander at Geneva

[mikevbf]

Mitsubishi will debut production-ready extended-range Outlander at Geneva

If its dimensions follow the 2012 Outlander, then you would get AWD, ground clearance, 7 passenger (5 + 2 cramped kids capacity) and good fuel economy - not bad. It's main benefit if it materializes is it would probably cost nearly half the price of a nicely optioned model x and would have a greater range when the gas engine is used. It's main disadvantage would be it needs gas to get a full usable range,its handling will probably suffer from a high center of gravity, barely usable 3rd row, and much less cargo capacity especially with seven passengers.

Still the parallel hybrid approach of this vehicle and that of the volvo xc60 above is probably the form of greatest competition in the near future to the Tesla's all electric platform. I much prefer the Tesla platform especially in an SUV or CUV category for its combination of low center of gravity and its flexibility in allowing a vehicle of high occupant and luggage capacity to easily be built around it. But for those who want a more conventional range and/or who do not want to pay the premium price Tesla has to charge, these types of parallel hybrids might be the ticket.

Whatever happened to the idea of putting 2 or 4 separate engines in the wheels directly? Might that be the competition in the further future?

[dpeilow]

Do you mean series hybrid?

[Robert.Boston]

Whatever happened to the idea of putting 2 or 4 separate engines in the wheels directly? Might that be the competition in the further future?

Unsprung weight. A key driver of high-performance vehicles is to minimize the weight that is underneath the suspension. Hub-motors go against this principle.

[mikevbf]

Do you mean series hybrid?

I think it can be applied in a hybrid or all electric vehicle. Here is a reasonable article on it:

Protean Continues Campaign for In-Wheel Electric Motors | Hybrid Cars

[mikevbf]

Unsprung weight. A key driver of high-performance vehicles is to minimize the weight that is underneath the suspension. Hub-motors go against this principle.

It looks like you are right. Here is a quote from a CNET article:
"The good news is you control each wheel. The bad news is each corner module gets a lot heavier and that creates vehicle dynamics challenges," Smith said. "They're all potentially overcomeable, but they definitely need different dynamics."

In-wheel motors could reshape cars | The Car Tech blog - CNET Reviews