I think U.S. readers of this
I think U.S. readers of this article will need to keep in mind that:
- The "86mpg" figure is for the European test cycle, not U.S. EPA. EPA test cycles will probably mean the car does somewhere in the high 40mpgs, combined (city + highway).
- Diesel cars on average cost about $2000 more than gasoline cars in the same model line (say a Diesel Focus vs. a Gasoline Focus), so financially it won't be much cheaper than a comparable hybrid like a Prius C.
- The U.K. test data says the Econetic has a 0-60 time of 10.6 seconds. That's about the same as a second-generation Toyota Prius BTW, so don't expect the Econetic to be a "hot hatch" either.