FRESH THINKING
Fake fuel „igures to be old news
New test will recalibrate mpg – with results out in 2020 Ah, this is about WLTP, that new wrestling series...
Sort of. The new World Light vehicle Testing Protocol (WLTP) is now in service, and this more stringent lab test – longer, at higher speeds and with real-world gearchange patterns – will ratify new cars’ mpg and CO2 igures, replacing the misleading data from the New European Drive Cycle.
What’s the upshot?
When Mercedes took
CAR to its Untertürkheim test centre to discuss the new system, engineers stressed that cars won’t change technically, but mpg and CO2 igures will be calculated to a new standard. ‘It’s akin to a currency reform,’ Merc said.
How will punters compare NEDC and WLTP ratings?
With CO2 set to jump and mpg dive by about 20 per cent, old cars ratiied under NEDC would look superior to newer cars’ WLTP-based igures. So a calculation will be made for every new car to convert its WLTP igure back to NEDC. It’s a stopgap to give punters like-for-like clarity until 2020, when all igures switch to WLTP.
Anything else?
Plug-in hybrids will run in various states of charge, ideally ending NEDC’s triple-digit mpg claims. Cars will have to pass an on-road exhaust emissions test too.