After an absence of two years due to the pandemic, the EcoRun is back for 2022, organized once again by AJAC. Here is the third part of our four-chapter report.
See also: AJAC's EcoRun: A Welcome Return in 2022, Part 1
See also: AJAC's EcoRun: A Welcome Return in 2022, Part 2
See also: AJAC's EcoRun: A Welcome Return in 2022, Part 4
Day Two
The second full day of the EcoRun began with a trip across Georgian Bay from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island on the massive Chi-Cheemaun ferry, travelling jauntily at about 14.2 knots per hour (about 27 km/h).
I disembarked at the wheel of a brand-new Kia Sportage hybrid with a 1.6L 4-cylinder engine-electric motor combo and an automatic transmission, combined with all wheel drive. The stated output (combined) was 227 hp while the factory installed tires from the manufacturer were Goodyear Assurance.
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Driving (in convoy format - no choice, there's only one road leading away from the ferry terminal) in a light persistent rain with an annoying haze, I managed nonetheless to complete my segment in the Sportage with a fuel consumption of 5.6L/100 km.
See also: Our review of the Kia Sportage
I then traded in my Kia for a larger Volvo XC90 T8 (with that dashboard that's still hard to navigate, alas). The engine in this SUV (which looks more like a wagon, frankly) was a turbocharged 4-cylinder combined with an electric motor that makes some 400 hp and is married to an 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
This segment of the trip being on a highway with no major obstacles, I was able to achieve an average consumption of 7.6L/100 km. Note that the tires on this Volvo were low rolling resistance Pirelli Scorpion Verdes. I finished this segment in Sudbury where we stopped at a convention center hosting a conference on green mining in the region, Mines to Mobility.
See also: Our review of the Volvo XC90
As it happened, the highway was also the setting for most of the third segment of this long day driving. Fortunately, I drove it behind the wheel of an all-new variant of the Genesis G80, which has not yet even been officially presented for North America. Because of that, Genesis did ask us to respect an embargo on our driving impressions (in other words, shut our yaps about them!), and so we will. More on that model to come!
The fourth segment, the last one of the day, was done at the wheel of the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the only vehicle of the bunch that I had already driven before the event. I found myself in familiar territory, then. But with this crossover with its two electric motors and output of 320 horsepower, I could only do better than 20.1 kWh/100 km. Driving mostly on highways, I was expecting a more-efficient use of electricity. This vehicle also ran on Michelin Primacy Tour tires.
See also: Our review of the Hyundai Ioniq 5
Tomorrow, the conclusion of our account of the 2022 EcoRun organized by AJAC.