After an absence of two years due to the pandemic, the EcoRun is back for 2022, organized once again by AJAC. Here is the second 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 3
See also: AJAC's EcoRun: A Welcome Return in 2022, Part 4
Day One
I set off from the event’s start point in the Sienna van to Toronto's Kortright Center Park, where the AJAC Green Car of the Year (as voted by members) and the AJAC Green Utility Vehicle of the Year were unveiled. The winners? The Polestar 2 in the first case, the Volvo XC40 in the second.
We made our way to the Collinwood resort via Alliston (and the Honda assembly plant). The Sienna is powered by a 2.5L 4-cylinder engine combined with an electric motor, giving it a combined output of 243 hp. It comes with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and, in this case, all-wheel drive (AWD).
The factory tires were Bridgestone Turanza LS100s (tires can play a significant role in saving or wasting energy use depending on their friction caused by rolling resistance). Driving within the speed limit, I racked up a very respectable average of 5.3L/100 km.
See also: Our review of the Toyota Sienna
Browse cars for sale available near you
My second vehicle was the superb Lexus NX 350h compact SUV, another hybrid vehicle powered by a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with an electric motor, and in this case a combined output of 239 hp with CVT and all-wheel drive. Driving on Bridgestone Aleza AS 02 tires in a slightly hilly area to Wiarton, I managed to get a combined fuel consumption of 4.7L/100 km from the luxury SUV.
I left Wiarton behind the wheel of the all-new Genesis GV60 SUV, a futuristic electric crossover based on the same platform as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
With a base output of 314 hp from its two electric motors, or 446 hp in a performance version (which also has a BOOST button on the steering wheel that allows for breathtaking acceleration), it allowed me to compile an energy usage of 18.5 kWh/100 km (though playing too often with the BOOST button will wreak havoc on that!) while driving to Tobermory. In the case of this vehicle, it came from the factory with Michelin Primacy Tour tires. It was the most exciting car I drove on this tour!
See also: Our review of the Genesis GV60
Tomorrow, the third part of our account of the 2022 EcoRun organized by AJAC.
