An Evaluation Method for Automotive Technical and Comprehensive Performance

Abstract

An objective evaluation scheme for automotive technical and comprehensive performance could provide critical and instructive insights for academic research, engineering practice, and commercial marketing of vehicles. In this paper, the technical performance index \(A = S/\left( {T_{1} \cdot T_{2} } \right){ }\) \(({\text{m}}/({\text{s}}^{2} \cdot \;{\text{L}}))\) and comprehensive performance index \(F = M \cdot S/\left( {T_{1} \cdot T_{2} } \right),\) (\({\text{kN}}\cdot\;{\text{L}}^{ - 1}\), where \(M\) is the vehicle mass) are formulated by incorporating the vehicle 0–100 \( {\text{km}}\cdot\;{\text{h}}^{ - 1}\) acceleration duration \({ }T_{1}\), 100–0 \( {\text{km}}\cdot\;{\text{h}}^{ - 1}\) braking duration \({ }T_{2}\), and fuel economy \(S\) (mileage per liter fuel at constant speed) to assess the vehicle’s longitudinal dynamic performance. \(A\) and \(F\) offer a clear physical implication of a vehicle’s acceleration capability and traction efficiency acquired per unit of fuel consumption, respectively. These indexes are used for wide case studies of popular market sedans and SUVs of joint ventures (JVs) and domestic brands in China over the last 17 years. The findings prove that this approach could be effectively and reliably utilized for the objective evaluation and analysis of the technical and comprehensive performance of automotive models.