What is a hybrid car?

In a world in which cars equipped with thermal engines have become the enemy to eliminate and where the electric car is still not capable of meeting the needs of users, the hybrid vehicle has become the most interesting alternative.

Since the beginning of the automotive industry, traditional vehicles based on combustion engines have been the best and almost only option for driving. However, the new mobility presents different alternatives, based mainly on the power of electricity. This brings us to vehicles with an electric approach, whose level of pollution and energy consumption is much more efficient than that of vehicles with a combustion engine. However, the drawback of these new all-electric vehicles is the capacity of their battery, which is still far from offering enough kilometers to make these cars attractive to users. A defect in the process of being solved but that, for now, penalizes these vehicles when making long trips.

Fortunately, between the two extremes there is a type of vehicle that maintains the best of both worlds. We are talking about hybrid cars. If you have never heard of these cars or have doubts about the improvements that a hybrid vehicle has, it is time to reveal them.

What is a hybrid car?

The first question we are going to answer is to know what a hybrid car is. These types of cars are traditional vehicles but, instead of having an internal combustion engine or an electric one, they incorporate a hybrid engine. This engine includes both the combustion system of the thermal engine, in gasoline or diesel, as well as an electrical system, capable of moving the vehicle either autonomously or in combination with the included combustion engine.

This definition also leaves us with the question of how a hybrid car works. The key to this operation depends on the speed, since depending on the area in which we circulate and the speed at which we roll, the on-board computer will use the electric motor, the gasoline motor or both.

In circumstances in which we drive at low speed, such as in the city, the protagonist is the electric motor. However, when we ride on highways or motorways and at high speeds, it is the combustion engine that is used, occasionally combined with the electric one. 

This is the approach of the so-called parallel hybrids, in which the vehicle moves with one or both systems integrated in the vehicle. However, the most current and thriving option is the so-called series-parallel hybrid. In this mode, the thermal engine can be used both to drive the vehicle and to charge the batteries, thus achieving better performance and lower fuel consumption.

Advantages of the hybrid car 

When evaluating the purchase of a hybrid car, it is convenient to know the advantages that this system offers us. Among them, we have the cost of fuel, derived from the lower consumption of the hybrid car. Thanks to the thrust of the electric motor, especially in the city, the fuel consumption of these vehicles is reduced by around 30%, depending on the model, its power, the fuel used and the type of roads on which the vehicle rolls.

However, there are more advantages to driving with a hybrid, such as less maintenance. Thanks to the application of the electric motor, the use of the combustion engine is reduced and vehicles with fewer parts are obtained, which obviously reduces wear and costs. Let’s think that a hybrid engine can do without parts such as the classic starter motor, the traditional car battery or the alternator, which are parts that usually cause problems and require maintenance.

Of course, we cannot forget the effects on the environment when driving a hybrid vehicle. Since fuel consumption is lower, so is the amount of pollution generated by the vehicle, regardless of the type of driving we do. The noise level is also reduced, since when it works in electric mode the car is totally silent, even too much so.

Finally, we cannot forget the legal advantages of driving a hybrid car. All these vehicles, whether they are pure hybrids or a mix of hybrid and electric, are guaranteed the DGT ECO sticker. Something that involves reducing the cost of the vehicle through a lower registration tax and rebates on the road tax. They are also vehicles that have free access to urban centers or to certain parking areas, among other advantages.

Hybrid car drawbacks

Although the advantages of this technology are many, the truth is that the hybrid car also has certain drawbacks. One of them has to do with the price, given that a vehicle equipped with this technology will always be more expensive than its “brother” with a combustion engine. For this reason, before buying it is key to do numbers and see if the mileage that you are going to do to the vehicle can compensate the cost of acquisition.

Another major issue has to do with the battery life of hybrid cars. Something that surely sounds familiar to you when you had remote- controlled cars as a child and their batteries barely lasted a few minutes. It is true that by having a combustion engine you will not be stuck due to lack of energy in the battery, but the truth is that the useful life of car batteries (here you can find some options to choose from) and their need for replacement It is something that keeps many drivers up at night. 

Fortunately, technological improvements to these batteries have increased their useful life to an appropriate 8 or 10 years. As for the cost of changing the battery of a hybrid car, it ranges from 750 to 2,000 euros. An amount that, seen in the long term, is not a particularly high outlay either. In any case, we have proof of the long-term savings that these vehicles represent in a guild as expert as taxi drivers, in which the presence of hybrids among their fleets is more than considerable. So if those who know bet on them, it is because their advantages are greater than their disadvantages.