Pros and Cons of Hybrid Cars

In recent years, people have begun to think seriously about the ecology of the planet. And automakers are eagerly supporting this trend by creating vehicles that run on environmentally friendly fuels. As for electric vehicles, they are still not being seriously considered. The same cannot be said for hybrid vehicles, which are gaining more and more popularity. 

What is a hybrid car? The word hybrid comes from the Latin "hibrida", which means an organism that is obtained by crossing genetically different parental forms. In our case, the parent forms are an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. In one sentence: A hybrid vehicle is an electric motor-combustion engine vehicle that is highly efficient. This unit can be powered by both traditional fuel and electricity from batteries.

Each of the engines has its own specific function. For example: if the car is standing, for example, in a traffic jam, or is moving slowly, the electric motor will work. When the car picks up speed, the gasoline engine comes into play.

Pros of hybrid vehicles

The biggest plus of hybrid cars is that they are very fuel-efficient. As a rule, their fuel consumption is 25% less than that of traditional cars. And in the face of constantly rising gasoline prices, this point is the most important.

The next most important thing is environmental friendliness. Hybrids do less damage to our ecosystem than conventional cars. This is achieved through more rational fuel consumption. Also, when the car comes to a complete stop, the gasoline engine stops working, giving the initiative to the electric motor. That is, during stops, there are practically no carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

Unlike electric vehicle batteries, in hybrids, the batteries can be recharged from a gasoline engine. Which makes its power reserve large enough. In addition, it takes longer to complete without refueling.

Many people think that hybrids are far inferior in performance to traditional cars. This is not true. All the necessary characteristics (power, overclocking from zero to one hundred, and so on), they have, are no worse.

Best of all, hybrid cars feel in the urban cycle, in which there are very frequent stops and the engine runs a lot when idling. In practice, in the city, it works as an electric car. If we talk about the mixed cycle, then they have no particular advantages here.

As already mentioned, if the car is stationary, then it switches to the electric motor mode. That gives almost complete noiselessness.

Well, the hybrid car is fueled with conventional hydrocarbons, that is, gasoline. Everything is done in a standard way, like with traditional cars.

Cons of hybrid vehicles

Nothing is perfect, and it also has its drawbacks. And the main one is that a hybrid car repair is much more expensive than non-electric car repair. This is explained by the complexity of the design of the engine device.

Also, due to the complexity of the design, it is difficult to find professionals who can fix the engine.

The batteries that come with the hybrids can self-discharge. In addition, they cannot withstand large temperature fluctuations and their lifespan is rather limited.

In addition, it is not yet known how used batteries affect the environment. Therefore, their disposal is also a problem.

Despite the fact that hybrid cars have more advantages, they are not yet popular in Russia. One of the reasons for this is the price.

In connection with the struggle for the environment, buyers around the world are encouraged to purchase hybrids. In the United States, there are a number of tax incentives for the owners of such cars, and even free parking spaces. In our country, they are also going to introduce similar laws. In particular, the reduction of duties on the import of hybrid vehicles.

Engines running on hydrocarbon will slowly but surely lose their positions. And hybrids are one of those steps. However, as long as prices for them remain at the same level, the demand for them will be small.