
Instead, a small battery pack and electric motor act as assistants to help improve fuel economy, slightly increase performance with bursts of torque, regenerate energy, and power accessories. On mild hybrids, the electric components are not capable of directly driving the wheels on their own. Just as there are multiple types of combustion engines, there are also multiple types of hybrid powertrains. Hybrids also use regenerative braking to return small amounts of electricity to their batteries. The most common type of hybrid vehicle blends a gasoline-powered combustion engine with one or more electric motors and a battery storage pack to achieve better fuel economy than a vehicle with only a combustion engine. Neat!Ī hybrid vehicle is one that uses two types of fuel and energy sources to achieve a singular goal of efficient propulsion. Never fear, reader, The Driver’s info team has waded through the forums, read the NHTSA recall reports, and divined what really impacts a vehicle’s reliability and we’ve condensed that information into this very guide. But what about the new hybrids? Or used hybrids? Which is most reliable? Which is better? What affects a hybrid’s reliability? Although it didn’t exactly make hybrids cool, it has and continues to help reduce humanity’s impact on global greenhouse gas emissions, and that is a solid accolade. Hybrids have been around for more than 20 years, with the Toyota Prius ushering in the hybrid era for the masses. And while it’s the corporations that really need to enact, or be forced to enact, real change, reducing your carbon footprint is a good goal and one that can be done so by purchasing a hybrid car. Even if you haven’t seen it, he’s the narrator of Planet Earth, so you get it. If you’ve watched the Netflix documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, you’re likely researching everything you can do to help stave off the warming and destruction of our one and only home, Earth. The Drive and its partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.
