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When you plan to buy a hybrid your car, you might have this question – what do hybrid cars run on? What is a hybrid engine? How does it work? The best hybrid cars are the ones that run on an electric motor and conventional gasoline engine. While this might be the simplest answer to your question, the automobile technology that goes behind this process is pretty complex and advanced such that it can achieve a lot of things the conventional cars can’t. What are the different types of hybrid cars available? Let us dive into the details. You can read more about charging on Toyota Prius here. Parallel Hybrid Cars Parallel hybrids are the most commonly used type of hybrid cars and people who are familiar with technology prefer it because they provide the best of both worlds. The cars that use parallel hybrid technology can run on an electric motor, by using the powertrain or can provide combined power paving way for a smooth ride. The most popular car that uses this technology is the Toyota Prius. The advantage of using an electric motor is that you can start and stop the car without wasting fuel in heavy traffic conditions. Apart from Toyota, a range of brands including Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Audi, BMW and many others have parallel hybrid cars in their lineup. Range Extender Hybrid Cars The name should give you a quick idea of what these cars run on. This is a bit complicated because the basic engine inside the car will never be used to power the car. Instead, it will generate enough power to recharge the batteries so that they can power the electric motor. Some of the popular models in this category are Honda Jazz hybrid and the BMW i3 with Range Extender. The engines are rather small on these cars and they are totally dependent on how much charge those batteries hold to cover longer distances. You can’t expect top speed on these vehicles as they are ideal for city commuting in high traffic conditions. Plug-in Hybrids The popular electric car maker Tesla believes plug-in electric cars are the future. The plug-in hybrid models are a finely balanced technology which fills the gap between conventional gasoline powertrains and the fully electric cars. They are easy to use because if you are running out of power, all you need to do is to find a charging station on the way and get it charged before you finish a freeway meal. Many of the cars that use plug-in hybrid technology make use of larger batteries that enable them to cover longer distances and turn them into reliable eco-friendly vehicles for the average user. Some of the most popular models in the industry include Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota Prius and Volvo V60. What kind of technology is used in hybrid cars? Here are the three basic activities that a conventional powertrain handles: It is responsible for overcoming rolling resistance caused in the drive trainGoing against air resistanceSupplying enough power to power steering pump, air conditioner and other accessories In a traditional car, the powertrain is responsible for moving the car and the heavy parts in the engine every time you stop and accelerate again. In a hybrid car, it saves a lot of fuel and reduces the stress exerted on a gasoline engine. The electric motor, even though small, is highly efficient when it comes to helping the car cruise at the same speed. Every time the car decelerates or comes to a stop, the power generated through the friction will be used to charge the car. The electric engine, on its own, will produce very little power limited to 20 horsepower or 30 horsepower. It may not be enough to push the car’s top speed but it is usually more than enough to cruise the car under heavy traffic. The vehicle swiftly moves between signals and can be stopped multiple times which in turn will improve the battery’s range. It is a win-win situation to save fuel, extend the electric motor’s range and life while you comfortably commute to the office every day. For details about charging Toyota Prius battery, start here. How do hybrid cars work? If you take the time to see how electric appliances at home work, such as the refrigerator, air conditioner or the microwave oven, you will realize that all of them are equipped with an automatic cut off feature. With the help of simple sensors and electric components, the refrigerator will switch off the compressor as soon as you close the door and maintain the temperature on the inside. It saves power bills. Similar technology is implemented in hybrid cars with the help of an electric motor and to automatically cut off the power generated by the conventional powertrain. Regenerative Braking – A highly reliable and one of the best features that helps a hybrid car save on fuel costs is regenerative braking. Every time you apply the brake to stop your car, the kinetic energy generates heat which will be captured by the car and turned into battery power which can later be used to run the electric motor. Power Assist – Instead of boosting the size of the powertrain as they do in high-end vehicles from Porsche, Mazda and Ferrari, the more conventional, budget-friendly cars from Ford, Honda can make use of Power Assist. The feature allows an electric motor and gasoline-powered engine to work together to provide the maximum possible horsepower. In many situations, the combined power and mpg is much higher than what an individual, conventional powertrain can do. It is energy efficient as well, when commuting in slow moving conditions. Electric-Only Drive – Based on the size of the electric motor, the battery power and the terrain in which you are driving, you can choose to switch to electric-only drive. The mpg for an electric motor will be very less ranging from just 10 miles to 30 miles varying based on the model of your car. While they are not going to be very reliable on the freeway, you can make use of this mode to commute in daily city traffic without burning your fuel all the time. We have gone into more details on this topic in the post here Comparing Hybrids vs Electric Vehicles The biggest difference between a hybrid car and an electric vehicle is that the EV can be recharged at a charging point anywhere. However, the hybrid cars or at least most of them are designed in such a way that their electric motors will be charged only when power combustion takes place in the gasoline engine. It does vary in the plug-in hybrid models which allow you to directly recharge the battery so as to cover more distance. What are the different types of power source? In other words, how do hybrid cars run? The answer might depend on the particular type of hybrid in question. The battery is the most common source used by hybrid and electric cars. The technology may slightly vary when you opt in for a plug-in hybrid but the basics still remain the same. They use a large battery which is connected to the electric motor to help accelerate the vehicle. While the space available is much higher in an electric car, a hybrid has to provide spacing for both the engine and the electric motor making it a complex task that engineers should somehow achieve in all types of models. Another type of power source used in cars is hydrogen power cells. It makes use of stored hydrogen gas and converts it into electricity acting as a fuel cell. The technology is still nascent to the automobile industry and is yet to witness widespread adoption. Battery cars are considered easier to make even though it is difficult to connect them with the gasoline powertrain and generate combined horsepower. Why are hybrids cars all the rage? Hybrid cars have attained great popularity because of rising fuel costs all over the world. Besides, we have been using conventional petrol and diesel engines for decades now with a shortage of fuel in the near future. The vehicles emit lots of gases that are harmful to the environment and it has got eco-friendly thinkers to adopt electric and hybrid cars. While electric cars made by Tesla are witnessing great support from buyers, the company is to make a big impact in the world of automobiles. They find it too tough to cope up with the growing requirements whereas hybrids are much easier to buy and use right away. They can still run on gasoline, making them more reliable and you can cover long travel distances without any difficulty. The government is willing to provide tax benefits for those who are willing to go eco-friendly by buying these cars. When you have multiple benefits such as low fuel usage, contributing to the planet and get some tax benefits, it is obvious that a lot of people are show interest in opting for a hybrid car as their next choice. In the near future, they may gain even more popularity among the average buyers as automobile manufacturers focus on increasing the mile range, providing more features and keeping the costs at an affordable range. Understanding what hybrid cars run on will also give you a deeper insight into the technology and how it is a much better option than conventional powertrains found in most cars.