You’d be interested to know that there are different types of hybrid vehicles available in the market. There are even more different types of hybrid cars being worked upon and they are expected to arrive soon. If you are looking to buy such an automobile, you will have to do a lot of research before you purchase one. Because there are lot of different hybrid automobiles having different technology and the prices are different as well. Following are the different types of hybrid cars available in the market.
Full hybrids – These are arguably the best amongst the hybrid vehicles available in the market right now. These are based on two separate systems of propulsion i.e electric motor and internal combustion engine. Both of these work independently of each other. Under different driving conditions the cars are powered just by electric motor. These cars use regenerative braking; they charge the battery through the energy that would have been lost otherwise.
Mild hybrids – These types of hybrid vehicles were created in order to capitalize on the high demand for such cars. Examine these vehicles closely and you will realize that the mild hybrids are just like other hybrids but they have a turbocharger. That is why these cars are not regarded as hybrid cars by many. In such vehicles, the power train is not connected to the electric motor like the full hybrid. Internal combustion is assisted in electric motor but it is not capable of propelling the car on its own. These cars are not bad but they can mislead the buyer. Manufacturing process is quite inexpensive and is not that complex either. They also give you better gas mileage. An excellent example of such a car is the Chevrolet Malibu hybrid which gives 2 mpg more than the standard counterpart.
Plug-In Hybrids – These types of hybrid vehicles are not out in the market right now but you can see them in the near future. These cars use internal combustion engine as a back up to electric motor. These cars can be plugged in to your standard household electric outlet for charging and they also have the same charging mechanism as the hybrid automobile. Full hybrids use internal and electric combustion engine but the plug in cars use only the internal combustion engine as backup when batteries of electric motors are empty. The car will run as full hybrid at this time. These cars give you better fuel efficiency as compared to other hybrids and many people consider this technology as the future of such cars.
Performance Hybrid – Electric motors have the ability to offer instant torque unlike conventional combustion engine. There are few companies which figured out that you can pair a small gasoline motor with electric motor and get the performance of a larger engine along with better fuel efficiency. Lexus GS450h is an excellent example of such hybrid vehicles; it is capable of achieving a top speed of 0-60 miles in 5.2 seconds. However, it also gives 25mpg city / 28mpg freeway which is not too high compared to the fuel-run vehicles. Get more quality information hybrid vehicles here.