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Learn the meaning of hybrid as a noun and an adjective, with synonyms, examples, and word history. Find out how hybrid can refer to plants, animals, people, things, or vehicles with mixed origins or components.
Compare ratings, prices and fuel economy of hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, SUVs and luxury models. Find out which vehicles offer the best performance, comfort, technology and value for your needs.
- What are the best hybrids on the market?If you're looking for stellar fuel economy in a refined vehicle, the Toyota Prius is our top-rated hybrid. Our top-rated luxury hybrid is the Lexus...
- What is the top-rated hybrid for 2019?In 2019, some excellent new hybrid vehicles launched. The Honda Insight nabbed the top spot in our hybrid rankings, offering a sophisticated experi...
- What is the top-rated hybrid for 2018?2018's top-rated hybrid vehicle was the Toyota Prius, the car that started the hybrid craze. The fourth generation Prius is efficient, easy to driv...
- What are the best used hybrids to buy?Look for "CPO" or certified pre-owned vehicles if you're shopping for used trucks, and check how long the warranty on the vehicle's battery pack ha...
- What Is A Hybrid?
- How Does Regenerative Braking Work?
- Parallel Hybrids
- Series Hybrids
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- How Hybrids Benefit You
- Other Types of Hybrids
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A hybrid automobile is one that uses both an internal-combustion engine and an electric motor for propulsion, but the only fuel you'll put in is gasoline. (Diesel hybrids do exist, but they're mainly found in locomotives and other extreme heavy-duty applications.) Hybrids have small high-voltage batteries to power their electric motors, but you don...
Regen is a natural outgrowth of how electric motors function. When you put electricity into an electric motor, it moves (or helps move) the car. Once the car is moving, the same motor becomes a generator that can reverse the flow of electrons and harvest that motion to put electricity back into the battery. This is why hybrid electric motors are so...
This is the most common type, as they are set up to use the selectively use the gasoline engine or the electric motor to drive the car. They can also engage both at once. The electric motor gets the nod at lower speeds because that's when their high initial torque and efficiency can make best use of the limited battery energy. After a delayed resta...
This type is less common, but popularity is increasing. These also use a primary drive motor that propels the vehicle using regen-collected battery energy at low speeds and scavenges energy when slowing. Once speeds climb and that energy runs low, the engine switches on to drive a second dedicated generator that turns gasoline power into electricit...
Like anything else, hybrid systems do not follow such definitions to the letter. Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive is primarily a parallel system, but its dual-motor design also allows brief moments of series power generation when the engine's most efficient operating speed generates more power than the driver needs. Likewise, Honda's latest primarily ...
The main benefit of any hybrid is to capture and reuse braking energy that would otherwise be lost as heat and wear in the brakes. The ones that interest most people use this recovered energy to save fuel and increase MPG using an electric motor to delay the start of the gas engine, but sports-minded hybrids deploy the harvested energy to boost ove...
Mild hybrids, sometimes called belt-alternator-starter or BAS hybrids, have modest 48-volt batteries that can't produce any meaningful propulsion. Such systems are, however, topped up by regeneration, and they combine the starter and alternator into one unit that can seamlessly start the engine “in gear”, so to speak, to smooth the operation of the...
Learn how hybrid cars use both gasoline and electric power to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. Compare parallel, series, and plug-in hybrids and their benefits and drawbacks.
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Find out the top hybrid vehicles in various categories, such as SUVs, sedans, and pickup trucks, based on fuel efficiency, performance, and value. Learn more about hybrid technology, benefits, and how Car and Driver ranks and tests them.
Hybrid definition: the offspring of two animals or plants of different breeds, varieties, species, or genera, especially as produced through human manipulation for specific genetic characteristics..
Feb 17, 2022 · Plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEVs) are a bridge between traditional hybrids and full electric vehicles, allowing for local driving on electric power alone with the convenience and range of a ...
Apr 22, 2024 · 2024 Kia Sportage Plug-In Hybrid | Best Plug-In Hybrid. $39,590 | Overall Score: 8.4/10 | Electric Range: 34 miles | 35 mpg combined. One of the most versatile and dynamic plug-in hybrid SUVs in the market, The Kia Sportage Plug-In Hybrid is a worthy recipient of the 2024 Best-Plug In Hybrid Award for 2024.
