What is the biggest debate between car lovers these days?
To go hybrid or electric?
As someone who has an interest in both and who has driven both, I made a complete table differentiating between the two.
But before we get to that, let’s learn about each car in greater detail.
Hybrid and electric cars were made to overcome the carbon emission challenge. Porsche first introduced hybrid cars as they used a system called Lohner-Porsche Mixte. It used a gasoline engine to that supplied power to an electric motor which drove the front wheels of the car.
The reason for manufacturing hybrid cars was simple. Come up with better solutions to avoid carbon footprint. In 1997, hybrid cars started coming to the market, and Toyota was the first company to launch Prius as a complete hybrid car.
But while hybrid cars were tremendous and undoubtedly a HUGE STEP to bring eco-friendly cars to the market, they were still using fuel. This meant they were playing a part in carbon emission. So, scientists decided to come up with another way that can work entirely on electric motors. This led to further research. It was at this time Elon Musk started Tesla motors. The reason? To bring electric cars to the market. They succeeded, and their first car was Tesla roadster – a completely electric car that could run 245 miles on a single charge.
Difference between Hybrid and Electric Cars
We buy cars that have the highest value proposition. But to understand that we need to understand the difference between Hybrid and Electric cars. Both cars have different features that attract different segments of the market.
|Hybrid Cars||Electric Cars|
|Cost||Cost Less||Cost More|
|Efficiency||Efficient in city||Efficient on long tours|
|Maintenance||Costs more. Requires engine maintenance, tire change, car damages, and insurance||Costs less. Initial cost Only for the engine. Requires car damage maintenance, tires, and insurance|
|Comfort||Offers the same level of comfort but a little noisy||Completely silent|
|Resale||Better resale because of the low cost||Lower resale right now|
|Incentives||No government incentives||Government offers incentives on buying Evs in some countries such as tax rebates|
Hybrid cars are a combination of electric and gasoline fuel. This means they can be run on regular petrol, i.e. petrol or diesel and electricity. In most cases, hybrid cars run on electricity under 50kmph and on fuel above this.
These hybrid cars have an internal combustion engine that is between 1200cc to 2400cc. Toyota Prius is one example of such cars. Honda Vezel is another example of plug-in hybrid cars that can give as much as 35kmpl in mileage. The benefit of Hybrid cars is that they are relatively silent in comparison with conventional internal combustion cars, and they can use both engines, i.e. electric and internal combustion, together to increase driving power.
Most hybrid cars don’t have a plug-in charger for the electric battery. Instead, the cars charge the battery by running it on the internal combustion engine – just like a regular battery. However, many new variants of Hybrid cars now include a plug-in option that can charge the car. They can also use the electricity from their home socket to charge the car. One such exam
Plug-in Hybrid Cars
The first commercial PHV car was the Toyota Hybrid PHV (Plug-in Hybrid). It was introduced in the US market in 2016 and later introduced in the UK and Germany in 2017. The purpose behind the PHV cars is that they are the latest in a series of Hybrid cars and one step closer to being completely electric.
The previous versions of hybrid cars were more economical for in-city rides. For longer travels, their costs increased significantly. Now, with PHV cars – which include a complete electric battery set – users can run their cars on electricity completely without ever resorting to combustion engines. These battery packs are much bigger then mild hybrid cars, and that’s what makes them a fit comparison for EV only cars.
Advantages of PHV Cars
- Better mileage due to bigger electric batteries.
- Can run on dual-engines including electric and gasoline at the same time
- Have a lower purchase value in comparison with EV cars
- Can run on a much lower cost in comparison with the series hybrid cars
- Expensive then series hybrid cars
- Heavier because of more parts such as the battery packs
- Complex than mild hybrids. Your local mechanics won’t be able to fix them
- Maintenance cost might be higher than series hybrid cars
Electric cars, also called EVs, are the latest technology in the automobile industry. These are faster, economical, and, most importantly eco-friendly. These cars are unbeatable in terms of mileage as most EV cars can run as much as 375miles on a single charge. However, they are a little pricier than PHVs and will probably require higher maintenance as well. But the good thing is that EV cars don’t need to be maintained regularly. Their batteries rarely ask for maintenance.
Another thing to remember about EVs is that where hybrid cars can be refueled in minutes, electric cars will take around 30 minutes to an hour to charge. This time can increase to 3hours+ if you want to want to travel long distances.
Electric Vehicle (EV) Battery
Electric batteries are huge and mostly placed in the front of the car. They are wired to the driving belt and run with complex software specially designed to make the car much more comfortable for the users.
Where a combustion engine has hundreds of moving parts, an electric battery uses only a single rotor, which makes them completely silent for the passengers. These electric cars have now become commonplace because of companies like Tesla, General Motors, and Toyota.
Advantages of EV Cars
- Simple to maintain
- Faster because of instant torque produced by electric car
- Almost silent operation
- No tailpipe. No exhaust or carbon emission
- Completely eco-friendly
- Low center of gravity makes it easy to handle
Disadvantages of EV Cars
- Higher in cost than Hybrid series cars
- Electric batteries cost more than ICE engines
- Takes a lot of time to charge
- Charging stations are not available in all cities
- Higher weight than hybrid cars
What Should Be Your Choice?
Now the BIG question! Which of the two should you choose as your vehicle? The differences are phenomenal. One costs less, but its fuel costs more. One costs more but has negligible fuel cost. One is noisier; one is silent. One is eco-friendly, one is not. In the end, it all comes to what is your purpose.
EV cars look great, but they are costly, and they don’t have to charge stations in all cities. This is a major downer for all those who are interested in these cars. While PHVs are great, they are already available in the market, and they cost less. But they require more maintenance and have a higher fuel cost.
We have put both options with their pros and cons in front of you; now, it is for
you to decide.
Michelle Joe is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs. You can find her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook