The BMW i3 REx is a good example of the genre, however, it is no longer in Australia. Yep, yet another category of hybrid… REX stands for Range-Extender electric vehicle, meaning the internal combustion engine on board is only ever used as a generator to charge the battery of an EV, rather than to drive the wheels. What is a range-extender or REX hybrid car? The result? Sky-high bills and fuel economy worse than a petrol or diesel car! Therefore, only invest in a PHEV if you have the means to regularly charge it. This is a really bad idea, as you have to carry all the weight of those batteries, but without the benefits in efficiency, they can bring. They are sometimes called 'parallel hybrids'. What are the types of hybrid car?Ī traditional hybrid (HEV) is a car which can drive under its own electric power, petrol or a combination: an electric motor on board is capable of driving the wheels under full e-power for a short distance, although most of the time the car will be driven by a mixture of combustion engine and electric motion. You’ll usually find a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) gearbox, designed to maximise economy and deliver torque or pulling power when you need to accelerate fast. The majority of hybrids also use an auto 'box, so you don’t have to change gear. Most do this quite seamlessly, so the driver merely steers, stops and goes - there are rarely other buttons to confuse things (apart from an EV button on some full hybrids, to select full electric drive around town). The clever bit comes in the power control electronics, which juggle the different power sources. MORE: Are EVs and hybrids good for towing? Depending on the system, the electric motor then switches off, coming back on seamlessly when extra power is required, such as when overtaking.
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