In recent years, the hybrid cars They have become increasingly popular because – by intelligently combining a thermal and an electric engine – they allow to reduce consumption and emissions. But do you know that there are three types of hybrids? In fact there are the Mild Hybrid, Full Hybrid And plug-in hybridand the differences between the three, also because of the Englishisms, still arouse a little confusion. In this article we discover how they work, how much they consume and what benefits they offer.
Mild Hybrid: the first step towards electrification
Hybrid cars, as mentioned, are so called because they have Two engines: one thermal and an electric one, and both work to make the car move. But the three hybrids differ for two reasons: the power of the electric motor and the battery capacity. But let’s go in order and start from Mild Hybrid the “temperate hybrids”. This type of cars are called this because they have an electric motor contained both in terms of dimensions and power, which is activated above all in the starting phase and in the sailing phase (when the car proceeds, for a short period, for simple inertia).
Just the small size of the battery allow the Mild Hybrid to work without having to connect to the charging columns: the battery connected to the electric motor, in fact, is recharged via the regenerative braking. Precisely for this reason the Mild Hybrid gives its best in a urban contextwhere generally decelerates and curbs more, allowing you to save more fuel than a petrol car and reducing exhaust gases emissions.
Compared to the other Hybrid, having a less complex system have a smaller costbut it is still possible to benefit from the concessions provided for hybrid cars, such as access to limited traffic areas (ZTL), state or regional incentives for the purchase and possible reductions in the car stamp (depending on the legislation in force in your area).
Full Hybrid: more electric autonomy
The Full Hybrid Instead, they always have a petrol thermal engine, but they are also equipped with a more powerful electric motor and one electric battery plus large compared to that of the Mild Hybrid. This means that alone the electric motor can make the car move for a remarkable amount of time, which in certain driving conditions (low speed, in the city, during the start …) can also reach over 50% of the route, thus allowing the thermal engine to remain off when possible for a total that also goes beyond half of the trip. Here too, just like for the Mild, the battery recharges via regenerative braking, without having to connect the car to a charging column.
The fact that this type of car can move in totally electric modeeven if for a limited time, it involves a fuel savings and even lower CO2 emissions than those of the Mild.
For example, the Toyota C-HR Full Hybrid reports an average (combined) consumption of approx 4.8 liters per 100 kmwith average CO2 emissions equal to 110 g per km.
Plug-in hybrid: the rechargeable hybrid
The plug-in hybridon the other hand, they stand out for having a very powerful electrical system, which allows you to travel higher distances in electrical mode than other models. In practice, the driver can Choose to drive exclusively with the electric motor; Clearly, the more time you travel in this mode, minors are fuel consumption and emissions, with evident economic benefits over time.
For example, the Toyota C-HR in a plug-in version, when it is completely charged, records a consumption of only 0.9 liters per 100 km and produces about 19 g of CO₂ per km. To obtain these performance, the vehicle is equipped with a larger and more powerful battery than those of the Mild Hybrid and Full Hybrid models. This battery, which stores energy, It can be recharged both at home (taking advantage of the most advantageous electrical rates) both to the public charging columns. Once electric autonomy has been exhausted, the system automatically moves on to Full Hybrid mode, continuing to guarantee good levels of consumption and reduced emissions. However, it should be considered that the greatest battery capacity involves a higher purchase cost Compared to Mild and Full Hybrid.
Which one to choose?
In summary, therefore, the Mild Hybrid are more advantageous than traditional cars especially in the city, where regenerative braking is more exploited. Full Hybrid even more, since they manage to travel significant distances to the thermal engine off (and for both models the fact of recharging with the regenerative braking guarantees greater flexibility).
Plug-in Hybrid models, on the other hand, thanks to the possibility of traveling in electric mode for more time, have even lower consumption and emissions (keeping the storage battery charged). In short, there is something for all tastes, depending on the favorite driving context or the price that you are willing to spend.
