Hybrid vehicles are becoming more-and-more popular with environmental-friendliness becoming an important consideration when we choose our vehicles, not to mention the many other benefits of owning a hybrid vehicle.
A hybrid vehicle is one which utilises more than one form of on-board energy to achieve propulsion.
Hybrids will have a traditional internal-combustion engine and a fuel tank, as well as one or more electric motors and a battery pack. Most hybrid cars on the road today are petrol-electric cars, which combined a petrol-fuelled engine and an electric motor.
Take a look at some of the benefits of owning a hybrid vehicle:
- Hybrid vehicles are extremely fuel-efficient, which in turn, generates fewer emissions. It has been said that a hybrid vehicle will produce between 20% and 90% less emissions than a fuel-powered vehicle. The vehicle is able to utilise the engine when travelling at low speeds and in traffic, which means you can preserve your fuel.
- New hybrid vehicles are built with stop/start technology which encourages further fuel efficiency. When the car remains idle, such as at a traffic light, the engine will turn itself off in order to preserve fuel.
- Hybrid cars are typically built with lightweight materials, which mean that the engine doesn’t have to use as much fuel to get the car moving.
- A hybrid car allows the batteries to charge whilst the vehicle is in use, using kinetic energy generated during braking.
- Hybrids come with tax benefits. Vehicle tax is based on the C02 emissions that a car produces. As hybrid vehicles produce less C02 than most fuel-powered cars, the tax is typically lower. Hybrid cars are also typically exempt from congestion charges, too.
Hybrid vehicles are typically more expensive to buy initially, however, owning a hybrid with its significantly reduced running costs will eventually even out the initial cost of the car.
This is becoming increasingly evident with the increasing fuel costs, making owning a fuel-powered vehicle all-the-more expensive to run.
If you find yourself doing a lot of short distance, town driving, a hybrid vehicle is ideal as all the braking allows for the batteries to charge up significantly, meaning you can rely on the electric motor more than you are the fuelled-engine.
A hybrid vehicle is the ideal ‘green’ solution for people that use and need their car regularly and want to reduce their carbon footprint and fuel economy. At OrangeWheels, there are a number of hybrid vehicles available including a selection of models from Ford, Honda and Kia. For more information about the benefits and specifications of a hybrid vehicle, get in touch today.
