Hybrid cars: what is the difference between “self charge” or “mild” and “plug-in”?

We haven’t received many questions about cars powered by internal combustion engines for a long time. They have been circulating on the roads since the second century and are powered by the energy obtained from the explosion of the mixture of air and fuel in the combustion chamber. It explodes several thousand times per minute, not only creating energy, but also emitting a sound that is pleasant to the ear. The problem with this engine is that it is not very efficient, for many years the efficiency did not exceed 30-40%. limits. The rest of the energy released during the combustion of the mixture is dispersed into the environment in the form of heat.

At the other end of the car choice spectrum are purely electric vehicles. Over the past decade, we can observe the rapidly growing popularity of this segment and technological advancement. To fill the “full tank”, i.e. the battery of electric cars, takes tens of times longer than internal combustion cars, but this is compensated by significantly lower costs of daily travel and car maintenance. And what about environmental protection and the comfort of driving safely.

Between these two extreme choices lies the territory of hybrids, which can be divided into three main types: conventional with automatic charging, light and plug-in. They differ significantly from each other and plug-in ones like the Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4 or the Volkswagen Golf GTE have perhaps the greatest advantages.

Almost electric cars, only more practical

Technologically the closest to electric cars are plug-in hybrids, which are easily distinguished from conventional cars due to the two tank doors: one covers the petrol or diesel tank, the other covers the electric charging socket. Plug-in hybrids are often offered as an option on an existing model, for example the Peugeot 3008 or 508 is available with both conventional and plug-in hybrid engines, like the Volkswagen Golf or Passat. They offer freedom of choice: the customer first chooses a car and only then can search for the desired engine.

This type of hybrid perfectly combines the best characteristics of electric cars and conventional cars. Having fully charged the battery, you can travel about half a dozen kilometers only on electricity, and when embarking on a further journey, you can not worry whether there will be an opportunity to charge the battery along the way – the internal combustion engine installed under the hood will allow you to travel a long distance without stopping.

The hybrid battery recharges from the home network in a few hours, even faster if a fast charging station is installed. Statistics show that the average person living in the city drives up to 50 kilometers a day, so many hybrids of this type can be used on a daily basis as electric cars.

Plug-in hybrids offer incredibly low fuel economy and often exceptional overall power. For example, the Volvo XC40, which develops 262 hp, consumes only 2-2.4 liters of gasoline per hundred kilometers. The hybrid system of the Peugeot 3008 all-wheel drive SUV reaches up to 300 horsepower and fuel consumption is just 1.3-1.4 l/100 km.

Thanks to the large battery and powerful electric motors, these models have different driving modes. The first and already discussed is electric driving, usually the ideal choice for daily trips around the city. The previously mentioned Peugeot hybrids can reach up to 135 km/h on electricity alone. speed: this allows full use of the electric mode even on the motorway. When the battery reaches a lower charge level or when driving more dynamically, hybrid mode is activated, so the car uses both engines. Pure-electric hybrid models are comparable to electric cars and can enter low-emission zones in cities.

Fans of dynamic driving appreciate the sport mode more. While driving, the internal combustion engine is assisted by electric motors and thus maximum power is achieved at any speed. The electric motor’s ability to send 100 percent of the generated power to the wheels at any time makes the accelerator pedal extremely responsive to foot movements, and plug-in hybrids are more dynamic than their combustion-only rivals. It is not for nothing that many “hypercars” such as the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, Koenigsegg Gemera and others are plug-in hybrids.

The beginning is in the last century

The first regular hybrids appeared on the roads at the end of the last century, when the Toyota Prius was introduced in 1997. The internal combustion engine of these models works together with an electric motor powered by a small battery. The role of the electric motor here is quite large and works mostly when a conventional engine would need to generate more energy and would be cost-inefficient, for example when starting from a location or maneuvering in the city at low speed.

The battery in these hybrids is charged using regenerative braking energy and engine power while driving, and the gasoline and electric motors alternate seamlessly, so using such a car is no different from normal.

Another type, probably the least noticeable, are the so-called mild hybrids: such systems are used by Audi, Suzuki, Volkswagen and many other manufacturers. Cars equipped with it accelerate using fuel, while the electric motor only takes care of some operations and drives: it helps start the engine, allows it to idle when braking, when in traffic or occasionally driving at a constant speed. This hybrid system also supplies electricity to units such as the air conditioning or multimedia system, thus reducing the load on the internal combustion engine.

These are the three main types of hybrid cars, but there is no doubt that plug-in hybrids will become the most popular models in the near future thanks to their exceptional ability to combine ecology and practicality on long journeys.