The term that really applies is HEV, which stands for Hybrid Electric Vehicle. These are the most fuel efficient vehicles available to most of us.

While the actual configuration may vary due to the manufacturer’s design intentions, they generally combine a small gasoline engine (by usual vehicle standards) with an electric motor.

While the gasoline engine does most of the locomotion at highway speeds, when less fuel is required, it’s also available to provide the extra power that the electric motor can’t provide or sustain for long.

The electric motor/battery combination can get the car moving in some cases, keep the systems going without the gas engine having to idle at stops like lights and driving, and can assist the gas engine as it powers the car. hybrid vehicle on the road. Not only is fuel saved while the electric motor keeps vehicle systems in what would normally be idle situations, but this means less pollution is emitted into the air, generally within the confines of our most polluted areas…our cities. .

During the rolling of the vehicle, particularly in situations of inertia, the battery that supplies energy to the electric motor is recharged. When braking at lower speeds (within town, stop-starts), regenerative braking is usually used to stop the car rather than the brakes themselves. In regenerative braking, the electric motor actually changes polarity, becoming an electrical generator that recharges the battery. This switch from engine to generator creates a reverse torque that is used to slow and stop the vehicle. At highway speeds, normal braking occurs.

Sometimes the charge inside the battery may drop below the required level and at such times the small petrol engine automatically turns on to recharge the battery.

However, even with hybrids, there are different types of vehicles to meet the needs of the consumer. There are hybrid SUVs, pickup trucks, and small and midsize sedans like the Toyota Prius, which is one of the most fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles available and gets an average of 50 MPG. Larger hybrid vehicles like SUVs and trucks tend to deliver fuel economy in a relative sense. The fuel economy of these larger hybrid vehicles tends to be about the same as that of a gasoline sedan.