This Autos

Hybrids seem to have the same impact the Volkswagen Beetle had on our society back in the 60s and 70s. Hybrid is seen as a symbol of anti-establishment, anti-status status symbol. But there was some dissatisfaction with this car felt good as the owners have found they do not get the advertised mileage. So if you are on the verge of being overcome by the right environment needs to get behind the wheel of a hybrid, be advised that they do not all work the same way. You have to curb some of your habits that quickly and learn some new driving skills to achieve fuel-economy claims them.

In hybrids, the trick is to drive like a grandma. You have to accelerate away from the stop slowly enough to minimize the role of the gasoline engine and electric motor to maximize the role of. Very simply, hybrids use the electric motor as a supporting resource that does not require gasoline, and thats the whole point. Indeed, the Toyota Prius can pull away from a stop using only the electric motor, although the Civic hybrid shown here can not.

There are two main reasons why the Civic can not do that. First, it has a weak 20-hp electric motor, whereas the Prius makes a strong 67 horses, so its better able to move almost 3000 pounds of pennies. Second, the Honda engine and electric motor are sandwiched together and then connected to the transmission, so if one is running, so is the other. Electric motor and gas engine Prius, on the other hand, are connected at points separated for transmission, and therefore, one of the resources that can be driven while others are turned off. Toyota system makes driving easy and only electricity is the main advantage of the configuration. Hondas hybrid system is more simple and compact and more adaptable than the Toyota system to different vehicles.

The Civic has a digital display that shows how much electricity you send to the battery or how much you use up. Brake hard enough, and you will light up the maximum amount of green LEDs. Step on the brake pedal harder, and you will activate the conventional brakes, as you would in any other car. It is a challenge to send the maximum amount of costs without the use of traditional brakes.

The final benefit of the hybrid is that the gas engine shuts off when you come to the point, thus saving fuel. In the first part of the Civic hybrid, if AC and econ button was not engaged, the engine will shut down. This latest hybrid solves that problem by adding an electric-motor-driven compressor section to the A / C. So, at the stop, the electric compressor makes a cool cabin. As soon as you lift your foot from the brake, the gas engine whirs to life again.