HYBRID CARS DEFINED

Hybrid car Honda Insight Concept

Before we start comparing different hybrid cars, let us first define what haybrid cars are we talking about in this site. Technically, according to Wikipedia,

"a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle which uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle." This includes simple means of transport such as mopeds and electric bicycles, and heavy vehicles like trains, ships and other heavy vehicles which use two or more distinct power sources."

But Wikipedia clarifies that,

"When the term hybrid vehicle is used, it most often refers to a Hybrid electric vehicle. These encompass such vehicles as the AHS2 (Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Silverado, Cadillac Escalade, and the Saturn Vue), Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid and others. A petroleum-electric hybrid most commonly uses internal combustion engines (generally gasoline or Diesel engines, powered by a variety of fuels) and electric batteries to power electric motors. There are many types of petroleum-electric hybrid drivetrains, from Full hybrid to Mild hybrid, which offer varying advantages and disadvantages.

In addition to vehicles that use two or more different devices for propulsion, some also consider vehicles that use distinct energy sources or input types ("fuels") using the same engine to be hybrids, although to avoid confusion with hybrids as described above and to use correctly the terms, these are perhaps more correctly described as dual mode vehicles."