Five things to know before buying a hybrid car

Hybrid cars are popular in many countries and are considered a new consumer trend in the future.

The increasing popularity of hybrid cars is a fact that has been predicted by experts. Not only in developed countries such as the US, Japan or Europe, hybrid cars are attracting the attention of people in many other regions of the world. In the context of high fuel prices, economic crisis causing people to tighten their purse strings for luxury cars that consume a lot of gas, hybrid cars are becoming more and more the right and reasonable choice.

The biggest difference of a hybrid car is that it uses two engines: a gasoline engine and an electric engine. These two engines work together to achieve the ultimate goal of reducing fuel consumption and emissions while still ensuring the user's multiple travel purposes.

The benefits are obvious, but there are things you should know and understand before deciding to buy yourself or your family a hybrid car in the future.

The following is information from experts at Greencarreport with the hope of providing useful advice to people about hybrid cars.

1. Hybrid cars run well in the city and on the highway

Everyone thinks diesel cars are the best on the highway. There's no denying that, but through our testing we've found that hybrids do just as well on the highway.

Hybrid cars have two engines: gasoline and electric. Usually, users use the electric engine for short distances, slow speeds in the city such as from home to work, taking children to school... That's why gasoline engines are not often used. Of course, we are not talking about "light" hybrid cars from GM or Honda. These models often run on electricity on insignificant roads and if you live in large cities, you still have to use the gasoline engine.

There are more hybrid cars than the Prius.

If you use a true hybrid car, moving around the city, the gasoline engine is not needed much. This means it will work well on the highway.

2. No high cost to replace the battery

The battery for the electric motor is one of the biggest concerns for every hybrid car owner. Many people think they will have to buy the first, second, or even third battery for a hybrid car. This means spending a lot of money, sometimes equivalent to a new car.

You need to change your mind. The batteries in today’s hybrid cars typically last a very long time. Only hybrids that travel in the city with high frequency, like a New York taxi, may need to replace the battery during their lifetime. But even in this case, you don’t have to “sell your fortune” to buy a battery.

Manufacturers will be responsible for supporting their products if the vehicle is still under warranty or genuine maintenance.

But our experience shows that your hybrid car will likely be unusable before its battery dies.

3. Hybrid cars are not difficult to drive at all.

One of the things that people love most about hybrid cars is how easy they are to drive. It’s not because of the complicated engine system under the hood that hybrid cars require you to have a lot of physics knowledge to operate them.

Most hybrids come with automatic transmissions, so they are extremely easy to start. Even some non-automatic models, like Toyotas and Lexuses, have almost no trouble because they also use continuously variable transmissions.

The biggest concern for hybrid drivers is simply to keep an eye on the battery gauge and power level to use as little fuel as possible. Remember, always pay attention to the road…

4. There are more hybrid cars than the Prius

Think of hybrid cars, think of Prius - this is understandable when Toyota has sold millions of Prius hybrid models worldwide. According to specific statistics, if counting both Toyota and Lexus brands, the Japanese car company sold up to five hybrid cars last year. That is an extremely impressive number.

But there are actually more hybrids than the Prius, and many of them are very good. Dig a little deeper and you'll find a hybrid coupe like the Honda CR-Z, a luxury SUV like the Lexus RX 450h hybrid, or a pickup truck like the Chevy Silverado Hybrid.

5. Hybrid cars aren't all "clunky"

Economical, efficient but “clunky”, unable to “perform” is what many people think about current hybrid models. But we advise you not to be so strict. Let’s look at specific examples: Lexus has equipped its hybrid models with many entertainment features.

Other brands like BMW and Porsche sell hybrid models as a way to improve fuel efficiency and environmental protection without affecting the performance of these cars.

So don't be surprised to see hybrids that can accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 6 seconds or reach top speeds in the triple digits.

According to VNN