I saw an ad for hybrid car making that claim. It seems to defy the laws of physics? Is there a standard to determine city driving mileage? Or is it up to each car maker?
2007-07-30 05:29:23 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
Actually true Hybrid cars get best fuel mileage while the electric motor is being used with out gasoline assist. So slow speeds and sitting at lights the gas engine does not start up. That is for the first 40 miles. It is when you need 5 hp to maintaine 65 miles an hour and 4 hp to run A/C on the motor starts up and recharges the batterys and helps propel the car down the highway. Mixed driving around 40 miles a day is where hybrids shine.
Now the down side Toyota and Nissan Nickel Metal batterys are expensive and won't last the life of the car the high voltage system 255 volts can kill. And the car has a regular battery to start the gasoline engine too. Synergy Drive is the best thought out. Every one else is playing catch up.
Until there are Hydrogen powered fuel cells total electric cars with solor panel roofs and back up batterys that last. We are stuck with hybrid technology.
2007-07-30 05:45:10 · answer #1 · answered by John Paul 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The EPA tests both highway and city mileage - that's where the numbers they cite come from. For example, the Prius' 61 mpg city 51 mpg freeway estimate was from the standard EPA test. In reality the Prius will average about 50 mpg overall (something like 55 in the city and 45 on the freeway).
This is because the slower a hybrid drives, the more it relies on its electric engine. When the internal combustion engine isn't in use, the car is effectively getting infinite miles per gallon (unless the internal combustion engine is recharging the batteries, which is sometimes the case).
To go at freeway speeds, a hybrid needs to have the internal combustion engine going because the electric engine isn't sufficiently powerful to maintain that speed on its own. Therefore, it gets worse mileage on the freeway.
Basically a regular car is more efficient on the freeway because most gas is burned during acceleration (while freeway is roughly constant speed), but a hybrid uses the electric engine for a lot of the acceleration, so it does better on the slower speeds of the city.
2007-07-30 13:42:23 · answer #2 · answered by Dana1981 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is a reality...When in city driving with a hybrid, it is running on the batteries, thus no gas used until the batteries need recharging.
2007-07-30 12:51:41 · answer #3 · answered by Ron B 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It runs on electric motor alot in town, that would explain it.
2007-07-30 12:35:18 · answer #4 · answered by done wrenching 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋