Is a hybrid Toyota vehicle better than an ordinary one?

Hello Paul, I am torn between buying the Corolla Cross Hybrid and a RAV4 with ordinary engine. I have a young family of three children so I regularly commute to work and do the school runs. At the weekend, I drive to Jinja to visit my parents. I am looking for a car with better fuel economy and good performance.  How does hybrid technology in the Corolla Cross work and is it suitable for my lifestyle?

Kampe.

Hello Kampe, hybrid vehicles are driven by petrol internal combustion engines and one or two electric motors which draw energy from the batteries. Hybrid batteries are charged by regenerative braking and the petrol internal combustion engine. The primary propulsion system of a hybrid car is the petrol driven internal combustion engine. The petrol engine propels the car when driving in slow traffic or during regular driving.

Hybrid cars use their electric motors during starts, take off and overtaking since the electric motor provides more torque or force needed to instantaneously accelerate the car in the direction where it is headed. A hybrid car switches seamlessly between an electric powered motor and petrol driven internal combustion engine. For a regular commuter like yourself, the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid will give instant gratification because of the impressive fuel economy (23.5 km/litre) as the Hybrid motor runs when you start, take off or accelerate to overtake.

This is when the high rev curves of an ordinary petrol engine cause a spike in fuel consumption. The hybrid motor takes over to improve fuel economy, while maintaining the flexibility of seamless switch to the petrol driven engine for efficient cruising. The Continuous Velocity transmission (CVT gearbox) on the A hybrid car gives you a 10 percent improvement of fuel saving by shifting gears at the most efficient rpm (revolutions per minute) band or range unlike the ordinary automatic transmission where the shift points are at higher engine rev bands. Higher rev bands cause fuel consumption spikes.

The brake system of the Hybrid Corolla Cross is designed to convert heat (kinetic energy) to electricity for charging the high voltage batteries, every time you slowdown in the traffic jam. This makes the commutes and school drops fuel efficient, quieter, less stressful with reduced pollution to the environment.

When it is time to accelerate and drive faster on the Jinja Highway road trip, the hybrid electric motor will give you silent but instantaneous torque of 142 Nm, which reduces the lag and noise associated with acceleration of the internal combustion engine, while maintaining amazing fuel economy.

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