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by nomel 1423 days ago
> I get over 40 mpg if I run on gas (in the summer).

I don't think that's a fair number. It seems cost/mile or carbon/mile would make more since, since that number assumes electricity is free.

1 comments

This number is only factoring gas as a energy source. The combined mpg (what they call it when they calculate electric usage too) is easily over 150 mpg which is “cheating”. But to put it into perspective, my car can run over 400 miles on a 11 gallon tank without ever touching an electric outlet.
> This number is only factoring gas as a energy source.

Wow, that's great! I didn't realize ICE tech has improved so much. That's better than a new little Ford Fiesta, weighing nearly half as much.

Small hybrids like a Prius can go over 50 mpg consistently. Hybrids are so good from a gas standpoint. At these gas prices, it’s a no brainer to get a hybrid IMO.
Why don't they use these engines in standard cars? Or are there some shenanigans involved that do require some electrical power?
You need the “electrical” aspect to get these efficiencies. There’s a couple aspect of it that gives it a great mpg. Engines naturally have a range of rpm and load that makes it extremely fuel efficient (worse to best can be over a 20% difference). Traditional car makers tune this to be around 60 mph since that’s the typical cruising speed of the average American. With a hybrid, you can force the engine to run at this optimal performance regardless of speed. Second aspect is regenerative braking which recovers a nontrivial amount. Lastly, with a electrical motor, you can tune the acceleration curve to use more electrical motor more than the engine to reduce acceleration deficiencies. FWIW, most hybrids sold in the US (maybe globally?) are not pluggable. It has an engine, electric motor, generator, and a very very small battery pack but standard hybrids are not pluggable (they never touch an outlet).