A friend tells you the car he just bought is a strong hybrid, and you say oh nice, even though you don't really know what that means. It happens to all of us. So here's a simple explanation of what strong hybrid cars are and how they work, with no big words, just the basics.
What is a strong hybrid car?
It's a car that has a petrol engine and an electric motor, and both of them can push the car forward. You'll also hear people say full hybrid, which means the same thing. There's a battery too, but it's a small one, and you don't plug it in anywhere. It fills up on its own while you drive.
It's called strong because the motor is strong enough to move the car by itself for a little while. A lighter type of hybrid can't do that, and I'll talk about it further down.
How does it work?
The strong hybrid technology has four main parts, which are the engine, the motor, the battery and a small computer. The computer decides which one should work at a given time, so you just sit and drive.
When you start off slowly, like in a traffic jam or when you're parking, the car often uses only the motor. The engine stays off, so no petrol gets used. When you go faster or get on the highway, the engine starts and does most of the work. And if you press hard to overtake, the motor helps the engine so the car feels quicker.
Here's another thing that's kind of cool. When you lift your foot or press the brake, the motor turns around and makes a little electricity from the movement, and that goes into the battery. A normal car wastes that energy, but a hybrid keeps some of it.
Most of these cars have an automatic gearbox, so driving feels like any other automatic car. It's just a bit quieter when the traffic is slow.
How is it different from a mild hybrid and a PHEV?
A mild hybrid has a small motor that gives the engine a bit of help, but it can't move the car on its own, so the saving is small. A strong hybrid does a lot more than that.
A PHEV has a big battery that you plug in, so it can run many kilometres on electricity alone. A strong hybrid can't do that because the battery is small. But you don't need any charger for it, so there's nothing to set up at home, and that's a big plus for many people.
The good things
The mileage is the main reason people buy these cars, especially if you drive in the city. The motor does the work in slow traffic, which is exactly where a petrol engine wastes the most fuel. The companies often show mileage of more than 20 kilometres per litre, although you'll usually get a bit less on the road.
It's also really easy to own. You put petrol and you drive, and you don't have to think about chargers at all.
And the drive feels calm. The car is quiet in traffic and moves smoothly when you press the pedal.
The not so good things
The price is higher than a normal petrol car, because of the motor, the battery and the extra parts. You'll need to drive quite a lot for the petrol savings to cover that extra money, and that can take a few years.
Highway driving is where you'll see the smallest gain, because the engine ends up doing most of the work out there. Also, if something in the hybrid system breaks, the repair bill can be bigger than what you'd pay on a plain petrol car. A good thing to do is ask the dealer how many years the hybrid battery is covered for, before you sign anything.
Are they sold in India?
Yes, and when people talk about Hybrid Cars in India, this is mostly the kind they mean. Toyota, Maruti Suzuki and Honda have all brought out strong hybrids, and you can find them as SUVs, as sedans and as big family cars too. I'd guess more brands will join in, since a lot of buyers want better mileage but don't want the hassle of finding a charger.
Whatever you're looking at, it's smart to Compare Cars side by side for price, the mileage you'll really get, boot space and what servicing costs, because two hybrids that look the same on paper can feel very different once you drive them every day.
Is it right for you?
If most of your driving is inside the city, you'd like to spend less on petrol, and you've got no way to charge a car at home, then a strong hybrid fits you well. It's also a good choice when you just want a car that works like any other car, with nothing new to learn.
But if you're mostly on highways, or you barely drive a few hundred kilometres a month, the extra money you pay upfront may never come back to you. And if you've got a plug at home and you'd like to run mostly on electricity, a PHEV or a full electric car could be a better match.
To sum it up
Think of a strong hybrid as a petrol car that gets a helping hand from an electric motor, with a battery that charges itself so you never need a plug. It gives you the most savings in city traffic, it costs more when you buy it, and it's one of the simplest ways to cut your petrol bill. So if you sit in traffic every single day, take one for a test drive and see how it feels to you.
