What are the pros & cons of hybrid cars?

Hybrid cars account for about a quarter of new vehicle registrations in the UK, roughly twice as many as fully electric vehicles. While the country is moving towards an all-electric future, it’s clear for now that many British motorists prefer to still have an internal combustion engine (ICE) under their bonnet, although pure electric vehicles are gaining ground all the time

So what are the pros and cons of hybrid cars – not only compared with plug-in battery electric vehicles (BEVs), but also with conventional ICE-only cars?

How Popular Are Hybrid Cars?

First, let’s quickly look at the popularity of hybrid cars in 2022. According to DfT/DVLA figures, from April to June, about a quarter of newly registered vehicles were hybrids:

• Petrol ICE 53%
• Diesel ICE 9%
• Petrol hybrids 18%
• Diesel hybrids 2%
• Petrol plug-in hybrids 5%
• Diesel plug-in hybrids 0.2%
• Battery/all-electric 13%
• Other fuel types 0.2%

Added together, 62% of new vehicles were ICE, 25.2% were hybrids, and 13% were BEVs. It’s worth noting that diesel hybrids are relatively rare, due to the difficulty of combining a diesel powertrain with an electric motor.

It’s also interesting that plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) only account for one in five new hybrid cars. Most new hybrid cars on UK roads charge from the ICE and regenerative braking, rather than directly from the mains or an EV chargepoint.

Pros Of Hybrid Cars

Starting with the positives, why are hybrid cars better? It all comes down to their ‘best of both worlds’ powertrain, which combines the raw power and easy refuelling of an internal combustion engine with the greater efficiency and lower emissions of an electric motor.

Efficient Acceleration

Hybrid cars come in several configurations, including series and parallel powertrains, but one thing they have in common is efficiency. In general, the electric motor boosts acceleration (or may handle all the acceleration at low speeds) to ensure the ICE is less gas-guzzling when speeding up quickly.

Lower Emissions

More efficient driving and less dependence on high revs from the ICE means hybrid cars produce fewer harmful emissions, and this is true even of non-PHEVs. Although the ICE is used to charge the battery for the EV side of the vehicle, the two combine to reduce inefficiencies under hard acceleration, with lower emissions as a result.

Regenerative Braking

As well as getting power from the ICE, the EV battery is also recharged using energy recovered from the wheels during braking. That energy would usually be lost as heat in the brake pads, so it’s essentially free fuel to extend the range of the vehicle without needing to top up the tank — a particularly welcome feature when petrol prices are high.

Range Anxiety

Due to regenerative braking and the option to use one or both fuel types, certain hybrids can remove the driver’s worries about running out of charge in the middle of nowhere. Of course, there’s always the risk of running out of petrol or diesel too, but generally speaking, many motorists take comfort from having the option to refuel at a conventional petrol station, rather than needing to find somewhere to plug in as with a pure BEV.

Cons Of Hybrid Cars

Hybrid cars are not without their problems. While their plus points are compelling, there are also a few drawbacks to be aware of when choosing to drive a hybrid.

Charging Infrastructure

By definition, PHEVs need to plug in, which means you need access to EV charging infrastructure – either a home chargepoint (or a conveniently located 3-pin AC plug for overnight charging from a domestic mains supply) or a charging station while out on the road. Infrastructure and charging speeds are constantly improving, so this is becoming less of a concern with every passing year.

Heavy Engines

The combination of an ICE, an electric motor, and the big batteries used by hybrid EVs means that hybrid cars are often much heavier than their ICE-only equivalents. This impacts their efficiency, although the top hybrid car models on the market are much more efficient than their ICE counterparts.

The extra weight is also a concern in traffic collisions, where heavy hybrids can exert much larger forces on other cars and pedestrians — an issue the industry is still researching and working to resolve.

More To Go Wrong

Because a hybrid car contains an ICE and an electric powertrain, there’s the potential for problems with either (or both) of its power sources. This added complexity can mean more expensive repairs and more risk of failing an MOT.

Leasing plans that include maintenance costs are a good precaution, giving you a way to drive the newest hybrid models on the market with complete confidence that you won’t face any unexpected mechanic costs.

Difficult Diesels

As mentioned above, it’s more challenging to design a diesel-powered hybrid engine, due to the differences between diesel and petrol engines. Diesel has fallen out of favour in recent years, so if you generally prefer to drive a diesel, you’re likely to have fewer options among the top hybrid cars currently available.

Which Is Best?

Whether you prefer ICE, BEV, or hybrid cars is primarily a matter of personal taste. Also, consider practical issues like the number of PHEV chargepoints in your local area, and how frequently they are located along the long-distance routes you drive most often.

Hybrid car leasing with maintenance costs included is an excellent way to try driving a hybrid for a while before either buying, updating your lease to a newer model, or making the transition to fully electric once your local charging infrastructure is sufficient.

In the near future, this will likely become a moot point as the UK moves over to fully electric cars (at least for motorists who drive newer vehicles), and hybrids will be consigned to the second-hand market along with ICEs.

But until we reach that all-electric future, the improved efficiency and reduced range anxiety offered by hybrid vehicles will no doubt ensure that they remain a significant percentage of the UK’s new car registrations, and of the owned and leased vehicles we see day by day on public roads.