You have two options if you don’t want a car that runs solely off of gasoline: hybrid cars and electric cars. Both can run off of electricity, and both are meant to be “greener” than a regular, gas-powered car, but each one comes with unique strengths and weaknesses. For any given person’s needs and desires, one might prove a good deal better than another.
If you’re considering studying the inner workings of automobiles, you might be interested in learning about some of the specific differences in technology and drivability between these two kinds of car. Here are some of the major points that separate hybrid cars from all-electric models.
Electric Cars Go Farther On Battery, But Hybrid Is Better for Total Distance
All-electric cars run entirely on energy stored in a battery—when you run out of charge, your car won’t move. Hybrid vehicles include both an electric battery and a gas tank, prioritizing the battery. When the car runs down its charge, it begins to power itself by burning gasoline.
The main drawback of this system in hybrid vehicles is that the batteries generally don’t allow for much distance. As you start towards a career in the auto industry, you might notice that hybrid cars are often good for only 30 to 65 km of electric travel, compared to 170 to 500+ km (for some of the pricier Tesla models) for all-electric cars. Thanks to their gas tanks, though, hybrid cars can add as much as 450+ km to their driving distance, making them the likelier choice for people who regularly drive long distances.
Combining Two Kinds of Auto Technology Means Hybrid Cars Cost More to Maintain
A hybrid car’s combination of electric and gasoline powertrains allows it to run on two different power sources, but also makes maintenance costs higher than they are for all-electric models. After you complete auto technology school, it’s likely you’ll see hybrids in for repair more often than electric models.
It takes many moving parts to get the energy from a fuel tank over to a car’s wheels. More parts means more things that can fail, and more movement means more wear and tear. Driving around solely on a hybrid’s battery will help with this issue, but doing so somewhat defeats the purpose of getting a hybrid car.
Electric cars, on the other hand, have fewer moving parts, because it’s relatively easy to wire the energy from a battery along to the systems a car needs powered. It has been suggested that electric cars cost about 35 per cent less to maintain than cars that use gasoline, which is a solid point in their favour.
Students in Auto Technology School Might Know Hybrid Cars Cost Less to Buy
If you’re interested in auto technology, you might know that for all their benefits, all-electric vehicles still have a major disadvantage when compared to hybrid cars: they cost a good deal more to buy.
It’s big news that the Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model 3 electric cars are both offering decent distance for a price of about $40,000-45,000, but you can find many hybrid cars going for just over $20,000. Fairly inexpensive electric cars do exist, like the $32,000 Nissan Leaf, but they offer minimal driving distance for their price tag.
For that reason, eco-conscious buyers on more restricted budgets will likely weigh up the costs of both options, and consider sticking with a hybrid model.
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