THE TECH BEHIND ELECTRICS
It’s easy to get confused about hybrid, plug-in hybrid, pureelectric and fuel-cell tech, so our guide clears everything up
THE phrase ‘electric car’ is becoming more and more heavily used, but what does it actually mean? As recently as five years ago, fewer than 10 electric vehicles were being offered to car buyers in the UK. Now the figure is more than five times that.
As the range of ‘electric cars’ on sale has widened, so has the proliferation of technologies that the manufacturers are offering in their vehicles. And as a result, the decisions are becoming more complex for consumers. Do they want an electrified vehicle? Or an electric one? And do they need to plug in at all to get the benefit of battery power?
Here, then, is Auto Express’s rundown of the four key types of vehicle currently on sale in the UK that use an electric motor for power.
Toyota Prius, Hyundai Ioniq, Lexus range
IF you’ve thought about buying an ‘electric car’ over the past five years, there’s a fair chance you’ve actually been considering a hybrid. The vehicle that made electrification ‘normal’ – the Toyota Prius – falls into this category, and the brand has sold more than 10 million hybrids over the past 15 years.
Hybrids mix electric power with a combustion engine that usually runs on petrol. The most popular are series-parallel hybrids, such as the Prius, Hyundai Ioniq or any of the Lexus models. They can power their wheels using either the electric motor or the combustion engine, or both for harder acceleration.
The amount of all-electric motoring that you’ll get will depend a lot on the car and your driving style. You’ll probably hear just a whine as you pull away, because the car can do this using electric power alone. Floor the throttle and the engine is likely to quickly cut in, because the system has a relatively small battery and it immediately feels the need to top it up with energy produced by the engine.
Hybrids have proven so popular because they’re easy to use, with automatic gearboxes and no need to plug in or worry about electric range. Their fuel savings make them great for company car drivers, thanks to their low CO2 emissions. Adopt the right driving style and you can get strong real-world economy, too.
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, BMW i3 REX
TO complete your daily commute on electricity alone, chances are you’ll have to opt for a plug-in hybrid. These generally have larger batteries than ‘regular’ hybrids, allowing their users to charge up from a wall socket or charging point and travel further without having to resort to a petrol or diesel back-up.
PHEVS are generally quicker to charge than pure EVS because the battery capacities involved are smaller. This makes them more affordable than pure-electric cars. They’re increasingly popular in Britain and a year-on-year sales increase of around 50 per cent here in 2016 made the UK the top PHEV market in Europe.
Many manufacturers see PHEVS as a way of getting us accustomed to electrification without the fear of grinding to a halt miles away from a charging point. They do a good job of exploiting the taxman’s rules on company cars or even just Vehicle Excise Duty, too.
However, there are complications in packaging as engineers squeeze in enough batteries for silent running and the charging electrics, amid the usual components that go with an internal combustion engine, such as an exhaust and a fuel tank.
As a result, PHEVS can be some of the most complex vehicles on the market and suffer from compromises. You may have to forgo a bit of boot space, for example, and you’ll need to charge regularly if you’re to reap the fuel efficiency benefits.