Used hybrid cars for sale

Who are hybrid cars suitable for?

Hybrid cars are suitable for a wide range of drivers looking to reduce their environmental impact and fuel costs.

They’re especially ideal for urban commuters who spend a lot of their time in stop-start traffic, but that’s not to say they’re not efficient on longer trips, because they can spend a lot of time on electric power alone.

Most modern hybrids use a petrol engine and a single-motor setup – you can find a range of gearboxes, including slick dual-clutch transmissions and the smooth-operating CVT, but all full hybrids are automatics.

So long as there’s juice left in the battery, a used hybrid car will creep around and even pick up some speed just with the electric motor. The petrol engine will then kick in to take you further or faster.

When the petrol engine is on, it’s also feeding energy back into the battery. Resistance from the motor under deceleration, also known as regenerative braking, also puts energy back into the battery.

Hybrid vs. PHEV vs. MHEV

Full hybrids were the first on the scene, cars like the Toyota Prius demonstrated how fuel efficient family cars could be.

Battery sizes are usually measured in kWh, much like an electric car, but they’re generally no bigger than 1-2kWh, which is good for a couple of miles of electric range.

Later on, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) became popular because their bigger batteries offered more electric range – the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was one of the earliest mainstream PHEVs.

Many VW hybrid cars are plug-in hybrids – the Golf was one of the German brand’s first. The same is true of BMW hybrid cars, which are mostly PHEVs.

PHEV batteries used to be under 10kWh, but they’ve slowly crept up over time and it’s not uncommon to see one with more than 20kWh of juice – enough for an electric range of up to 70 miles, or more.

The most recent addition is the mild hybrid (MHEV), which uses a much smaller battery. Early examples were able to engage engine stop-start as you were coasting up to lights, but newer MHEVs can even do a bit of driving in electric mode.

Mild hybrids, which aren’t typically categorised under the ‘hybrid’ umbrella, can come with manual or automatic gearboxes. Ford hybrid cars come in a range of flavours, but the 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine has mild hybrid assistance in cars like the Fiesta.

Hybrid running costs

Hybrids can offer consistently high fuel economy. Petrol cars are at their most efficient at a steady speed, so a hybrid or a regular petrol might be able to get the same mpg figure on the motorway.

Where they come into their own is around town, where the electric motor takes some of the stress off that engine.

Petrol fuel economies can dip considerably at slow speeds, but hybrids can keep those mpg figures high.

It’s not uncommon for modest hybrids like the Hyundai IONIQ or Toyota Corolla to achieve more than 60mpg.

Some hybrid cars have bigger engines, so are less efficient. Take the Lexus RX 450h, for example. It has a 3.5-litre V6 engine, so does around 35mpg. That’s still more than you’d get if you didn’t have the hybrid system.

Hybrid reliability

Hybrid technology is nothing new. It’s been around for more than two decades, and many manufacturers have been offering hybrid cars for at least a decade.

They’re already known for their impressive reliability, often rivalling traditional petrol cars, but the additional years of experience mean that modern hybrids have had time to iron out any niggles.

Electric motors are extremely simple, featuring far fewer moving parts than petrol engines, so there’s a lot less to go wrong on that front.

Think of hybrid and you’ll probably think of Toyota, which offers the majority of its lineup with hybrid power. It’s so confident in the tech that it offers its cars with up to 10 years’ warranty.

Hybrid technology

Hybrid cars are renowned for their refinement – petrol engines are already pretty quiet compared with their diesel counterparts, but the silence of an electric motor adds to this sensation around town.

While much smaller than the motor of a fully electric car, a hybrid’s motor offers quick throttle response, so even the most economical hybrid can feel punchy from a red light.

We love the driving experience of a hybrid too, because the regenerative braking slows you down as if you’d dropped a few gears. It means you’ll need to rely on your brake pads less – good for the environment, and good for your wallet when it comes to servicing and maintenance.