Myth Busting

Any new technology can be confusing and hybrid electric powerplants are no exception. The level of misunderstanding around hybrids is perhaps best portrayed by the frequently asked question, "Where do you plug it in?"

The answer is "nowhere," because hybrids don't need to be plugged in for recharging. Their batteries charge automatically during driving, by virtue of an alternator spun by the car's internal combustion engine or by regenerative braking. See How Hybrids Work more details on both.

Hybrid electric vehicles DO NOT have to be plugged. Their batteries charge automatically when driving.

Battery costs are often questioned and for good reason. Electric vehicles that were test marketed in recent years, such as the GM EV-1, Toyota RAV4 EV and Honda EV Plus, used a multitude of batteries to create a battery pack weighing up to 1,000 pounds or more — a necessity because it was the only energy source for these vehicles. Rumor had it that these battery packs could have cost $20,000 or more, although the manufacturers never confirmed prices.

Thankfully, gasoline/electric hybrids do not have this problem because they use a much smaller and lighter pack with fewer and smaller individual batteries. A hybrid's electric drive motor supplements internal combustion power instead of completely replacing it, so less battery power is needed, and that means less battery cost.

Still, the nickel-metal-hydride batteries (NiMH) typically used in hybrids today are not cheap, so replacement cost is often on the minds of potential hybrid buyers and bandied about in the mass media. This is not an immediate problem because hybrid batteries are warranted for eight to 10 years or 80,000 to 150,000 miles, depending on the vehicle manufacturer, and hybrids have not been on the market long enough to be out of warranty. Considering incremental battery improvements and the anticipated cost efficiencies with mass producing batteries for hybrid vehicles in years ahead, Toyota's best guess is that battery replacement cost should be well below $2,000 by the time warranties have expired and batteries require replacement.

Contrary to what most people might think, the rechargeable NiMH batteries used in hybrid-electric vehicles — which are similar to those used in consumer electronics, including laptop computers, cell phones and digital cameras — do not pose as significant of an environmental threat as the nickel-cadmium battery technology they largely replace, largely, because cadmium is much more toxic than nickel. That said, there is a recycling system for NiMH and the nickel that's recovered has a value on the scrap-metal market. As larger numbers of hybrids enter the market using NiMH batteries, the recycling infrastructure will expand to process these batteries.

Hybrid-vehicle maintenance is often mistunderstood due to complex components. Click to enlarge for a closer look at the 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid's chassis.

Hybrid maintenance is often misunderstood. While it's true that some hybrid components are high-voltage and use sophisticated computer control, thus requiring maintenance by technicians specifically trained in their upkeep and repair, most hybrid-vehicle maintenance is rather common and can be handled by any trained auto technician. Hybrid repair and training manuals are available to independent mechanics, which means owners can continue to patronize their neighborhood auto repair shops if desired.

A common misconception is that hybrids have limited driving range. In a sense, they do…just like all vehicles have limited driving range, determined by the amount of gasoline in the tank. Gasoline/electric hybrids run on gasoline and the electricity that's produced onboard. They are quite unlike the battery-powered electric vehicles of our recent past that had a driving range determined by the finite electrical energy stored in on-board batteries — typically 50 to 100 miles. The real limitation was not just these vehicles' single-charge driving range, but also the amount of time it took to recharge the batteries — about six to eight hours — which created unacceptable downtime between trips. Fueling a hybrid up with gasoline takes under five minutes, just like any other car, and then you're off again for another 400 to 600 miles.

Some buyers assume that gasoline/electric hybrids are focused solely on environmental performance, and thus are slow and not as content-rich as their conventional counterparts. While this may have been the case with the first-generation Toyota Prius and Honda Insight hybrids because each had an environmental point to prove, this is definitely not the state of the hybrid market today. Consider that the Honda Civic Hybrid is equipped similarly to the top-of-the-line non-hybrid Honda Civic EX model, and not the stripped-down DX version. This holds true for most hybrids available today.

Hybrid-electric vehicles are no longer being marketed as budget-mobiles. Some, like the Lexus RX 400h, are quite luxurious.

Gasoline/electric hybrids now encompass small and efficient sedans and hatchbacks, spacious and powerful SUVs, a high-performance sedan and workhorse pickup trucks. And there's even a luxury hybrid on the market: the Lexus RX 400h. In just a few short years, there will be even more hybrid choices at new-car showrooms that should appeal to a growing range of buyers seeking diverse features.

Finally, there's the thought that because hybrid technology is so cutting edge, driving a hybrid vehicle is a decidedly different experience. That's just not true. Other than a few surprises like the silence experienced when a hybrid's internal combustion engine shuts off at a stop, or when driving on electric power alone, the experience is quite seamless. Even these unfamiliar driving cues become assimilated soon enough, just like getting used to the lack of shift points in a continuously variable transmission.