The main aim of the hybrid cars is for better fuel economy with lower emissions harmful to environment. These cars will give a good mileage when compared with their counterparts gasoline cars. But the road conditions and the driving styles will affect the fuel economy. Now we will see how to optimize fuel economy.
- Read owners manual: Hybrid vehicles’ design and energy usage and management differ from those of gasoline-run vehicles. It depends on the manufacturer and the vehicle model. The fuel economy tips that apply to one model might not do so for another model. Your vehicle manufacturer gives tips on how to maintain and operate the vehicle to maximize the battery life, driving range and fuel economy. Your vehicle’s owners manual is the best source to get the specific tips for your vehicle.
- Keep your car battery charged: If you have a plug-in hybrid, or electric vehicle, this tip is useful. Ensure your car battery is charged properly. It helps you keep driving much on electricity and less on gasoline. This helps you reduce the money spent on gasoline. In case of electric vehicles, it will maximize the driving range. In electric vehicles and hybrid cars, lithium-ion batteries are used. Partially charging of these batteries will degrade the battery quickly. Therefore, make sure to keep the car’s battery charged.
- Driving speed: When you are increasing your car’s speed, the aerodynamic drag will be increased. When you drive at 70 miles per hour, the drag is double when you are driving at 50 mph. So reasonable speed will increase your fuel economy significantly. You can make the car more fuel efficient by maintaining speed at constant level.
Every time you increase the speed of your car, it will consume more fuel and when you slowdown the energy produced with that fuel will get wasted.
- Avoid hard braking: Brake moderately or gently where you anticipate stops. This practice will help to generate and store electricity through the regenerative braking system. Hard braking use conventional friction brakes and the energy not recovered. The more often you stop the car, the more will it be helpful to the electric motor to generate and store the electric power.
- Don’t use the accessories unnecessarily: This does not mean not to use the accessories at all, but use them sparingly. Avoid using headlights when daylight is plenty, switch off lights and other accessories when you are leaving the car for a long time. This will make the battery last longer and minimize fuel usage.
You can get high economy in your hybrid car by using good driving habits and tips used in gasoline engine cars. Most of these cars have economy mode or similar feature. This will improve the fuel economy. In many vehicles, this can be activated by simply pressing a button. To save fuel, this feature may limit the vehicle’s other performance aspects such as acceleration.