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chaoswoman21 t1_j6d82em wrote

Hybrids are gas powered vehicles. They have electric motors powered by the engine that allow for better fuel efficiency and regenerative braking. My Prius gets 65 mpg on a good drive on the highway.

Edit: The same issue happens with the Prius though. The gas mileage isn't much better than the original. It's due to weight. The current Prius is over 300 pounds heavier.

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bodydamage t1_j6dbbq6 wrote

FWIW the electric motor isn’t powered by the engine directly. That would be less efficient than the motor driving the wheels directly which is what they do.

It’s used for regenerative braking and then the battery power is used to run the motor.

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sault18 t1_j6dd9dj wrote

But there's a similar situation going on with hybrids. The 2023 Prius gets slightly better fuel economy as the 2003 Prius. It's gone from a 1.5L engine to a 2.0L engine over that time. The 2023 is 350lbs heavier, explaining a lot of the stagnation in fuel economy.

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