Range anxiety is a very real thing. Even if you’ve never experienced an electric car, you’ve undoubtedly encountered the sensation. But we’ve all been there. We forgot to check the fuel level when we climbed in, and now the fuel light has come on, and you’re starting to worry about whether or not you can make it to the next fuel station.
Related: How to drive your hybrid car efficiently
Charging points for electric vehicles are not as prolific or widespread as regular filling stations, and this compounds the concerns when your electric car is running low, or you hit heavier than usual traffic and think that you may not make it home.
Fear not, though, as hybrids solve all of these electric car concerns by giving you the convenience of a petrol/diesel car with the benefit of reduced running costs because of the electric drivetrain.
How Hybrid works
There are two popular hybrid types available locally: series-parallel (also known as self-charging) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles or PHEV for short. Their operation is very similar, and they don't stray too far from the formula of an electric motor supplementing the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) to provide drive to the wheels. You can read more about the types in this article here: Hybrid vs Electric: Which one is the best choice for you?
The key difference between the two is that one offers the option of charging the batteries from an external source, be it your domestic outlet in your garage or from a public charging point; this is the PHEV. The Series-Parallel arrangement doesn't offer you this, and it's through driving, coasting, and braking that the internal batteries for the electric motor are recharged. This requires no input from you, and the car is programmed to do this automatically.
Both PHEV and Series-Parallel hybrids charge this way by generating their own power as you drive. Energy is generated by the friction caused when you brake, coast and, in some instances, cruise without the electric motor providing drive. This helps answer our next question.
What happens when a hybrid car runs out of battery?
With hybrids employing both ICE and EV systems, it's entirely possible to run one without the other, with varying levels of success. Should you happen to run out of battery power, the vehicle will automatically switch over to the ICE drive and use petrol/diesel to continue running. It will then also start charging the battery back up again on its own. This means that as long as you have fuel in your vehicle, you won't have to worry about the battery charge.
What happens when you run out of fuel?
This is a slightly less convenient situation to find yourself in most Series-Parallel configurations. This type of hybrid (Corolla, Corolla Cross, Prius, Fit, etc) has a limited battery capacity. As such, its full-electric range is limited to only a few kilometres (approx 20km). You must start looking for a fuel station fairly quickly, especially if you're out on the open road. The only way to charge the batteries is by having fuel for the ICE.
The situation is usually less dire in a PHEV, but you're still limited to how far you can drive on the batteries alone. Often, this will be in the region of 30km, but in some models, this can be less. You too, will have to start looking for a fuel station, but if an EV charging point is nearer, you can top up your battery and continue for another 30-odd kilometres.
We were curious as to how far we could drive a hybrid until it ran out of both fuel and battery, and you can see how that went down here: Part 1 and Part 2. In this video series, you will see what happens when you run out of both fuel and battery charge. The good news is that all you have to do is add some fuel, and you'll be back on your way in no time!
