| Feature
Story
-->>Hybrid
Buyer's Club
|
|
December 01, 2004
As the Accord
hybrid is just days from officially hitting the
market, what are the main differences between these
hybrids?
Is one a Honda and one a Toyota, and that is really the
main difference?
No. Both Honda and Toyota have been leaders in hybrid
technology, but they have taken different paths.
|
|
The Honda Accord hybrid is
built, like the Civic
hybrid, on Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA)
system. A simple system, Honda sandwiches an electric
motor between the traditional engine and transmission.
Additionally, the Accord offers VCM, or variable
cylinder management. Thus, fuel can be saved by reducing
the gasoline engine, deactivating one or multiple
cylinders, and relying more on the electric motor.
|
Toyota
Prius
Test Drive(<<)
|
Ford
Escape Hybrid
Test Drive(<<)
|
|
More
Hybrid Car Info.
|
The electric motor of the
Accord hybrid receives it's energy from deceleration and
breaking which recharges a battery to power the electric
motor.
The Honda Accord hybrid; however, cannot run fully on
the electric motor alone.
Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) is a more complex
hybrid powertrain than the Accord hybrid. With a unique,
more efficient gasoline engine and planetary automatic
transmission, the Prius
can accelerate from rest to 30-plus mph on electric
power alone.
This feature allows the Prius to run solely on electric
power during traffic or stop-and-start driving. Thus,
especially in traffic and urban driving, the Prius is
much more fuel efficient than the Accord.
On the highway; however, the Accord hybrid is more in
line with the Prius, though it offers a speedier drive
than the Prius.
Join the hybrid
revolution!
>>
Blog on this subject.
|
|
More Stories
|
|
|
|
