When my wife and I tied the knot, I knew that it was only a matter of months before I needed to let go of my sports car. As much as I loved speed, I loved my family more. Truth be told, we found out that my wife was already pregnant with our first child several weeks after the wedding.
But if there’s one thing that I did not want to settle for, it’s a minivan. Give me a sedan or SUV, and that’s fine. However, a minivan might make me look like a joke on the road.
After long talks with my pals, we came upon an image of a hybrid car.
What Is A Hybrid Car?
A hybrid car is a new type of vehicle that runs on both electricity and fuel. Now, hybrid cars still differ when it comes to their transmission lines.
A common type is the series hybrid car. It is technically more electrical motor-forward, which entails that it works like typical electric vehicles. You can use it all over town, and the ride will always be smooth. When the battery loses its juices, the gas will work to recharge it without requiring you to stop.
The parallel hybrid car, meanwhile, seems to be ideal for many drivers. The reason is that this vehicle is smart enough to switch from electricity to gas automatically, even when you’re on the road. It entails that you can trust the car to take you to your destination, no matter where it may be.
As for the plug-in hybrid, it boasts of a larger battery pack compared to the other two. It means that it may take a while for this vehicle to run out of juice, so it may not even require gas at all. Nevertheless, if it does, it follows the parallel concept; that’s why you still won’t notice any difference when the electricity ends and the fuel consumption begins.
Perks Of Getting A Hybrid Car For The Family
When you have a family, we recommend getting a hybrid car due to the following reasons:
Great Performance Options
As we’ve mentioned earlier, a hybrid vehicle gives you a choice to use gas or electricity when traveling. That’s one more option that you can never get from other conventional or smart cars, considering they run on either gas or electricity alone.
When you opt for the battery, you should do it when you are going around the town. Though it works well, it is not ideal for freeways where vehicles need to run at over 15 miles per hour. In that case, you may switch to gas so that you can speed up. No one will then realize that you are driving a hybrid car until they see you return to relying on the electric motor again.
Ideal For Trips Out Of Town
In reality, many e-cars (especially the big ones) can be driven out of the city. As long as you don’t force it to accelerate too much, the engine won’t die down or give you other problems. However, some owners refuse to take them for such trips because they don’t want to make multiple stops to recharge the auto. That will honestly set them back for a few days.
Once you have a parallel or plug-in hybrid car, though, you can fill the tank with gasoline before you even leave the town. Even when the battery juices deplete halfway through the journey, you won’t have to stop at all because the gas engine can take over. If the trip is not too long, you may go back home without needing to refuel.
Reduced Carbon Footprint
Many environmental-conscious friends of mine have been cycling across different states because they feel guilty about driving conventional cars. They often said, “How can I do that when I know how much carbon footprint it leaves on the planet?”
However, things had changed when they learned about hybrid cars. That is especially true when they found out that some types could recharge themselves through the fuel already in the vehicle (which is the case for series hybrids). Thus, it can reduce its carbon footprint significantly. Though they still ride their bicycles, my friends have already bought a hybrid car for family trips.
Final Thoughts
I talked to my wife about buying a hybrid family car, and we ended up getting the Chrysler Pacifica, a plug-in hybrid. We fell in love with it during our first test drive. While it was technically a minivan, it looked like a modern SUV, so I did not mind being seen behind its wheels.
As for its performance, it was perfect for us. The large battery pack could last more than 12 hours, considering we always drove at medium speed ever since my wife got pregnant. When we took it to the woods for a family reunion one time, the hybrid car held up like the conventional ones, too.
I could see my growing family riding this hybrid vehicle for years.