Originally Posted By: veryHeavy
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
BTW, no matter what hybrid, ICE always spins at hwy speeds.
Not quite... Prius, Camry, and other Toyota hybrids have an EV mode at highway speeds. The car uses that mode to burn-off excess energy if the battery becomes full.
The Honda hybrids turn-off the engine below 25 mph (manuals) or 5 mph (automatics). It then just coasts to a stop, because there's no power.
Both of you are partly right. Not the whole story by far.
Honda is a mild hybrid, not much electric at all really, only a 13 hp electric motor helping out.
Toyota and Ford hybrids run through a planetary gearset,
unlike the
Honda Hybrid setup.
Toyota/Ford hybrids often stop the engine's pistons entirely, depending on whether you are going up or down a hill, for example, and low speeds tend to be all-electric, engine-off too.
Summary: Engine piston stop/start is a VERY frequent event in Toyota/Ford hybrids while driving around, while Honda's IMA hybrid design is constantly moving the pistons all of the time except when you stop the car; Honda pistons do stop when the car is not moving at least.
http://news.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?id=2003112038200