philnewmerc
MB Enthusiast
I my experience this only partly true. If I compare my previous car (mild hybrid/diesel A8) with my current diesel Macan, the Audi saved 20% of fuel.
These cars run the same base engine, are both 4WD and similar weights. Where they differ is that the A8 is much more slippery (0.26 vs 0.35 cd) and benefits from having a 'starternator' replacing the both the starter and alternator of the Macan. Virtually no more complication and a 20% fuel saving.
On the other side, I didn't get a hybrid BMW i3 as they were older and carried 125Kgs weight penalty over the lightweight pure EV version.
It's difficult to make sweeping generalisations.
All believable and sensible.
But a 'mild hybrid' is not a hybrid, it's just an ice car with some sensible changes that easily recover wasted energy, e.g., the starternator charging on coasting, not charging on acceleration, stop/start, etc., etc.. Better to call it a NANWICE - not as needlessly wasteful ice.
An actual hybrid has a battery and electric motor, i.e. ice and EV together - and on first glance I'd say this suits most (especially me) but 1) they combine the complexity of ice with the new and unknown long-term reliability of EV, in a perfect storm of potential trouble, so I'd say ice or EV better. And 2) i owned a GTE for a while and though it was very nice it was new and on a contract so I didn't care about reliability and the range was exactly half advertised, and that was round town... It's mpg was low to mid 30s on a run, i.e. no better than a GTi, in fact probably worse...