Used Hybrid Cars for Sale in Indianapolis

Used Hybrid Cars: Your Green Choice for Indianapolis Drives

If you need economical transport for everyday drives, a good idea is to consider hybrid vehicles. At Indy Auto Man, Indianapolis, you will always find several used hybrid cars and SUVs to choose from.

How Hybrid Cars Work

Hybrid cars use two energy sources – electricity and standard combustible petroleum products. These cars have two powertrains that transfer power to the wheels through a complex transmission.

Usually, the electric engine helps the internal combustion one to manage high loads:

• starting from a traffic light;
• overtaking;
• going uphill.

The speed of the main engine is slowed down, wear and fuel consumption are reduced, and the dynamics remain the same or improve. The operation principle of some hybrids allows the vehicle to start on electric traction.

There are also hybrid cars, in which a gasoline engine drives one axle, and the other is electric. This allows you to increase cross-country ability and improve handling without complicating the scheme of the car and almost without increasing the cost of its maintenance.

What Are the Pros and Cons of a Hybrid Car?

The main advantage of a hybrid car is lower fuel consumption. For example, the 2021 Toyota Prius consumes 4.3 liters of gasoline per 60 miles on the combined cycle. Comparable in power, Škoda Octavia 1.6 MPI consumes 7.5 liters of fuel in the same conditions.

If a hybrid car can run on electric traction, it makes much less noise than a gasoline one – it is more comfortable for passengers and those around them.

Another advantage is that the electric engine develops maximum torque at low speeds – the hybrid starts faster from a standstill.

At Indy Auto Man, we strive to help you find the most convenient vehicle to reduce pollution, and, at the same time, meet your driving needs and budget. Buying a used hybrid car in Indianapolis is not a problem with our advantageous financing programs.

Classification of Hybrid Cars by Device

Micro Hybrids

Micro hybrids have a powerful motor-generator instead of a conventional starter. When slowing down smoothly, it generates electricity and charges a high-capacity battery. A combustion engine spends less energy to rotate a conventional generator or does not spend it at all. This technology is used by BMW, Audi, Hyundai, Mazda, and other brands. It reduces fuel consumption by 5-15%, depending on how you drive.

Mild Hybrids

A low-power electric motor (up to 30 hp) assists the internal combustion engine. It engages in particularly severe conditions to reduce fuel consumption and slow down wear. The car cannot run on electric power. At best, it starts silently, and at speeds above 3 mph, the gasoline engine starts. The power source is compact batteries or capacitors. The latter are cheaper, more reliable, and less sensitive to cold. Mild hybrid technology is used by General Motors, BMW, Honda, and even Ferrari. The fuel economy reaches 15–25%.

Parallel Hybrid

The car can move on pure electric traction up to 90 mph without starting the internal combustion engine. Most often, an additional motor is installed in the power unit between the gearbox and the main engine. Its capacity is small – up to 50 hp, but it works on its own when you drive at a constant speed of 20-40 mph, without dynamic jerks. This technology is used by Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Porsche.

If the electric motor is installed separately, its power is not limited – in some models, it exceeds 200 hp. Accordingly, you get the best dynamics on pure electric traction. This technology is preferred by Toyota, Lexus, and BMW.

Sometimes the internal combustion engine and the electric motor are mounted on different axles. So it is possible to get an all-wheel-drive with a relatively simple mechanical circuit. Passability of the car increases, fuel consumption decreases, controllability improves. Nissan, Peugeot, Citroën, and FIAT hybrid cars work according to this scheme.

Series Hybrid

The car always moves on electric traction. Power reserve – 90-120 miles. The internal combustion engine starts when the battery is discharged. Here it serves as a generator that is not directly connected to the wheels. The motor runs in a quiet mode at a constant speed, so it wears out more slowly than in conventional cars. Fuel consumption – from 1.5 to 3.5 liters per 60 miles. There are few serial examples so far, we can recall the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera.

Parallel-Series Hybrid

Such a hybrid vehicle combines the features of two designs. When driving on a flat road at a constant pace, the internal combustion engine turns a powerful generator and charges the battery. When the load increases, the electric motor turns on, which increases acceleration and helps overcome bumps. This scheme was brought to perfection by Toyota. You can also find it in Volvo and BMW.

Plug-in Hybrids

The main principle here is the same: a separate connector is present for charging batteries. At the same time, the hybrid itself can be either sequential (Fisker Karma or BMW i3) or parallel (Volvo XC60 Recharge or Porsche Cayenne e-Hybrid).

The idea is that the battery capacity of such cars is already solid – for example, a modern Cayenne has 18 kWh, which is about a third of what you can find in an average electric car. And the electric motor is quite independent: on many plug-in hybrids, its power exceeds 100 hp.

In other words, under certain scenarios, you can drive such a car as an electric one: the power reserve is several dozens of miles. You can accelerate to more than 60 mph, but you must do everything smoothly. At the same time, you still have a real gasoline engine at your disposal. With all its power, versatility, and the ability to refuel when you want and as much as you want. Press the accelerator harder, and it starts working.

Exotic Varieties

Not in all cases, hybrid traction is used solely for the sake of fuel economy. For example, some Peugeot and Citroën hybrids use electricity to compensate for the lack of full-fledged all-wheel drive cars: the rear wheels rotate with an electric motor. For heavy off-road, such a scheme is poorly suited, but it solves the problem of all-weather driving quite successfully.

And sports car brands have long been using hybrid technologies to make their vehicles go faster. The maximum thrust of the electric engine is available anytime, and this helps a lot during acceleration when the gasoline engine has not yet reached its peak output. Among the early examples of such cars, one can recall the Porsche 918 Spyder, and among the modern – Koenigsegg Regera or Aston Martin Valkyrie, one of the fastest hypercars on the planet.

Are Hybrid Cars Still Worth It?

In general, a hybrid vehicle is no more of a hassle than a traditional car – and in some cases even more profitable. For example, in models where energy recovery is actively used during deceleration, you have to change the brakes less often because the electric motor takes on a significant part of the work.

The electric filling does not require special attention. Although, you can’t ignore the issue of battery life. On average, they should serve about 90,000 miles. But Toyota, for example, gives as much as an eight-year or 100,000 miles warranty . What happens after the resource is exhausted? The same as with the old mobile phone: the battery will be worse to hold a charge, and the hybrid car will become more like a conventional one.

If you are looking for a low-mileage hybrid car for sale in Indianapolis, visit Indy Auto Man. We always have several models in stock – come and take one for a test drive!