• Blakey [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 days ago

    They’re not exactly the same. The volt is a plug-in hybrid, you can run it full electric or use the ICE to power the wheels. These ER EVs are more like diesel locomotives, the motor is just a generator to charge the battery and can’t directly push the car at all, it’s not even connected to the drivetrain. This is important because an ICE has an ideal operating range where it is most efficient but driving a motor vehicle directly requires it to operate across a wide range of RPMs. That’s why there’s a lot of research into variable transmissions, running the motor at a constant rate and changing your drive ratio is more efficient. I favour ER EVs over the variable trans because an EV can run on renewable energy.

    Of course the best option is always no car at all whenever possible.