While touring a bunch of hilly neighbourhoods, driving up and down tiny, steep hills with sharp corners, this question popped into my mind. Which is better for this kind of driving, a hybrid or a smallish (e.g. 1.5L) turbo 4 cylinder?
They both have low end torque, though the hybrid’s torque may come on sooner. The hybrid also has regen braking that can reduce heat buildup in the brakes. The hybrid may be a bit heavier due to the battery and additional hardware.
Would steep inclines put a strain on the turbo and reduce its life span? I know nothing about car mechanicals, so I really don’t know if that’s possible or not.
The hybrid seems to make more sense. 🤷
Any thoughts?
The hybrid also has regen braking that can reduce heat buildup in the brakes.
Forget the brakes, the regenerative braking will give a dramatic increase in efficiency going up and down hills, and decreased wear on the engine.
Are these actually hills or mountains?
They’re hills, but steep.
Yeah in theory a good hybrid system will capture the downhill energy and use it to help you get up the next hill with less fuel.
It’s really not that much of an issue anymore. Some electric can beat out turbo 4’s in horsepower, but that battery is like dragging 1/3 of an extra car in the turns. It can do it, but you can feel the weight. That said, you ain’t doing laptimes on a hill climb so it may not matter whatsoever.
Personally, I enjoy those rare things called a manual transmissions, so that limits my selection range, but I feel my next car won’t have one.
I will point out that 3rd party customizing options has been a factor in my decisions in the past. To date, I haven’t seen much EV-wise. I’d like to see more of that in the future though.
Oh yeah, the question … If you got the cash to throw at it, I may go for fun EV, otherwise turbo 4. There are great cars in both columns.
Yeah I used to love driving a manual, but they’re very rare these days in Canada and my knee ain’t what it used to be!
I enjoy those rare things called a manual transmissions
Eh, pedal shifters are common now, way easier, and just does the auto thing if you don’t care
Haha yeah. Don’t get me wrong, driven a car with that. What a great experience. And shifting faster then I can is definitely A-OK in my books.
I just… like the nostalgia of manual. It’s tactile; you’re meshing with the machine. I do like paddle shifting though.
ಠ_ಠ
If you’re looking for strictly mileage, the hybrid will do better. The turbo motor would be in boost and consuming more fuel.
Almost always hybrid. Turbo small engines are only really efficient at steady state driving. When you’re in boost you’re using twice the fuel to get like 1.5x the power.
The best car for this would be a light one so it doesn’t have to work as hard to get up the hill.
From experience, Toyota hybrids basically only use the electric motor at low speeds (under 30 or 40kmh) and are balls slow with the CVT transmission. I don’t think they actually use the batteries for more performance like some sportier cars. Anyways you should try both, but the corolla hybrid I tested last year was extremely slow and just basic to drive. I drove it in a mountainous area, and the poor engine was STRUGGLING
Also, smaller 4 cyl engines are very fun because they scream under high load and it feels like you are going 180 when in reality you are catching with traffic. Kia Rios are fun for that
Hills don’t put added strain on a turbo engine. It’s designed and tested at much worse conditions.
That’s just non-sense. Any increased loads will put increased strain and accelerated wear on any engine, turbo or not.
Maybe I should have said that hills don’t add more strain to a modern turbo engine vs any other engine.
Yes I would agree with that.
Something that’s about 20 years old and has a 1.9 turbo diesel VW engine will beat almost anything. I averaged 3.5l/100km driving through the Pyrenees with a car like this. You won’t be allowed in LEZ’s tho…
These 1.9 TDI VW’s are so hard to find in either good condition (by that I mean not almost totalled) OR one that doesn’t have 350 000km
True. I used to love our old Golf TDi. I don’t think manufacturers sell diesel cars/SUVs in Canada anymore, except maybe Mercedes-Benz.
I’ve seen a newer BMW sedan that was diesel recently, but the reason I remember it is because it’s a rarity
