Quote:
Originally posted by Matt Attallah
I was under the impression that they used one or the other - not both. When it needed heavy acceleration it used the gas engine - but when it was coasting or anything like that - it gave the power from the engine to the generators so the gens. can charge the battery while the electric motor was being used...
But if they do use both at once - they can use a viscous coupling, and I'm sure that can help in its moments...
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I am absolutely not an automotive expert, so I apologize in advance if I'm just being stupid (not to mention the fact that I just woke up).
That said, after a little searching, I found
this, a comparison between the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius regarding their drivetrains.
According to the various diagrams of energy flow (mechanical and electrical) in various states of use (stationary, starting up, accelerating, cruising, and decelerating/regenerative breaking), it seems as though both the electric motor and the internal combustion engine are used in tandem much of the time, in the Prius (and obviously less of the time in the Insight, but it still happens).