Originally Posted by
Doug Garson
Don't see how the size of the engine makes a difference, in the end you are doing x amount of work based on how far and fast the car moved and how fast it accelerated. I think it must be because the engine runs at a constant (optimum) speed and regenerative braking converts lost energy from braking into stored energy in the battery. Don't understand how the size of the engine makes that much of a difference if the work done is the same.
I suspect that when you size a gasoline engine to a specific, essentially fixed load you can get better economy than if you have an engine that can produce a lot of excess horsepower. For most ICE vehicles the engine is much larger than needed for cruising down the highway. In a hybrid vehicle you can use the batteries to make up the extra needed power for peak load which allows you to put a much smaller engine in the vehicle.
Mike
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