Hybrid Car: Honda Insight and Toyota Prius

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Hybrid Car: Honda Insight and Toyota Prius

Gasoline price is rising and we do not know how many times it would rise. We do not want your car cost you $25 or $30 each time you pull it to the gas station. Hybrid car is a solution to solve this problem; it combines two or more sources of power.

A typical of hybrid car combines a gasoline motor and an electric motor. A special feature for a hybrid car is that we do not need long extension cords to charge the battery. The Hybrid car usually recovers braking energy to charge it. There are two types of hybrid structures; they are parallel hybrid and series hybrid. Parallel hybrid has a fuel tank and a set of batteries. The fuel tank supplies gasoline to the engine and electric motor powered by the batteries.

When you step into the car and turn it on, you will notice that the car is quieter than the conventional car. Some hybrid cars stay in electric mode until about 15 mph. So if you keep driving on low speed, you are actually driving an electric car with no gas is used. Hybrid car is controlled by a computer program. It decides how many gasoline the car should use and when the electric motor will be turned on.

Although hybrid car has smaller gasoline engine than conventional car, it can achieve the same performance because of the assistant of the electric motor. Moreover, the smaller engine has better technology that reduces emission and increases efficiency.

The computer has a major role in determining on how much power the car needs from the electric motor. The electric motor gets the power back from a set of Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. The computer reclaims excess heat from the brakes and electric motor to...

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...obably has better audio system than Insight. To make this car highly entertained its passengers; Toyota installed AM/FM stereo, seek-scan, with in-dash CD, radio data system and six speakers. Finally, cruise control completes the convenience part of Prius. Insight does not have this feature and that is the weakness of this car.

As a conclusion, Honda Insight and Toyota Prius have a slight difference in price. Insight has Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for $19,180 while Prius has MSRP for $20,295. The price difference is about one thousand dollars, so if you are in a budget or want to save one thousand dollars to buy car accessories then buying the Insight is the best choice for you. But if you are willing to sacrifice a thousand dollars more for more convenient and comfortable car, then Prius will give you the satisfaction you deserve.

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