In recent years, the word hybrid has appeared more and more in everyone's sight.
Hybrid driving seems to be a new technology, but in fact it has a history of 20 or 30 years. Toyota launched the Prius with a planetary gear hybrid configuration in 1997. It is worth noting that as early as that time, Toyota had already established a separate product line for hybrid models. This significance is comparable to BMW's separate i series. . Today, Prius sales have exceeded 8 million units, not to mention Lexus, which has hybrids in almost all its lines, and Camry, Corolla, Ralink, etc., which dominate the family car market with dual engines. We have to admire Toyota's foresight back then.
Although many people know that the core of a hybrid vehicle is to allow the engine to work under optimal working conditions to achieve the purpose of saving fuel, saving money or fuel is not actually the only advantage of hybrid vehicles. Faster throttle response, better acceleration performance, outstanding smoothness, and less noise are all benefits brought by hybrid power. As for the hybrid system, which has greatly improved the comprehensiveness of vehicle products, since Toyota used it, other manufacturers have also made many attempts in the past 20 to 30 years. So what schools of thought have emerged from the development of hybrid technology so far? Which one is stronger?
Toyota
Toyota’s hybrid technology is the earliest practical hybrid technology. As mentioned earlier, Toyota launched the first-generation Prius in 1997, which was also the earliest on the market. Hybrid. The hybrid system THS it is equipped with has a history of more than 20 years. There used to be a saying in the industry, "There are two types of hybrids in the world, one is Toyota and the other is others." Although this sentence sounds too absolute, it is enough to show Toyota's position in hybrids.
Today, Toyota's hybrid system has evolved to the fourth generation THS-II. Its hybrid vehicles, including Prius, Camry, Ralink, and Lexus brands, are all using this system.
Do you know what the core component of THS-II is? It's the E-CVT. Only through mechanical coordination with THS-II can the THS-II system continuously adjust or switch the output ratio of the two power sources at different stages during driving. But don’t get me wrong, this E-CVT is not a traditional CVT gearbox. Its working principle is completely different from that of a continuously variable gearbox.
This system is composed of 2 motors and 1 set of planetary gears. Speed ??change is achieved through continuous electronic control of speed. The MG1 motor and MG2 motor in the picture above are used for speed control and speed adjustment respectively. It drives the motor and is then connected to the engine through this set of planetary gears for speed change. When the speed of the MG1 motor reaches a certain range and the vehicle speed is higher than a certain value, the engine will start.
Toyota's THS-II pursues the complementarity between the electric motor and the engine. At low speeds or when starting, the electric motor will exert its torque advantage and provide more direct torque. During cruising and high-speed driving, the engine plays the leading role and provides power. At this time, the electric motor mostly provides auxiliary output. The energy management system will coordinate the kinetic energy transmission and recovery of the engine and electric motor according to different load conditions through the throttle stroke.
Therefore, the intelligence and efficiency of Toyota's THS-II system can save 30% to 50% of fuel for the models equipped with it, and provide the vehicle with a smoother driving experience. This is undoubtedly the reason why Toyota proudly and paranoidly adopts the light-hybrid strategy and has been able to dominate the world for decades.
Honda
As the pioneer of hybrid systems, Toyota holds a large number of core patents, putting car manufacturers in a dilemma. They must either pay Toyota a large amount of patent fees or work hard to develop new ones. Technology, and Honda, the "technology geek", resolutely chose the latter.
In order to catch up with Toyota in the hybrid field, Honda started from its own advantage in the engine field. So I chose a dual-motor indirect hybrid mechanism. After a long period of research and development, Honda's i-MMD hybrid system was released.
The Honda i-MMD hybrid system is composed of an Atkinson cycle engine, E-CVT, intelligent power unit IPU and power control unit PCU. Therefore, if you compare the two Hondas together, you will find that Toyota tends to be "oil-based, with electricity as an auxiliary", while Honda is more inclined to a "electricity-based, oil-assisted" power output method.
As for the advantages of this hybrid system, let’s give an example below.
Take the tenth-generation Accord Hybrid as an example. It is equipped with a 2.0L Artesian cycle DOHC?i-VTEC engine with a maximum power of 107kW and a maximum torque of 175N·m, with outstanding performance. , the fuel consumption can also reach the same level as Toyota Camry Dual Engine. However, compared with the more mature Toyota fourth-generation THS-II, it still has obvious shortcomings, that is, low efficiency and weak torque release at low speeds, and because the engine and motor power have certain limitations in the clutch switching process. The impact feeling makes the noise louder and the ride comfort is not that good.
Nissan
After Toyota and Honda launched hybrid vehicles, Nissan, one of the top three Japanese brands, was not far behind. The NOTE e-POWER system was released in December 2016. This is a model that has partially improved the small car "NOTE" and is equipped with hybrid technology "e-POWER".
NOTE? e-POWER? uses a series hybrid. The 1.2-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine only acts as a generator and does not drive the tires. The tires are purely driven by the electric motor. In short, this is a pure electric car that cannot be recharged but has its own generator. Currently there is only one hybrid model on sale in China - Loulan Hybrid Edition.
Its biggest advantage is that, like pure electric models, it can provide considerable torque in an instant, thereby improving driving response speed and making acceleration smoother. In addition, the system operates with extremely low noise and is as quiet as a pure electric vehicle. But its biggest shortcoming is also quite obvious. As a hybrid model, it seems to be putting the cart before the horse. Compared with fuel vehicles, it basically has no fuel-saving effect, and the fuel consumption is around 10L/100km.
GM/Ford
The hybrid technology of these two car companies is from the same origin as Toyota's THS, because the hybrid technology of these two car companies is licensed from Toyota. , so there are only slight differences in details.
The Voltec hybrid system currently launched by General Motors in overseas markets is composed of a 94kW 1.8L naturally aspirated engine and two high and low speed electric motors, matched with dual ECVT planetary gears.
Compared with Toyota, GM’s second-generation Voltec system is indeed clearer in terms of power distribution. Of course, this is an advantage brought by a more complex and higher-cost structure. Through such optimization, the GM Voltec system can achieve relatively ideal fuel consumption regardless of whether it is in pure electric driving or hybrid mode. However, it does not choose an Atkinson cycle engine with higher thermal efficiency, and the overall fuel consumption performance is still the same. Tian is so prominent. ?
The only hybrid model currently available from Ford in China is the Mondeo Hybrid, which has just been launched. It is composed of a 2.0L Atkinson engine and an electric motor, and the power source is a lithium battery pack. Moreover, Ford has also integrated its own unique Eco Cruise energy-saving speed control system into this system. In this mode, the system limits the engine's output and power mainly comes from the electric motor. And because it is equipped with a lithium battery, it also has a pure electric range of up to 52km.
However, because the engine and electric motor power are lower than those of the Camry Twin Engine of the same level, the actual performance is slightly inferior. In addition, the prerequisite for experiencing pure electric travel is that consumers who choose it need to have a parking space that can facilitate charging, which is more troublesome than other non-plug-in hybrid use conditions.
After taking stock of several current mainstream hybrid technologies, we will find that the current hybrid technologies each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Major manufacturers have developed hybrid technologies with different control strategies based on market demand. If we had to make a comparison, from the perspective of fuel economy, which is the meaning of hybrid technology, Toyota and Honda would first be placed in the first echelon.
If a champion must be decided, the trophy will be awarded to Toyota's THS-II. As the first hybrid technology to be developed and the result of continuous development of this technology for 23 years, its overall control strategy is indeed more efficient and intelligent. It is the only hybrid system currently on the market that cannot find any obvious shortcomings, and its overall performance is indeed better comprehensive. However, due to the limited space of this article, many details and advantages of Toyota's hybrid technology have not been extended yet. Interested friends can continue to pay attention. We will bring you more information on the 10th anniversary of Guangfeng Shuangqing. Stay tuned for in-depth reports.
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< p>This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.