As a country with scarce energy, Japan has been very inclined to energy conservation since the beginning of its car manufacturing. The most famous one is the Japanese hybrid system, which improves thermal efficiency while reducing exhaust emissions. , it is precisely because of this that in the increasingly stringent domestic emission environment, hybrid models have ushered in the spring. After all, judging from the current conditions, electric vehicle technology and supporting facilities are imperfect and have many limitations in daily use. As a transitional model, hybrids are undoubtedly the best choice. They have no limitations and have low fuel consumption. As we all know, the two giants in the hybrid field are Toyota and Honda. Who is stronger? The old master will tell you: Toyota always brags, but Honda is really awesome! As we all know, Toyota is the earliest car company to develop hybrid technology, so later there are two types of hybrid cars, one is Toyota's THS system, and the other is other hybrids. It can be seen that Toyota is in the hybrid field. It is indeed deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. But some views will change over time. Although Toyota's hybrid developed earlier, it has not made progress in so many years, while Honda's hybrid started late, but it has been making progress.
The core of Toyota's THS hybrid system is its E-CVT planetary gear. It is precisely because of this set of gears that this system can achieve a variety of power matching according to different working conditions. It relies on the electric motor to drive at low speeds and the engine to drive at high speeds. When the engine drives the vehicle, the excess power charges the battery. This is how Toyota's THS system is implemented. The advantage is to make the Atkinson engine work in the high-efficiency range as much as possible, that is, starting at around 2,000 rpm. However, in real-life road conditions, there are many times when there are very congested roads where such road conditions are not available. This makes THS not reach the ideal working condition sometimes.
First, let’s take a look at the differences between Honda’s hybrid and Toyota’s THS. Honda's hybridization was not achieved overnight. In fact, Honda's original hybrid was IMA. Because Toyota has applied for a patent for the core "planetary gear" of the hybrid, latecomers can only use other methods. At first, Honda used the relatively simple "IMA" hybrid, which added a small engine to the transmission system. The power motor plays a power assist role, similar to other hybrids on the market at that time. Because this system has no obvious effect on power and fuel consumption, Honda has not vigorously promoted it.
Until the emergence of Honda i-MMD, Honda had a hybrid system that could truly compete with Toyota's THS. Because Toyota has blocked the patented technology of planetary gears, Honda must find another way, which results in the two completely different ways of realizing hybridization. Honda's i-MMD also claims to have an E-CVT, but its E-CVT is not a gearbox in the traditional sense. It is composed of a generator, an electric motor and an electronically controlled clutch, and is not a transmission mechanism. It is a set of power switching mechanism. To be precise, it is a switching mechanism between the electric motor and the engine output, and the engine output does not have speed change but uses a direct connection method. The beauty of this hybrid is that it makes full use of the advantages of the electric motor and engine.
We all know that electric motors are more efficient at low speeds because they can release maximum torque when starting, while engines are the opposite of electric motors. They are more efficient at medium and high speeds, so Honda's i-MMD Just make clever use of these two points. Use the electric motor to drive as much as possible at low speeds. If the battery is insufficient, the engine will start, but at this time the engine will not participate in driving the vehicle, but will drive the generator to generate electricity to provide electric energy to the electric motor. This is similar to the range extender. For electric vehicles, the advantage of this is that the engine will be able to run in an efficient speed range when it starts. After the vehicle enters a high speed, the electric motor will no longer output power, and the engine will directly output power using a direct connection method. This not only reduces mechanical losses and makes the engine more efficient in the high-speed range, but the excess power can also charge the battery.
It can be seen that although the implementation methods of the two are different, they both ultimately achieve the work of making the engine more efficient. The representative models currently equipped with these two hybrid systems are undoubtedly the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. In terms of the driving experience of the power system, the Accord is obviously better than the Camry. In addition to almost the same driving smoothness, the power response and fuel consumption performance are also the same. In terms of performance, the Accord equipped with i-MMD has surpassed the THS Camry.
Comment: Toyota's hybrid is indeed very powerful, fuel-efficient and highly reliable, but Toyota's THS has actually not seen any substantial improvement for many years, while Honda has invested less in hybrid from IMA to i-MMD. and research have been witnessed in the industry in recent years, and judging from the current performance of these two hybrid systems, if Toyota's hybrid is still incomparable to other hybrids, this statement It's inevitable that it's a bit exaggerated. And Honda broke through the patent lock to develop its own hybrid system. I have to say that Honda is really good at technology. Personally, I think the two hybrid systems have their own merits. Toyota's THS has better reliability and smoothness, while Honda's i-MMD has better fuel consumption and power, and its reliability needs to be verified by the market. The above is the old master's point of view, I hope it will be helpful to you!
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This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.