17 February

Nissan has come up with a new type of very interesting hybrid. Instead of the petrol and electric motors working together, the petrol motor only functions as a generator for the electric motors and battery. This gives people an EV driving experience, because only the electric motors are driving the wheels. Toyota does this a bit with its hybrids as well, the petrol engine sometimes acts as a generator too. And the electric motors also sometimes drive the wheels by themselves. But it also drives the two motors together (so well that most of the time you don't notice). Nissan wanted people to have a full EV driving-type experience, so has used a different approach. (Testing suggests the Toyotas are still more efficient.)