Myth Buster- Normal petrol cars get their worst fuel economy in town driving

Normal petrol cars get their worst fuel economy in town driving. Hybrids do better there, because they collect energy otherwise wasted when you slow down, then in accelerating can re-use that captured electrical energy instead of burning more petrol.

- By Paul Horrell

Normal petrol cars get their worst fuel economy in town driving. Hybrids do better there, because they collect energy otherwise wasted when you slow down, then in accelerating can re-use that captured electrical energy instead of burning more petrol. But when speed is roughly constant on faster main roads, hybrid tech does very little to help.

Because of that improvement in urban economy, people say, "Half my driving is in town so I should get a hybrid." Usually they're wrong. Because half the time they spend driving is in town, not half the distance.