A pure petrol car may not be the mainstay of sales for much longer, but how can we use technology to wean ourselves off oil?

After last week's EV pragmatic lovefest, Matt raised the subject of hybrids. With almost every sector from luxury saloons to city cars now having a hybrid offering, are they the best option right now?

There are a number of different types of hybrids available: parallel hybrids where petrol and electric power can work individually or together; range-extending hybrids which use the engine to power the electric motors rather than the wheels; and finally, plug-in hybrids which can be either of the above but with additional battery capacity which can be charged - the vehicle can run solely on electricity for a while, with a fuel backup for when the batteries runs out.

If a Tesla is cold turkey, then a hybrid is like a nicotine patch for our addiction to petrol. EVs have a gorgeous mechanical simplicity compared to the watch movement-like nature of the internal combustion engine, but combining the two increases complexity and provides more things to fail. Hybrids are currently hamstrung by the bulk of the batteries they need to carry around, which adds weight and can reduce interior space. Increased weight means increased energy consumption under acceleration and stiffer suspension to keep that mass under control.

Normally it'd be hard to compare hybrid and non-hybrid cars like for like, but Porsche has given us a great comparison in the Cayenne S and Cayenne S Hybrid. The headline is that while the hybrid is 0.6 seconds slower to 60, it has more torque, is 13mpg better on the urban cycle (7.4 mpg better on the combined) but is 175kg heavier. It's worth noting that this is not comparing two cars with the same engine - the hybrid has a smaller lump with electric assistance. They're effectively pitched at the same performance target, but that performance is achieved in two different ways.

Oh, and while the Hybrid is £4,000 more at the dealership, the DVLA will currently charge you £325 less in the first year for road tax, then £190 less each year afterwards...

One other interesting thought is that while petrol engines generally need two or three thousand revs on the tacho to get into the torque band, and maybe double that to get to peak power, electric motors can produce maximum torque from a standstill. A hybrid package could be used to provide more low-down torque to accompany the top-end petrol-driven power. Given their work on hybrids, would you rule out Porsche doing this for the 911 hybrid?

At the end of my previous blog, I said the problems with electric vehicles will be solved with time. At the moment, big, heavy cars where the weight of hybrid is less of a factor and gains in emissions are useful to help bring a manufacturer's averages down, are the natural fit to prove hybrid technology and start providing economies of scale to bring the cost of technology down to a price where the premium would be small. With the price of fuel rising, hybrids will become more attractive to reduce running costs. Plug-in hybrids will get us used to the idea of regularly charging our cars, and as higher current charging points become more widespread, more and more people will drop the motor with hundreds of moving parts, regular maintenance and flammable liquids under high pressure, for the motor with just one moving part.

And no cambelt.

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