this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2026
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I used to think hybrids must be more complex because they're gas + EV. And more complex usually means less reliable.
I just learned very recently that that's not the case — for Toyota, anyway. Their hybrids are actually generally considered more reliable than their traditional gas cars, these days.
They deleted the starter and alternator. And the transmission, an e-CVT (which is nothing like the shitty CVTs that many people are familiar with), is dead simple and more reliable than even a manual transmission.
Also, I find brake pedal very interesting, because it actually feels completely normal and UNinteresting.
My only experience with regenerative breaking before was when I drove someone's Tesla. Letting my foot off the "gas" pedal felt like braking, and the brake pedal was only needed for hard, emergency braking.
In Toyota hybrids, the gas and brake pedals feel absolutely normal and familiar, despite most of the braking actually being regenerative 🤯.
There's probably more cool engineering that I have yet to discover. I just bought my Toyota like 2 weeks ago 🙂
(Note: Many manufacturers make hybrids differently, and there are plenty of shitty ones. Also, plug-in hybrids are pretty different, and generally less reliable.)
calling it an e-CVT is almost certainly a marketing mistake, because of how bad CVTs are in automotive service.
Well they've been making e-CVTs since the '90s. It seems like the other CVTs entered the market and ruined things.
The thing you’re describing is a setting in our Bolt EV: in “one pedal driving” mode you just lift your foot off the gas and the car begins braking. You get maximum regenerative braking this way because the car is never allow to just lose everything to air resistance. Or you can turn this off and the brakes behave like any other car.
I only drive in OPD mode now. It’s so simple and easy to get used to. We still have a gas car too and I will switch back and forth without issue.
Oh I have no issues with OPD. I think it's pretty cool. I was just trying to explain why the Toyota's brakes surprised me. They feel just like friction brakes, despite the actual breaking being mostly done with regen.
It's probably nothing special to most people, but I think it's interesting
When I bought my car I looked into the lowest lifetime cost of ownership vehicles because I was sick of my previous car breaking all the time. Priuses won by a lot between longevity, low repair needs, and fuel efficiency. Unfortunately that means they had high resale value so I went with something I could comfortably buy cash, so I went with something else small and reliable.
These days I'm more inclined towards full electric, but if I needed gas I'd prioritize hybrids
Yep, I had similar criteria in mind: Reliability, low maintenance, and within budget (no loans/debt). Mine's not a Prius, but I've noticed that used Toyotas in general tend to be pricier than other comparable cars.
I was actually in the market for an EV, initially. I assumed EVs would be more reliable due to simpler powertrains, fewer moving parts, fluids, etc. Sadly, my assumption was wrong. The EV category ranked lower than traditional gas cars, in terms of reliability.
IIRC, the rankings are:
(I might be able to dig up sources for this later, if it's still in my browser history.)
Of course, these are broad generalizations, and there are some exceptions at each level.