Not really, Tharg. Using an ICE engine to charge a battery is very inefficient. The lower the electrical load on the engine the better the fuel consumption will be. An ICE uses energy to accelerate and that energy is wasted in friction and heat under braking. Any system that recovers and reuses that energy has to be good. A battery is just a convenient way of doing it. In fact my non-hybrid (of an sort) X1 puts energy back into the battery under braking in Eco Pro mode. I’ve no idea how it does it but the eco gauge shows it happening.
I do think I agree with most of your points, but there are some interesting developments coming from Nissan. Below is a quote from Whatcar about the new Nissan Qashqai. I’m guessing that in this case, it must be more effeicent or they would never have done it?
“The second engine choice is a new e-Power unit, which uses a 188bhp 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor. Unlike a conventional hybrid system, which continuously switches between the car’s engine and the electric motor, the e-Power system is a range extender setup that uses the electric motor to drive the car almost all of the time. The engine is purely there to top up the battery, although the car can travel for up to 1.8 miles on pure electric power. “
Previous Motability Cars
2006 - 2009 Skoda Superb VR6 2.0tdi
2009 - 2012 Citroen C5 2.0tdi VTR Nav
2012 - 2015 Nissan Qashqai 1.5dci tekna
2015 - 2018 Ford Kuga 2.0tdi Titanium X
2018 - 2021 BMW 220d X drive 2 Series Active Luxury
2021 - 2023 Hyundai Kona Electric Premium SE
2023 - Hyundai Kona Electric Ultimate