It is rather interesting to see people argue and yet can't come to a simple conclusion. To make it easy to explain, a full hybrid system means the electric motor can propel the on its own without the aid of the engine. It can also move the car from a standstill and run completely on battery alone. That is the Prius.

The Insight cannot move from standstill without assistance from the engine as the integrated motor is not powerful enough to do so. The integrated motor is to assist the engine and not replace it totally like the Prius. It only can run on the electric motor for very short distance on cruising speed and this confuses most people as they can't tell the difference between the 2 technology.

These are the only 2 important differences when it comes to hybrid, whether you can power from 0km/h with or without assistance from the engine. These are the 2 biggest differences between hybrid systems that's worth discussing about.

The next gen Prius will add a 3rd element into the equation with the term Plug-in Hybrid where you can run 100% on a separate battery charged from home plug or charging station without the need of the engine (limited to below 25 mph).

This post has been edited by sleepwalker: Feb 23 2012, 10:32 PM