Mild hybrid cars— 1,252 cars

What makes a mild hybrid car.

A mild hybrid is a combustion car with a 48-volt belt-driven starter-generator in place of the alternator. It cannot drive on electricity alone — the electric motor is typically 11 to 25 hp — but it recovers energy under braking, lets the engine switch off while coasting and at a standstill, and fills the torque gap the moment you pull away. The result is a smoother, quieter drivetrain and a measurable fuel saving, without a charging cable and without changing anything about how the car is used.

Because the hardware is small and self-managing, mild hybrid systems spread quickly across mainstream ranges: Mercedes EQBoost, Audi and Volkswagen 48V, BMW 48V, Ford EcoBoost Hybrid. The saving is real but modest — a few percent in mixed use, more in stop-start traffic — so a mild hybrid is best understood as a better petrol or diesel car, not as a step toward electrification. Buyers who want to drive on electricity should look at full hybrids or plug-in hybrids instead.

• 01Drivers who want lower fuel bills without changing their routine at all
• 02Stop-start commuting, where the engine-off and restart cycles pay back most
• 03Buyers who cannot charge at home and rule out a plug on that basis
• 04Anyone replacing an older petrol or diesel and wanting the same car, refined
• 05Company cars in markets where a small CO₂ reduction changes the tax band