The hybrid brakes are decent but they take a while to get used to. Most of the initial deceleration is from the electric motors reversing and the friction brakes only get used as the car comes to a stop. In a hard panic stop, you have to hit the brakes harder than usual, otherwise the car feels like it won't stop in time. I've had a few hairy moments approaching pileups on the highway.

 

As has been said, in normal braking, most of the deceleration is from the regenerative braking and the normal, friction brakes only come on at the end.

When I first test-drove an ESh, I felt that the brakes were overly-sensitive, especially during the final transition from regenerative braking to normal, friction braking. I would press the brake pedal as I normally would to slow down and stop, and maintain the pressure on the pedal. If I maintained the same pressure, just as the car was about to come to a complete stop, there would be a sudden jerk as the friction brakes took over and I would be thrown into the seatbelt.

But as I learned to let up the pressure as I was about to stop, the transition would be very smooth.

Although you can drive a Hybrid as you do a normal car, there are some differences you need to be aware to drive smoothly.

 

The human mind is amazing. After a couple of times, one does not even think about this.