Patent ID: 8068946

Claim:
A hybrid vehicle comprising: an internal combustion engine as a first power source; an electric motor as a second power source that drives front wheels and rear wheels independently from each other; an Electric Vehicle switch that, when turned on, places the vehicle in an Electric Vehicle driving mode in which only the electric motor is used as the power source; and a four-wheel drive condition setting device that automatically sets a four-wheel drive condition, which is a condition for switching from two-wheel drive in which one set of wheels, from among the front wheels and the rear wheels, is driven to four-wheel drive in which both the front wheels and the rear wheels are driven, wherein a condition to change from the two-wheel drive to the four-wheel drive when the Electric Vehicle switch is on is different from a condition to change from the two-wheel drive to the four-wheel drive when the Electric Vehicle switch is off so that the four-wheel drive is less applicable when the Electric Vehicle switch is on than when the Electric Vehicle switch is off.