Are Plug-in Hybrids Utterly Pointless?

Plug-in hybrids give you the best of both worlds: electric-only, zero-emissions motoring, plus the reassurance of a long range. But if you use them incorrectly they can be absolutely awful. Rory explains why.

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[boothatron]

Definitely depends on your lifestyle and the trips you normally make. My PHEV gets me to work and back and takes care of 95% of my journeys. If I do go on a longer trip, I don't have to worry about charging. For me, it is the right choice!

[Daniel-jmhd]

I've had my A Class PHEV for over two years and it is perfect for my lifestyle. I get around 40 miles from the battery in the summer, less in the winter, but charge every 2-3 days. The petrol engine is normally only used on the motorway and the regeneration tops up the battery every time I slow down. It is a great stepping stone to full EV.

[TheLegendaryLinx]

I have a plug in hybrid, and its been a great experience. Picking up kids on all electric, hybrid for long distance. 600+ miles per fill up.

[Panthers]

I love my PHEV. I have a Audi Q5e, and its perfect for me. I live and work in a city, and charge every 1-2 days. My commute is 12 miles round trip, and a couple times a month i take a 50 mile drive. I fill up my tank every 5-6 months. its incredible, and i really like having the flexibility to fill up when needed.

[robertt]

Moral of the story: Like many things in life, know your usage/habits and do your research for what makes sense for your context. With cars, if you're predisposed to any "genre" of car, go for it, just know what you're getting into :) Great vid

[ronstarm]

I have an A3 with 35 mile battery range. Had it a year and currently sat at 7800 miles and 123mpg. That has included some long distance driving where I got 53mpg on a full charge over 250 miles and 42mpg with an empty battery for the same distance. I charge it everyday and it is perfect for my family and short commutes etc. For me, it is a stepping stone to full EV and a great option for local commutes and even the odd long distance.

[atechbuzz]

PHEV are a necessary option because you can make 4x the cars with the same battery materials. Also the way PHEV are used is better for the proper charge/discharge of the battery. If you find an employer that allows you to charge from an outlet at work, you don’t even need to plug in at home. Most peoples long drives will be few and far between, usually for vacation, and who wants to wait to charge a battery at that time when you could just gas up and go. PHEVs are brilliant.

[christianhalkjr]

Spot on. When your driving pattern is a combination of short daily runs and occasional long journeys the PHEV makes a lot of sense - when having a home charger. I do nine out of ten drives in electric mode. That translates into 1/3 of my total mileage.

[johnmckay]

Have to admit the aspect I hadn't thought of before is that they're even more useless for people without dedicated parking than a BEV. I've seen a lot of people suggesting then as a stepping stone if you don't have charging facilities to go full electric.
I'll also admit that I'd thought they were a pointless worst if both worlds option, but I know three people who use them as intended (charge at home every night, commute less than pure electric range) and they save 80 to 90% of their petrol usage.
I'd still recommend looking carefully at your actual usage and going for BEV if you can. It'd work for a lot of people who currently think it wouldn't.

[jeffreynichols]

My two bobs worth…, bought an Outlander PHEV a year ago. Fantastic car. My main town is 65km away. I normally arrive with 20ks still in the battery. Do my business, top up the battery at the local supermarket fast charger, and drive home. Over 6 weeks I was averaging 1.2 litres per 100 km. Over a 4 month period, with numerous 600k journeys, and filling the battery when I could at fast chargers on the way, I averaged 4.5 litres per 100 km. Pretty good stuff. No regret at all.

[MusicAutomation]

Any car's mpg performance varies drastically and continuously depending on how you drive it. I currently have an efficient ICE car and it shows anywhere between 10 mpg to 50 mpg depending on if I'm driving it like a race car vs. cruising steadily on the highway. I'm very interested in a PHEV because my daily driving is only around 20-30 miles and I could easily charge it at home and even while I'm at work. Seems great to me.

[CL-njzs]

PHEV is the perfect vehicle for single car owner. There's absolutely no range anxiety. Its perfect short trip and long trip car. You can go anywhere and dont have to worry about where to plug in or where to put gas. Sure youre lugging some unused weight but instead of buying 2 cars and maintain both and insure both, you can do just one.

[hereigoagain]

A common complaint about PHEVs is, "You'r dragging around the EV & Battery (or ICE) when you are using ice ICE (or EV) mode." On the flip side, EVs drag around a 1000 lb battery when you mostly drive less than 40 miles per day. Love the teddy shirt :)

[lukedornon]

I get what you're saying about the inefficiency of a battery pack that's never charged but with the advantage of regenerative braking most plug-ins are still more efficient than pure combustion vehicles. Mine is rated for 30mpg without electric while the equivalent regular model gets something like 24mpg.

[rob]

You don’t need home charger Rory. If you are daily commuting to work, and they have a healthy supply of chargers, that would be suffice! As a few of my colleagues own PHEV’s with no home chargers.
At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong to a purchase of BEV or PHEV’s. It comes down to 3 things:
✔️What suits your budget
✔️What is feasible for your lifestyle and
✔️What is convenient for your daily commute! 💥 ⚡️✨🔌 ⛽️
*PS:*
Love the teddy bear🐻top!🔝 Sometimes, life without a Teddy is like a face without a smile.😊🧸

[edwardwilson]

Very good, clear and concise explanation of the pros and cons of PHEV’s. I’ve got a BMW X2 PHEV and it is brilliant for my needs, as I am retired and most of my journeys are local. I have to accept that on long drives I have to revert to petrol but that’s fine.

[aloodena]

It is all about your routine/lifestyle. The main question is: how far do you usually travel between charges? In my case a plug-in hybrid was perfect for me. I had a commute of about 40 miles round trip every day to work. I purchased a Chevy volt that had a 42 mile (usually I got more) electric range + gas (36mpg). For months I would not have to fill the gas tank (8gal) because I would charge the car overnight every day and only really used gas on the rare long trips or extra driving I had to do during the week. If I had a 100+ mile commute or average drive between charging it would have made more sense to get a hybrid with the best gas mileage could get (50+mpg) or a long range all electric vehicle.

When my volt lease ran out, I was looking for another plug-in hybrid to buy but the volt was discontinued and there was not any hybrid at the time that fit my needs. So, I ended up buying a full electric car for my commute/every day driving and later buying a plug-in hybrid Crysler Pacifica Van for the wife. She now barely fills up her gas because on a normal day she does not go over the 30-mile electric range (conservative) of the Van while we use the Van for any very long trips we do (500-mile gas+electric range!) and my electric car for almost everything else.

My point is that plug-in hybrids will be a very good option for a large group of people until nearly all the advantages of gas cars are eliminated by full electric cars (probably around 10 year) and could still be a very good option for a small group of people beyond that. It is too bad many people won't see that.

[cubeflinger]

Love my Mercedes phev for cost efficiency. Most of my journeys are within electric range. Last motorway journey I did in non sport mode got me 65mpg with zero battery and I am happy with that.

[pbasswil]

Depends entirely on your driving needs. I'm considering picking up a used Prius Prime for around $20, 000 Canadian. The small plugin range will get me around my daily suburban local-errand range without firing up the gas engine. For occasional highway trips, gas economy will be twice that of, say, a compact ICE SUV.

[sifistaek]

I have an MG EHS (PHEV) which astonishingly manages to drive 40 miles on pure electricity pretty consistently. This means I almost never run out of battery as I live in the city and are charging every day at my company’s charging stations - where I can charge unlimited for a flat subscription fee every month. On months where I drive a lot I literally pay less than a third of what I would have paid in my previous Diesel car. I still like to have the option to go on a car trips through Europe and that’s what makes the PHEV perfect for me.