PHEV: The truth about buying a plug-in hybrid EV. Is it worth the $$$? | Auto Expert John Cadogan

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[Roman-reyg]

I drive a 2017 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. In the last 22, 000 km I have used an average of 1.4 L gas /100km. I live in a cold Canadian climate and the onboard gas generator comes in very handy at -30 Celsius. Not all phev are equal but the Volt is like having a pure EV for all daily commutes and a very efficient long range vehicle with no range anxiety. Brilliant drive train.

[davesutherland]

I have had a RAV4 Prime for a year and it meets all expectations. I charge it every night to the level required for next day. I get the advertised EV range (or frequently more). On long trips the highway fuel economy exceeds the rating not only that of the prime, but also the rating of the standard hybrid (dispute the heavy battery). On a trip with 10 hours of driving we fill up once. My wife and I take turns driving and have about 30 minutes of non driving time. I have no idea what the city fuel economy is as I virtually never travel in that mode.

While I agree it takes a good chunk of the vehicles life (which will be 12 years if it is as reliable as my previous vehicles) to pay back the price premium, the rebates I got reduce that to a few years.

Bottom line, if you charge it daily and your daily driving is typically in the EV range, or only slightly over that range, it does everything the proponents say it does. In addition, if you are comparing a PHEV to an EV, don’t forget the battery in a EV with good range can make 3 or 4 PHEVs. If used the way I use mine, the 3 or 4 PHEV will get a lot more emission reductions than a single EV.

However, a similar argument to the one above can be made that the current EV production use more battery resources than required to make all cars standard hybrids, and that could have a 25% to 35% emissions reduction, far more that achieved by the current fleet of EVs or PHEV.

[KayakKiwi_Peter]

A very fair and accurate review. I've just bought an Outlander PHEV for exactly the reasons you describe. The 20kw battery was the clincher. I reckon I can get about 80% savings

[sjion]

John, you are one of the only Youtubers I can think of that thanks people for watching at the end of your videos & it comes across as very genuine & old fashioned in a good way. Respect 👍
Oh, the video was pretty good too 😉

[martinhunt]

Really well done piece. I was impressed you mentioned all the stuff about energy security and backup power for your house at the end. You basically ran through my entire thought process around buying the new Outlander PHEV. It’s a bit depressing I will have to drive 70, 000 k’s before I break even, yes I do have solar. I will also get the Dendo Drive House system at some point allowing me to use the car as a battery for my home, which may allow additional economic benefits.

[SkaBob]

Yes our PHEV has been great and cut our gas usage by 3/4. My subaru got 300 miles on a tank (11-12 gallons), our Niro PHEV gets 900-1000 miles on a tank (8-9 gallons). Didn't notice how much time I was wasting at gas station filling up 2 times a week, now it more like once every 12 days.

[andrezunido]

Prices on used PHEV vehicles are now quite reasonable. Bought a used Kia Niro PHEV 2022 model service vehicle for 31k EUR. That is far from the cheapest option, but having solar at home I felt like it just made sense to get a used PHEV. The Niro also ticks a lot of boxes for my use case, looking like a normal car and having a very nice cabin and overall build quality.
I live in Portugal, and here we also have a large solar and wind infrastructure, which gives us many days of 100% renewable during the year (lets not talk of roi for that infrastructure). That said, it has no spare wheel because that space is used by the battery, thankfully we have nothing comparable to the Australian outback here. Love your content John, greetings from the Iberian peninsula!

[gerrymccarthy]

Great video John, makes sense in AUS. Here in Ireland, my BMW X5 45e Sport cost €94k. The same car with the 30d engine, costs €120k. Exactly the opposite to where you are. It really makes sense to have the PHEV here, especially as about 80% of my driving is short journeys. I recently drove 136 km. 114.3km on battery.

[charlesholder]

Totally agree. I opted for the 7-seater version here in the UK, saved a lot of money and the extra seats have been useful. (Calling the car, a 7-seater is stretching the trades description act to breaking point). I avoided buying a diesel when they were all the rage on the same calculation as I only drive about 7, 000 miles a year. I am annoyed and upset to find Mitsubishi has pulled out of the UK and wondered if you could get me a new Outlander Cheap, please.

[bnewland]

Thank you for this review. I own a Prius Prime, at the time of purchase 2017 it was only $10, 000 over a Prius Hybrid, so pay back was faster. I have put 35, 000 miles on it with a total gas usage of 60 gallons. I plug in any time I pull in the garage. I have 8 kw of solar on my roof so free power. I love the car. The solar added $26, 000 to the deal. No free ride.

[hal]

Perfect sum up of the situation, one of Johns best video's to date.

[jasonlewis]

I try having this conversation with people and it just falls on deaf ears. They 100% believe it'll save them money and the car is better for the environment regardless of any facts or figures I show them

[napoleonnz]

I'm pleased to read this common sense from you as I'm in the market for a new car and your logical advice is appreciated as I go through the options. I'm not sure if you mentioned the additional depreciation due to the higher initial price of a PHEV as another cost factor, probably some $2K per year. It sharpens the mind when you are actually in the market and thinking carefully about how you will use the vehicle. In my case I'm now leaning more toward an economical small hybrid SUV (non plug-in) such as a Toyota Yaris Cross or Kia Niro Hybrid. I think petrol will be with us a long time yet to service the existing fleet and IMHO will remain affordable as demand falls after this current supply blip.

[angfam]

I just bought the new Outlander PHEV 1 month ago in NZ. I can do all my weekday driving in EV mode, and can easily do motorway speeds without the need for the petrol engine engaging.
After 1700km, I’ve averaged 1.6L/100km.
I plan to keep this car for 10 years, which is the length of the warranty if i keep getting it serviced by Mitsubishi. So I’d hope I’ve recovered the cost difference this has over the ICE model by then.
But it’s not just the petrol savings that should be considered when looking at the price difference between PHEV & ICE models.
With the electric motors, the PHEV surges out of corners, giving a much greater driving pleasure than the ICE model.

[sticustom]

We all remember where to hit the glass after your comprehensive report on exploding sunroofs. Hehehehe

[adamcoe]

Very good review. In Canada it actually makes a lot more sense as the price difference between the ICE only and PHEV models is much closer, and the average person drives a fair bit more. Most leases for example are based on 16K-20K a year, meaning that even if you had to make back that same 17 grand, for a lot of people that's less than 4 years (and as I say, it's actually much less than $17K although I'm not sure how the exchange compares). There is also currently (summer 2023) a 5 thousand dollar credit from the federal gov't (with some provinces adding additional credits) to buy a hybrid or PHEV so that definitely gets you into the savings that much faster. Really digging the Outlander and I'm thinking about pulling the trigger this year if I can find a buyer for my F150.

[ashrafmraish]

Good convincing report, thank you for your time to educate us. Your discussion always based on facts and physics. You efforts are highly appreciated. If you don't mind would you kindly tell us the difference between plug in hybrid and hybrid and in case we want to choose which is the best between both.
Thank you again, have a great day. Sincerely.

[scottwills]

good balanced review. I have a Mercedes A250e saloon and it does 45 miles per charge. I have done 10k miles in a year and 7k of them were electric only. One thing on the price - if the residuals of both cars were 50% in 3 years you would only need 30K km to break even. For now I think PHEV's are a good balance and a "gateway drug" to full EV later. The C300e Mercedes does 65miles electric only which is close to the original Leaf, i3 and Zoe range!

[stylecrate]

Would you have a different view now with the PHEVs qualifying for FBT exemption? Looking at the PHEV Sorento but with the high price and also high servicing costs with short 10k intervals...

[preptplus]

Thank you to all the commentators. Thank you John for your vlog which allows people to make comments. I find reading the comments useful and interesting. I love my PHEV Outlander which we bought pre-owned. Most of our driving is commuting and short trips but with occasional long trips (300kms) so having the ICE is a great back up.