How To Drive A PHEV Properly (Plug-In Hybrid - High MPG)

Whether you like them or not, they're here so let's show people how to get the most out of one. The majority I speak to, most definitely don't!

#skodaphev #skodasuperb #superbphev

[garymatthews]

Things I’ve learned from a 2017 Volt. Keep it in electric only mode when you are going slow or when your round trip is less than your range. Use Regen braking all of the time. For longer trips and when you are on the highway, save the battery and run on gas because you’d otherwise use the battery range up faster. Also, you’ll get better mileage in the flats. If you have a lot of hills you will use your battery quicker. Also, besides heating the cabin while you’re plugged in, put a couple of pounds of extra air in your tires.

[pppscooby]

With the way ev sales are going i think phev is the way to go, public chargers are not springing up fast enough and tesla aside don’t appear to be that easy to use, so given i do less than 20 miles a day with the odd long trip every 3 months or so i think phev is the the safest way to not be stressed about range for those long trips.

[rixmale]

Thank you! As an American, it baffles me that more people don't use these cars!! My boss let's me charge at work, so I use VERY LITTLE gas. I fill up once a month. (And it's 27 miles to work.)

[iantrott]

An excellent video :)

After four years with a Leaf last year I had to get an Outlander PHEV as that was what was offer with Motability.

I drive it mostly as an EV, over the last 18 months and 16, 500 miles I’ve averaged 230mpg which isn’t bad from a large tractor :)

[thesingingshade]

Great Video for those who are sitting on the fence about whether to go ev or phev Very informative

[peterjones]

I have a PHEV and I regularly do a 100 mile round trip journey ( no ability to charge for the return journey) and I get depending upon the time of year between 75 to 85 mpg, using the petrol engine when the car is moving at a steady constant speed and the EV mode during acceleration, or otherwise when the engine would be working hard ( on hills etc). The advertised electric range of the car ( Ioniq) is 39 miles the best I have done is 35 miles ( non motorway mix of urban and single A roads). The display only registers up to 99.9mpg so can never see how much better I could do.

[TheophilusPWildbeest]

I've got a bmw 330e, I use the battery save function (set at 100%) as a button to switch to petrol when I think I need to. This is important because I know what other journeys I'm going to make in the day, so sometimes I switch to petrol even when hybrid mode doesn't want to, but it means I've got battery available for my journey home later in the day.
As you said, I always make sure I get home with minimum battery left, very important that. Last week I had to fill it up for the first time since August, I got 199.2 mpg, but mind I hadn't been very far due to lockdown etc, just work and back mostly.
And all this switching modes is good fun, it adds a whole new dimension to driving when you can totally change the car's behaviour from smooth electric, to eco-hybrid, to hybrid, to petrol, to sport (which is petrol and electric together). Other cars can't do that!

[philwolski]

"Arriving home with a half full battery is ridiculous". 100% spot on! Similarly, preserving charge in case you might LATER go into a Zero emission zone is ridiculous (where in the UK do we have zero emission zones?). I typically do under 100 miles per day in my PHEV, so rarely do I leave EV mode. I charge up every night and my Mazda CX60 delivers at least 88 MPG even on my longest (100 mile) regular journey. My one caution with PHEVs; do check before signing up to an EV electricity tariff that you will genuinely benefit. A PHEV has a small battery compared to a full EV. In my case, it was cheaper to stay on a 37p/kWh tariff than switch to 12p/kWh overnight and 40p/kWh daytime as my other electricity requirements are disproportionately higher than those for charging my car. To be fair, I do have a hot tub, and a large house, but do the sums.

[keithware]

A very good informative video for the unitiated. I use the same tactics on my PHEV to get the best results and of course always plug in at home. Thanks.

[peterball]

During lockdown I got over 500mpg on my Outlander PHEV. Commute 8 miles each way. Love your reaction when the engine started, not range but fuel anxiety, a common experience with PHEVs.

[Soepsliert]

When getting on a dual carriageway I usually leave it in electric mode until getting to speed, because accelerating in petrol is less efficient than on electricity. This also ensures that the petrol engine can warm up in a nice relaxed fashion instead of requiring full power when it's still cold. Average fuel consumption in our Passat GTE is about 70 km/L (1.6 L/100km, don't know what that is in mpg from the top of my head).

[chuckstang]

I love my Ford Escape (kuga) PHEV. I commute between 20-30 miles each way to work in Los Angeles. My latest tank of gas ( 89 octane) was Feb 4th. It is now May 21st. I still have 51 miles on the gas tank. I drive in eco mode always. I use the regenerative braking and engine as much as possible. I drive between 55-65 miles per hour unless I have traffic.
Currently, I have 2374 miles on this tank averaging 247 miles per gallon. The escape was supposed to get 37 miles per battery charge but I seem to be doing quite a bit better. I drive it in a normal fashion but I am still careful like I was with my Ford Taurus. I got a fully loaded Ford Escape for the price of a base, plain Toyota rave 4 prime and I couldn’t be happier with my choice. I drove the rav 4 and didn’t like the feel of the transmission. The ford is smoother. And I got all the goodies I wouldn’t have gotten with the Rav 4

[itsfahys]

Some great advice there on driving a phev, particularly about Pre Heating or Pre Cooling the car, which will stop the Petrol Engine coming on to warn the car on a Cold Day, and also to use the Full EV range every day and plug in again every night. Was doing some calculation and the Ioniq Plug In Pre 2019 model has a rough range of 50km which doesnt sound like much, but i rarely do more than that most days with commuting to work. Thats a potential range on Electric of 350km a week with only charging it once overnight or roughly 1, 400km a Month or up to 18, 200km a year on Electric potentially. You could also Plug In the Car at work or other Slow Charger locations during the day to extend that range even further. Now most PCP deals give an allowance of 15, 000km a year, so you can start to see where it can work. I personally do longer Trips at the Weekend into areas of the West of Ireland where charging is a bit limited, or there may be other reasons like travelling with Time Deadlines where you dont want to stop to charge for 40min or dealing with Broken or ICED chargers. The downsize though is efficiency when using the Petrol Engine isnt going to be great as your carrying around a Petrol Engine, Electric Motor, Gas Tank, Battery and all the Electronics that go to manage all this complexity. Id also imagine Servicing is going to be costly if anything is gone wrong, so id definately be looing fora car well within its Warranty otherwise could prove very costly. Thanks again for a great video.

[hankthetank]

Finally! Someone who know’s what they are talking about regarding PHEV’s. We have a Kia Niro Hybrid and can’t afford a BEV so I’m thinking a PHEV could be the most affordable option. We only use our car for school runs in the week and the occasional drive to in-laws and family and friends. The weekly school run is a 16 mile round trip. The only downside is we can’t charge at home. I would be interested to see what a PHEV would be like to live with if you can’t charge at home.
I’ve subscribed to your channel to see what other vids you have.

[mrholloway]

I've had an Outlander PHEV for 2 and a half years and over that time it has returned an average of 52 mpg and 3.7 miles per kwh. Its plugged in overnight and much of my driving is short local trips. I've been using it as described in this video. Currently part exchanging it for a new all electric MG5 Long Range

[Spyder]

After watching a couple videos and being on the fence about going electric or not, I think you've convinced me, hybrid is the way to go. Thanks man, now to see what PHEV is right for me.

[randalllewis]

Great video. Toyota RAV4 Prime is my PHEV. Great car and with an electric range in the summer of as much as 55 miles. This covers 90 percent or so of my weekly driving, so much that I haven't bought GAS SINCE April. I live where gas is expensive, and electricity is cheap, which makes PHEV an even better option. The ability to charge at home is really important to making PHEV and full EV work best, but I always recommend hybrids over pure ICE cars for everyone.

[uTPH]

Had my used 2017 Prius PHV for 9 months. 5600 miles total at average 285mpg. Key tips: Always plug in at home, don't take any unused battery home, use EV in traffic, pre-condition (cool or warm) if you can, keep climate control at a minimum to be comfortable. 4.9miles/kWh is very good - most I have got is 4.4 in the summer.

[homomorphic]

When I had my Volt (Ampera to you chaps) I drove almost exclusively on battery. I typically only visited the gas station once every 1500-2000 miles. That is basically what is known as "maintenance mode" (running the ICE enough to keep it from seizing up) and I had a 80 mile per day commute at the time.

[philmbridges]

I have a Toyota Prius Phev, and i love it! Looking to fill up with petrol every 4 months. Saving a fortune on diesel! Drives superb and excellent in all areas. The trick is, just charge it up, as you state. My last car was a Jaguar.