Are plug-in hybrids worth considering?
Discussion
andrewburton said:
Effectively PHEVs are for company drivers. That is where the saving is. Huge reduction in BIK.
Using my own money and planning on keeping a car over along time I would not have one.
There are no savings to be made for a private buyer when you factor in the bork potential.
Rubbish. Don’t plan to keep my car out of warranty, EV, Hybrid or ICE so borkage irrelevant. Financially it may not make sense, it depends if the fuel saving outweighs the extra cost of the car.Using my own money and planning on keeping a car over along time I would not have one.
There are no savings to be made for a private buyer when you factor in the bork potential.
dmsims said:
But if you use a compatible charger you can use any BEV
Oh if thats the case, it makes BEV suddenly a lot more desirable, for someone like me who uses most of their energy during the day. wyson said:
That tariff is limited regarding the chargers and cars it will work with. Of the cars on the OP’s hit list, only the Cupra Born is compatible.
https://www.ovoenergy.com/electric-cars/charge-any...
Knew there had to be a catch, sounded too good to be true.
https://www.ovoenergy.com/electric-cars/charge-any...
Knew there had to be a catch, sounded too good to be true.
Hopefully, this kind of tariff becomes standard across energy suppliers. As far as I see, only OVO are offering it. Given how many of them are failing, it would be a bit of a risk to trigger a BEV purchase based on a single tariff bolt on from a single company.
Edited by wyson on Saturday 30th September 10:57
Dashnine said:
Rubbish. Don’t plan to keep my car out of warranty, EV, Hybrid or ICE so borkage irrelevant. Financially it may not make sense, it depends if the fuel saving outweighs the extra cost of the car.
We have one too and it is great. But like I said, I would not want to keep it a long time, I.e. outside of warranty!Not everyone can afford a new car.
Would anyone like a 7 year old JLR PHEV?
Edited by andrewburton on Saturday 30th September 07:59
Sorry OP, I am not being very helpful.
We have a Suzuki Across.
It will do 50 miles on a 15kwh charge.
52mpg without a charge.
42mpg without a charge and touring Europe with a huge roofbox.
300bhp
Comfortable and surprisingly quick.
Coming up to 3 years old. Suzuki will warranty it upto 7 years, 100,000 miles as long it is serviced by them.
Outside of warranty I would not want it.
Can be easily bought for under 30k.
Rav4, 10 year warranty, under 100,000 miles.
We have a Suzuki Across.
It will do 50 miles on a 15kwh charge.
52mpg without a charge.
42mpg without a charge and touring Europe with a huge roofbox.
300bhp
Comfortable and surprisingly quick.
Coming up to 3 years old. Suzuki will warranty it upto 7 years, 100,000 miles as long it is serviced by them.
Outside of warranty I would not want it.
Can be easily bought for under 30k.
Rav4, 10 year warranty, under 100,000 miles.
clockworks said:
The economy numbers quoted for hybrids really confuse me.
They then go on to say it takes 4.5 hours to recharge using a 7kW home charger. That would be 30 kWH? On a standard rate tariff, more expensive than running on petrol.
That’s because although the charger can supply up to 7kW of power, it doesn’t mean the car charges at 7kW. Ours will only charger at 3.6kW on a 7kW charger. It will do something like 7.2kW on a two phase charger if you can find one. So it’s slow. But it only puts in the energy it needs, so it’s much cheaper than a petrol car. They then go on to say it takes 4.5 hours to recharge using a 7kW home charger. That would be 30 kWH? On a standard rate tariff, more expensive than running on petrol.
clockworks said:
Doing 6000 miles a year, half on electric, that would save less than £200 a year. Would that even cover the extra insurance cost, let alone the higher purchase price or potential "luxury car" road tax supplement because it cost more to buy than the petrol equivalent?
Saving money by buying a car never makes sense. They depreciate which swamps any saving. Compared to an ICE the running cost savings are not massive, but they are there. Going from a 5 year old 190bhp diesel to a brand new 455bhp hybrid our insurance increased to £500, so not exactly earth shatteringly expensive. The non hybrid version of our car still attracts luxury tax - you don’t have to try very hard to spend more than £40k (list) on a new car now sadly. clockworks said:
Then there's the reduction in mpg when running on petrol because of the extra weight, and the cost of getting a charger installed.
Obviously hybrids make bigger savings driving in urban areas because of regenerative braking. Wouldn't really work that way with my usage.
Seems to me that plug-in hybrids only make financial sense for urban users on a cheap tariff, or for the bik savings, or if it cost the same to buy as the petrol version secondhand.
I disagree. We live in a rural village, and getting anywhere involves using NSL roads. There is no reduction in MPG because of anything - the MPG of ours running purely on petrol with a flat battery is better than the non hybrid equivalent of the same car, and vastly better than anything of comparable performance. Ours is an AWD SUV with 455bhp capable of 0-60 in 4.6s that we get 40mpg when the battery is flat - show me a petrol SUV that can do the same. It’s pretty much the same mpg of our old diesel SUV that was much slower, and I no longer have to faff with diesel. Obviously hybrids make bigger savings driving in urban areas because of regenerative braking. Wouldn't really work that way with my usage.
Seems to me that plug-in hybrids only make financial sense for urban users on a cheap tariff, or for the bik savings, or if it cost the same to buy as the petrol version secondhand.
They’re definitely not for everybody. They’re unlikely to save you so much money that you retire early and spend every holiday in the Caribbean. But they’re lovely to drive with a small saving in running costs rather than a cost penalty for that loveliness. For us it was in the same range of prices of other cars that we were considering.
How often do you get offered high performance, lovely to drive, lower running costs, and you’re not paying a premium for it? It was a no brainer for us. Others will have different priorities - each to their own. The only flies in the ointment for us are luxury car tax and having to plug it in every time we use it.
MrTrilby said:
I disagree. We live in a rural village, and getting anywhere involves using NSL roads. There is no reduction in MPG because of anything - the MPG of ours running purely on petrol with a flat battery is better than the non hybrid equivalent of the same car, and vastly better than anything of comparable performance. Ours is an AWD SUV with 455bhp capable of 0-60 in 4.6s that we get 40mpg when the battery is flat - show me a petrol SUV that can do the same. It’s pretty much the same mpg of our old diesel SUV that was much slower, and I no longer have to faff with diesel.
They’re definitely not for everybody. They’re unlikely to save you so much money that you retire early and spend every holiday in the Caribbean. But they’re lovely to drive with a small saving in running costs rather than a cost penalty for that loveliness. For us it was in the same range of prices of other cars that we were considering.
How often do you get offered high performance, lovely to drive, lower running costs, and you’re not paying a premium for it? It was a no brainer for us. Others will have different priorities - each to their own. The only flies in the ointment for us are luxury car tax and having to plug it in every time we use it.
XC60 T8? Interesting that it works for you in a rural setting. 40mpg is impressive, I struggled to get than on a run in a 3 litre diesel Touareg, and a 2 litre diesel Sportage was only slightly over 40mpg long term average.They’re definitely not for everybody. They’re unlikely to save you so much money that you retire early and spend every holiday in the Caribbean. But they’re lovely to drive with a small saving in running costs rather than a cost penalty for that loveliness. For us it was in the same range of prices of other cars that we were considering.
How often do you get offered high performance, lovely to drive, lower running costs, and you’re not paying a premium for it? It was a no brainer for us. Others will have different priorities - each to their own. The only flies in the ointment for us are luxury car tax and having to plug it in every time we use it.
The performance upgrade over the "basic" petrol versions is also welcome, and that's the reason why I was considering a plug-in hybrid.
However, it's not really "no premium", is it?
List price is £6k higher than petrol-only for the same trim. Doesn't the same premium apply pro rata as the car depreciates? Or did you get a stonking discount (or lease deal) compared to a petrol version?
clockworks said:
The economy numbers quoted for hybrids really confuse me.
I've read quite a few reviews where it's stated that a car will do 30 or 40 miles on the battery. That's fair enough, as the batteries in plug-ins tend to be 10 to 12 kWH, so getting 3 to 4 miles per kWH.
They then go on to say it takes 4.5 hours to recharge using a 7kW home charger. That would be 30 kWH? On a standard rate tariff, more expensive than running on petrol.
Real life numbers being quoted of 3 miles per kWH, 10p per mile on a standard tariff. 6p a mile cheaper than a 40mpg petrol car.
Doing 6000 miles a year, half on electric, that would save less than £200 a year. Would that even cover the extra insurance cost, let alone the higher purchase price or potential "luxury car" road tax supplement because it cost more to buy than the petrol equivalent?
Then there's the reduction in mpg when running on petrol because of the extra weight, and the cost of getting a charger installed.
Obviously hybrids make bigger savings driving in urban areas because of regenerative braking. Wouldn't really work that way with my usage.
Seems to me that plug-in hybrids only make financial sense for urban users on a cheap tariff, or for the bik savings, or if it cost the same to buy as the petrol version secondhand.
I’ve had hybrids and EVs and the headline grabbing figures are just that. I regularly see hybrids quoting 140mpg, I mean come on! If you’re doing a 100 mile journey at very best 30 miles of that will be (not that cheap anymore) electric, for the rest you will be pulling a heavy suv with a 2.0 petrol engine so you’ll be lucky to get 35/40mpg. I've read quite a few reviews where it's stated that a car will do 30 or 40 miles on the battery. That's fair enough, as the batteries in plug-ins tend to be 10 to 12 kWH, so getting 3 to 4 miles per kWH.
They then go on to say it takes 4.5 hours to recharge using a 7kW home charger. That would be 30 kWH? On a standard rate tariff, more expensive than running on petrol.
Real life numbers being quoted of 3 miles per kWH, 10p per mile on a standard tariff. 6p a mile cheaper than a 40mpg petrol car.
Doing 6000 miles a year, half on electric, that would save less than £200 a year. Would that even cover the extra insurance cost, let alone the higher purchase price or potential "luxury car" road tax supplement because it cost more to buy than the petrol equivalent?
Then there's the reduction in mpg when running on petrol because of the extra weight, and the cost of getting a charger installed.
Obviously hybrids make bigger savings driving in urban areas because of regenerative braking. Wouldn't really work that way with my usage.
Seems to me that plug-in hybrids only make financial sense for urban users on a cheap tariff, or for the bik savings, or if it cost the same to buy as the petrol version secondhand.
Hybrids are good for a specific purpose, ie, someone who does a lot of short journeys, with the very occasional long run. I have to do a 200 mile round trip every weekend and so we’ve dumped the hybrid (Outlander PHEV) and gone back to a diesel. Although the wife still has a iPace which is great for her as she only works 6 miles away, so charges it once every 2 or 3 weeks.
Richtea1970 said:
I’ve had hybrids and EVs and the headline grabbing figures are just that. I regularly see hybrids quoting 140mpg, I mean come on! If you’re doing a 100 mile journey at very best 30 miles of that will be (not that cheap anymore) electric, for the rest you will be pulling a heavy suv with a 2.0 petrol engine so you’ll be lucky to get 35/40mpg.
Hybrids are good for a specific purpose, ie, someone who does a lot of short journeys, with the very occasional long run. I have to do a 200 mile round trip every weekend and so we’ve dumped the hybrid (Outlander PHEV) and gone back to a diesel. Although the wife still has a iPace which is great for her as she only works 6 miles away, so charges it once every 2 or 3 weeks.
What you’ll find is the newer hybrids can figure out the most efficient time to use the battery or engine based on the map you input. Hybrids are good for a specific purpose, ie, someone who does a lot of short journeys, with the very occasional long run. I have to do a 200 mile round trip every weekend and so we’ve dumped the hybrid (Outlander PHEV) and gone back to a diesel. Although the wife still has a iPace which is great for her as she only works 6 miles away, so charges it once every 2 or 3 weeks.
Cut out the stuff that kills economy eg: Battery only at slow speeds, Petrol at high speeds.
Our hybrid will easily match a diesel but being petrol and electric it’s just a nicer driving experience.
Weight also doesn’t matter as much as people think for daily driving it’s definitely more aerodynamics.
MrTrilby said:
I disagree. We live in a rural village, and getting anywhere involves using NSL roads. There is no reduction in MPG because of anything - the MPG of ours running purely on petrol with a flat battery is better than the non hybrid equivalent of the same car, and vastly better than anything of comparable performance. Ours is an AWD SUV with 455bhp capable of 0-60 in 4.6s that we get 40mpg when the battery is flat - show me a petrol SUV that can do the same. It’s pretty much the same mpg of our old diesel SUV that was much slower, and I no longer have to faff with diesel.
Is that 40mpg average on a range of roads? That's pretty good. What's it like on a long motorway trip? I'm considering the XC60 T6clockworks said:
XC60 T8? Interesting that it works for you in a rural setting. 40mpg is impressive, I struggled to get than on a run in a 3 litre diesel Touareg, and a 2 litre diesel Sportage was only slightly over 40mpg long term average.
The performance upgrade over the "basic" petrol versions is also welcome, and that's the reason why I was considering a plug-in hybrid.
However, it's not really "no premium", is it?
List price is £6k higher than petrol-only for the same trim. Doesn't the same premium apply pro rata as the car depreciates? Or did you get a stonking discount (or lease deal) compared to a petrol version?
Yes, exactly that. They were offering it on 0% with around £9k off list, taking it to about the same as the non hybrid. I think they still are. And it's a much nicer car to drive. The performance upgrade over the "basic" petrol versions is also welcome, and that's the reason why I was considering a plug-in hybrid.
However, it's not really "no premium", is it?
List price is £6k higher than petrol-only for the same trim. Doesn't the same premium apply pro rata as the car depreciates? Or did you get a stonking discount (or lease deal) compared to a petrol version?
For various reasons it spent a week not being charged and my wife drove it Cambridge - Oxford return and got 40mpg out of it. And that's the lowest MPG we'll ever get from it in the conditions that favour a petrol/diesel (long distance easy driving). In the worst sort of conditions for diesel/petrol: short journeys from cold, the T8 doesn't use any petrol at all. Given that people seem to say the diesel XC60 averages mid 30s MPG, and the big petrol AWD XC60 averages high 20s to low 30s, I'm happy with that.
I also like that if it's raining in the morning and I don't want to cycle to work, I can jump in the car and I'm not worrying about short journeys nadgering up diesel emissions systems (our previous diesel would only just get the oil up to temperature after an 11 mile NSL commute), and I don't feel quite so guilty about the CO2 it's putting out. Especially since it's currently on charge from our solar panels.
MrTrilby said:
Yes, exactly that. They were offering it on 0% with around £9k off list, taking it to about the same as the non hybrid. I think they still are. And it's a much nicer car to drive.
For various reasons it spent a week not being charged and my wife drove it Cambridge - Oxford return and got 40mpg out of it. And that's the lowest MPG we'll ever get from it in the conditions that favour a petrol/diesel (long distance easy driving). In the worst sort of conditions for diesel/petrol: short journeys from cold, the T8 doesn't use any petrol at all. Given that people seem to say the diesel XC60 averages mid 30s MPG, and the big petrol AWD XC60 averages high 20s to low 30s, I'm happy with that.
I also like that if it's raining in the morning and I don't want to cycle to work, I can jump in the car and I'm not worrying about short journeys nadgering up diesel emissions systems (our previous diesel would only just get the oil up to temperature after an 11 mile NSL commute), and I don't feel quite so guilty about the CO2 it's putting out. Especially since it's currently on charge from our solar panels.
Makes good sense then if you wanted an XC60.For various reasons it spent a week not being charged and my wife drove it Cambridge - Oxford return and got 40mpg out of it. And that's the lowest MPG we'll ever get from it in the conditions that favour a petrol/diesel (long distance easy driving). In the worst sort of conditions for diesel/petrol: short journeys from cold, the T8 doesn't use any petrol at all. Given that people seem to say the diesel XC60 averages mid 30s MPG, and the big petrol AWD XC60 averages high 20s to low 30s, I'm happy with that.
I also like that if it's raining in the morning and I don't want to cycle to work, I can jump in the car and I'm not worrying about short journeys nadgering up diesel emissions systems (our previous diesel would only just get the oil up to temperature after an 11 mile NSL commute), and I don't feel quite so guilty about the CO2 it's putting out. Especially since it's currently on charge from our solar panels.
I just had a look, and they are still offering hefty discounts and 0% with a 50% deposit.
£69k for the top spec though, and that seems to be after the discount!
clockworks said:
Makes good sense then if you wanted an XC60.
I just had a look, and they are still offering hefty discounts and 0% with a 50% deposit.
£69k for the top spec though, and that seems to be after the discount!
I'm pretty sure that £69k is list price for the T8. We paid just over £60k.I just had a look, and they are still offering hefty discounts and 0% with a 50% deposit.
£69k for the top spec though, and that seems to be after the discount!
And yes, we wanted an XC60, for a number of reasons. A big one being that my wife had just walked away totally uninjured from her XC40 after it was written off by an HGV on the M11. Model Y was also up for consideration.
MrTrilby said:
We thought they made sense enough to buy one, for similar reasons that you are considering them. They're not all created equal so caveats apply but our reasoning was:
The weight thing seems a bit misleading - they're heavier than regular ICE cars, but about the same weight as the equivalent EV. So whilst you might be carrying the weight of an engine and a battery around, it's a much smaller and lighter battery than an EV, so works out about the same.
Our PHEV has a claimed range of 48 miles, which on fast A roads in ideal conditions (now with warmish days so little heating or A/C) that translates to 42 miles. I'm expecting 35 ish as the weather gets worse. Our daily mileage is well within that so most journeys are EV and we charge at home on cheap rate electricity, so low CO2 and cheaper than petrol.
In general use it has the benefits and drive of an EV (instant torque from pull off with strong linear acceleration, silent, no gear changes, super cheap running costs) combined with absurd performance when you want it, combined with being able to do a long journey on a bank holiday without having to plan stops or queue at a service station.
On a super long run with no battery charge remaining it seems to get around 40MPG, so better than the equivalent petrol but a bit worse than a frugal diesel. But I can live with a 455BHP car with a worst case of 40MPG.
Downsides: they're not cheap - for you to decide whether it makes sense. It depends what you're comparing it with. They're not as efficient as a full EV - the best efficiency figure of ours is down at the bottom end of EVs, but it's still vastly more efficient than an EV, and still much cheaper to run on electric. Some of them lose a bit of boot space. The smaller battery means you have to remember to put it on charge every night / every time you use it - ours will just do 2 days of commute but that leaves no capacity then for a quick pop to the shops so we charge every day as a "just in case". If you give it a boot full of unplanned throttle there's a bit of a delay whilst it fires up the ICE, and asking a cold ICE for max power doesn't seem too kind to me
I've considered a PHEV, but the "cheap electricity" is something I'm unsure of. I understand with most tariffs you get a cheaper rate for so many hours overnight but you then pay more per kwh for the rest of the time? Seems like some complicated maths and I'm not sure I can be bothered tbh.The weight thing seems a bit misleading - they're heavier than regular ICE cars, but about the same weight as the equivalent EV. So whilst you might be carrying the weight of an engine and a battery around, it's a much smaller and lighter battery than an EV, so works out about the same.
Our PHEV has a claimed range of 48 miles, which on fast A roads in ideal conditions (now with warmish days so little heating or A/C) that translates to 42 miles. I'm expecting 35 ish as the weather gets worse. Our daily mileage is well within that so most journeys are EV and we charge at home on cheap rate electricity, so low CO2 and cheaper than petrol.
In general use it has the benefits and drive of an EV (instant torque from pull off with strong linear acceleration, silent, no gear changes, super cheap running costs) combined with absurd performance when you want it, combined with being able to do a long journey on a bank holiday without having to plan stops or queue at a service station.
On a super long run with no battery charge remaining it seems to get around 40MPG, so better than the equivalent petrol but a bit worse than a frugal diesel. But I can live with a 455BHP car with a worst case of 40MPG.
Downsides: they're not cheap - for you to decide whether it makes sense. It depends what you're comparing it with. They're not as efficient as a full EV - the best efficiency figure of ours is down at the bottom end of EVs, but it's still vastly more efficient than an EV, and still much cheaper to run on electric. Some of them lose a bit of boot space. The smaller battery means you have to remember to put it on charge every night / every time you use it - ours will just do 2 days of commute but that leaves no capacity then for a quick pop to the shops so we charge every day as a "just in case". If you give it a boot full of unplanned throttle there's a bit of a delay whilst it fires up the ICE, and asking a cold ICE for max power doesn't seem too kind to me
lornemalvo said:
I've considered a PHEV, but the "cheap electricity" is something I'm unsure of. I understand with most tariffs you get a cheaper rate for so many hours overnight but you then pay more per kwh for the rest of the time? Seems like some complicated maths and I'm not sure I can be bothered tbh.
No, you pay the standard rate during ‘daytime’, so 30p during the day and the cheap rate for 6 hours overnight..For Intelligent Octopus it’s 7.5p for the 6 hours overnight (for the whole house, not just the charger and at any other times when the car is set to charge Octopus can set to 7.5p at their discretion - plus you still get the fixed 6 hours in addition).
Been looking at tariffs and the difference between EV and standard capped tariffs has really fallen. When I looked a while back, the day rates were over 40p per Kwh, a good 10p per Kwh clear of the standard rate.
Now compared to what Im paying with British Gas, the EV tariffs are about 3p to 5p per kwh more expensive during the day to enjoy that cheap night time rate of 8.5p - 10p. The standing charge is about 10p a day more, which over the course of a year isn’t a massive amount. Overall the costs are lot more reasonable and might make sense for more people with high daytime use / running lower mileages.
Now compared to what Im paying with British Gas, the EV tariffs are about 3p to 5p per kwh more expensive during the day to enjoy that cheap night time rate of 8.5p - 10p. The standing charge is about 10p a day more, which over the course of a year isn’t a massive amount. Overall the costs are lot more reasonable and might make sense for more people with high daytime use / running lower mileages.
Edited by wyson on Saturday 30th September 12:16
lornemalvo said:
I've considered a PHEV, but the "cheap electricity" is something I'm unsure of. I understand with most tariffs you get a cheaper rate for so many hours overnight but you then pay more per kwh for the rest of the time? Seems like some complicated maths and I'm not sure I can be bothered tbh.
It’s no harder than working out which petrol station to fill up at. You can pick:1) A standard rate, same as you’re on now. 28pish. It’s not cheap, but it’s still a fair bit cheaper than petrol.
2) A time variable rate. Most are cheaper off peak for charging, but cost a bit more on peak. You need to think about what you use off and on peak. If that’s too much effort, take option 1.
3) A demand variable rate - Octopus offer Tracker and Agile. The price changes every day for Tracker and every half hour for Agile. It’s hassle if you worry about it but Tracker in particular is super easy - it works out cheaper than Option 1 pretty much every day, and over a quarter averages out cheaper. We use Agile and just work on the basis that dinner time rates are expensive, middle of the day and middle of the night are not. Over a quarter the expensive bits average out - we paid 16p/kWh on average this month.
But again, if that’s hassle, pick option 1 or 2. You’re still quids in compared to the price of petrol.
MrTrilby said:
lornemalvo said:
I've considered a PHEV, but the "cheap electricity" is something I'm unsure of. I understand with most tariffs you get a cheaper rate for so many hours overnight but you then pay more per kwh for the rest of the time? Seems like some complicated maths and I'm not sure I can be bothered tbh.
It’s no harder than working out which petrol station to fill up at. You can pick:1) A standard rate, same as you’re on now. 28pish. It’s not cheap, but it’s still a fair bit cheaper than petrol.
2) A time variable rate. Most are cheaper off peak for charging, but cost a bit more on peak. You need to think about what you use off and on peak. If that’s too much effort, take option 1.
3) A demand variable rate - Octopus offer Tracker and Agile. The price changes every day for Tracker and every half hour for Agile. It’s hassle if you worry about it but Tracker in particular is super easy - it works out cheaper than Option 1 pretty much every day, and over a quarter averages out cheaper. We use Agile and just work on the basis that dinner time rates are expensive, middle of the day and middle of the night are not. Over a quarter the expensive bits average out - we paid 16p/kWh on average this month.
But again, if that’s hassle, pick option 1 or 2. You’re still quids in compared to the price of petrol.
MrTrilby said:
I'm pretty sure that £69k is list price for the T8. We paid just over £60k.
And yes, we wanted an XC60, for a number of reasons. A big one being that my wife had just walked away totally uninjured from her XC40 after it was written off by an HGV on the M11. Model Y was also up for consideration.
That's a very good reason for buying another Volvo. Even if other cars might be equally good in an accident, the psychological reassurance is priceless.And yes, we wanted an XC60, for a number of reasons. A big one being that my wife had just walked away totally uninjured from her XC40 after it was written off by an HGV on the M11. Model Y was also up for consideration.
If my budget was £60k, I'd be tempted. Only looking to spend £35k absolute maximum, preferably closer to £30k, so that means a lightly-used car with a new list price of £40 to £50k I think. Might be able to stretch a fair bit if I wait a year and then offset an EV against self-assesment?
CG2020UK said:
Richtea1970 said:
I’ve had hybrids and EVs and the headline grabbing figures are just that. I regularly see hybrids quoting 140mpg, I mean come on! If you’re doing a 100 mile journey at very best 30 miles of that will be (not that cheap anymore) electric, for the rest you will be pulling a heavy suv with a 2.0 petrol engine so you’ll be lucky to get 35/40mpg.
Hybrids are good for a specific purpose, ie, someone who does a lot of short journeys, with the very occasional long run. I have to do a 200 mile round trip every weekend and so we’ve dumped the hybrid (Outlander PHEV) and gone back to a diesel. Although the wife still has a iPace which is great for her as she only works 6 miles away, so charges it once every 2 or 3 weeks.
What you’ll find is the newer hybrids can figure out the most efficient time to use the battery or engine based on the map you input. Hybrids are good for a specific purpose, ie, someone who does a lot of short journeys, with the very occasional long run. I have to do a 200 mile round trip every weekend and so we’ve dumped the hybrid (Outlander PHEV) and gone back to a diesel. Although the wife still has a iPace which is great for her as she only works 6 miles away, so charges it once every 2 or 3 weeks.
Cut out the stuff that kills economy eg: Battery only at slow speeds, Petrol at high speeds.
Our hybrid will easily match a diesel but being petrol and electric it’s just a nicer driving experience.
Weight also doesn’t matter as much as people think for daily driving it’s definitely more aerodynamics.
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