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Plug in hybrids 16:44 - Apr 14 with 4063 views

Looking to get a steer from those with knowledge of the above.
I’m quite impressed by the torque/acceleration of PHEV’s, but….. do you only get that when the battery is charged up. E.g. with a 11.5 kWh / 1.5 litre engine, do you only get high performance in the first 30-odd miles before the battery discharges and then it reverts to the sort of acceleration you’d get from a normal 1.5l engine?
Ta

Plug in hybrids on 17:43 - Apr 14 with 3965 views

suffolkingfedup

Even having used up all the battery, most hybrids recharge a bit every time you slow down/brake so there is a bit of charge if you were to need it as you only need a few seconds of electric to accelerate/overtake.
Most hybrid drivers don't boot it as it costs a lot more once using petrol than the cost of electric if you charge at home.

Plug in hybrids on 08:27 - Apr 15 with 3701 views

wombat

Plug in hybrids on 17:43 - Apr 14 by suffolkingfedup
Even having used up all the battery, most hybrids recharge a bit every time you slow down/brake so there is a bit of charge if you were to need it as you only need a few seconds of electric to accelerate/overtake. Most hybrid drivers don't boot it as it costs a lot more once using petrol than the cost of electric if you charge at home.

any reason you are thinking about a hyrbdi and not full electric ?

Poll:

which is your favouite foot

Plug in hybrids on 10:27 - Apr 15 with 3608 views

BlackAndGoldRanger

I've got an Audi A3 Plug in Hybrid. Honestly I rarely charge it, takes too long at home and no option at work. I tend to charge when I got to shopping centres etc. Costs around £4-5 for 38 miles of full EV. Tank costs £45-50 for approx. 440 miles.
It has various driving modes and charging options which use more/less petrol depending on the mode you choose. E.g. "increase battery" charges the electric battery from the petrol engine while driving/braking/cruising but uses significantly more fuel.
I tend to use efficiency mode which uses both engines and still will give a small amount of charge when braking/cruising.
Defo has some power when you get your foot down irrelevant of charge and is very efficient on the when maintaining the same speed on cruise control. Switches in and out of modes automatically in traffic (charge level dependent).
9/10 would buy again.

Plug in hybrids on 10:50 - Apr 15 with 3562 views

Trom

I've got a Mercedes C300e hybrid. It's 4 years old so ranges have been extended a bit since I purchased mine.
It will do a realistic 20 miles on full electric with the 122 bhp electric motor. The claims say 30 but low 20s is the reality. Newer versions can do about 60 miles on battery.
It also has a 2L turbocharged petrol engine giving about 200bhp.

In hybrid mode where you use both it gives 320 bhp with a 0-62 of 5.4 seconds and a top speed of 155mph.

Driving around town on short journeys is all electricity. Living in outer London this covers the majority of journeys. Costs about £1K to get a fast charger installed at home that will allow you to recharge in under 2 hours ( a domestic socket takes around 6).

The one downside is the space the battery takes in the boot. Mine is a Wagon (seems the new way of saying estate) and you have a step in the boot (where the battery is) and reduced capacity compared to a non-hybrid version.

You have various drive modes available and can use the petrol engine to recharge the battery. As someone has also said it will recover battery charge when breaking or going downhill.

Overall I'd recommend it.

[Post edited 15 Apr 10:55]

Plug in hybrids on 11:36 - Apr 15 with 3477 views

suffolkingfedup

One thing to mention if charging at home is that you can get (we use Octopus energy) very cheap night time electricity, currently 8p per kw so it costs next to nothing to put in a full charge at night.

Charging away from home is generally a rip off from my experience

Plug in hybrids on 11:54 - Apr 15 with 3414 views

charmr

Looked into getting a hybrid after the GTI was going to cost too much too repair.

Nothing really convinced me yet to go Electric yet here in the US. On my last visit to the Uk saw much broader range of cars.

Went and got an Alfa Romeo Guilia. Stunning car.

Electric one day. Not yet.

Plug in hybrids on 11:55 - Apr 15 with 3412 views

MelakaRanger

I've been 100% full EV sionce 2015 and I've never regretted the decision.

Currently have a Kona 64 which has a real world range of 325miles plus in the summmer and 275 in the winter.

Charging costs 7.5p per kw so about £5 for 300+miles of driving. never once had any 'range anxiety' .

So many untruths about EVs being quoted as gospel in mainstream media and certain youtubers (ie MacMaster)

Last month I travelled from Devon to Norwich 356 miles (6.5 hours of driving) which only necessitated one charging stop whilst we had breakfast at Rugby services

If you are able to charge at home then an EV with decent range is a no brainer. I even saw last week the new Model Y on offer for a 3year , 10,000 miles per year, Personal Lease direct from Tesla at just £399 per month.

Plug in hybrids on 12:45 - Apr 15 with 3344 views

TheChef

Just buy a regular hybrid, not sure you need a plug-in option unless you feel the need to go 100% electric.

Poll:

How old is everyone on here?

Plug in hybrids on 13:48 - Apr 15 with 3242 views

soops

Thanks for the comments, really interesting. I liked the idea of a hybrid to avoid range anxiety (and also like BlackAndGoldRanger, not sure if I would be diligent in charging it), but reassuring to hear MelakaRanger's views. Thinking of a Jaguar E-Pace, so only available as plug-in (or petrol/diesel).

Plug in hybrids on 14:05 - Apr 15 with 3195 views

Rangers67

I have a plug in hybrid and at this stage of the EV revolution I wouldn,t go fully electric. I use mine mainly for getting to work and back and generally get about 40 miles per charge. I also have Octopus as my supplier and programme charging during the night accordingly and the 40 miles costs me approx £ 1.35. We recently did a long trip to Yorkshire for a few days and back, if the place you are staying does not have charge points you are snookered and we found that some public parking have 2 or maybe 3 charge points but even those with 7 or 8 sometimes have no availability so the fall back option of an engine was essential. I would personally not go fully electric until the infrastructure is better.

Plug in hybrids on 14:17 - Apr 15 with 3168 views

Paddyhoops

I have an E Ford transit. Beautiful to drive. Range a bit low.
Save on the congestion charge every day which is a bonus.

Plug in hybrids on 14:56 - Apr 15 with 3092 views

nick_hammersmith

I've owned driven ICE, PHEV and EV

I have to say that as a main car the PHEV was a big compromise.
We had the BMW 2 series one, which was heavy.
Performance is nice, but realistically it had a small fuel tank for the ICE and small batteries for the EV, so it was the worst of both worlds.

Although I remember that during COVID we went ages without going to a petrol station, so maybe not as bad as I recall.

If you can I'd go full EV.
We've got solar panels and always charge at home with a 32a wallbox.

Chargers out and about are premium £££, but I guess still cheaper than buying pertrol!

Plug in hybrids on 15:20 - Apr 15 with 3028 views

Juzzie

Plug in hybrids on 11:55 - Apr 15 by MelakaRanger

"Personal Lease direct from Tesla at just £399 per month." - I'm probably going slighty-ish off topic here but isn't leasing just renting a car long term? You don't actually own it do you? I'd imagine there's some sort of buy-out option but it generally seems to me leasing is just a way of having usage of a swanky car to be seen in, paying a fortune for the pleasure, then handing it back.

Plug in hybrids on 15:55 - Apr 15 with 2928 views

wombat

Plug in hybrids on 15:20 - Apr 15 by Juzzie
"Personal Lease direct from Tesla at just £399 per month." - I'm probably going slighty-ish off topic here but isn't leasing just renting a car long term? You don't actually own it do you? I'd imagine there's some sort of buy-out option but it generally seems to me leasing is just a way of having usage of a swanky car to be seen in, paying a fortune for the pleasure, then handing it back.

been leasing through the company for last ten years or so , was a owner before that and must have lost thousands over the years , hassle of selling the car you name it .

two car family audi petrol for me tesla model y for the wife
£95 quid to fill the audi up for 510 miles if im lucky
tesla charge over night £6.50 for around 295 miles maybe little more , we drive the tesla more than the audi , when my lease is up ill be going full electric as well , charging network is very good these days esp for tesla owners andnu can usually charge quicker than it takes to go for a pee and get a cup of tea on long trips

Poll:

which is your favouite foot

Plug in hybrids on 16:10 - Apr 15 with 2887 views

Benny_the_Ball

The answer to the question really depends on your personal circumstances and driving habits.

I note a couple of satisfied full EV drivers above but that is because they have access to infrastructure providing cheap charging (whether that be eco tariffs, solar panels, office charging, etc.). If you don't have access to cheap charging then it can be quite impractical and expensive to run (as 3rd party charging stations are expensive). You can work around this by buying a pre-2017 Tesla (which typically came bundled with free unlimited charging at Tesla stations) but then you're taking a gamble on an older EV without warranty. I've also seen folk online offering programming services whereby they enable free charging on newer Teslas but I've no experience of the practicalities (or, indeed, legalities) of this service.

With respect to hybrids, generally speaking their value is determined by your driving habits. If you do limited mileage each day then it makes perfect sense as you'll be more reliant on EV power. However, If you do a lot of mileage each day (e.g. long commute) then they can turn out more expensive to run than their ICE counterparts, as hybrids are typically heavier and therefore burn more fuel.

Bear in mind that there are different types of hybrid so it pays to do your research. Aside from the obvious plug-in and non-plug-in variants (where the vehicle can be driven either in electric or ICE mode), mild hybrid options (such as the Nissan Qashqai e-power) are emerging. These run on electric power but have a petrol engine acting as a generator, thereby offering the performance of EV with none of the range anxiety or infrastructure concerns. Conversely, the advantage of traditional hybrids is if one power train fails, you may still be able to get home with the other.

Plug in hybrids on 16:13 - Apr 15 with 2884 views

MelakaRanger

Plug in hybrids on 14:56 - Apr 15 by nick_hammersmith

I second the solar panels

Got my first EV in 2015 (as mentioned above) and also got solar at the same time.

I do about 8000 miles per year and I reckon 70% or more of that is free miles as I charge the car regularly from the surplus solar.

Plug in hybrids on 16:31 - Apr 15 with 2843 views

Benny_the_Ball

Plug in hybrids on 16:13 - Apr 15 by MelakaRanger
I second the solar panels Got my first EV in 2015 (as mentioned above) and also got solar at the same time. I do about 8000 miles per year and I reckon 70% or more of that is free miles as I charge the car regularly from the surplus solar.

I get how that works for you and nick, and agree that in your respective situations full EV makes sense. However, the OP has given no indication as to their personal circumstances or driving habits. Does he have a house with a garage and driveway where charging boxes and/or solar panels can be installed or does he live on the top floor of a block of flats with no access to cheap charging either at home or at work?

In addition, I would dispute the term "free miles" as an EV carries a heavy premium to begin with, and then there's the cost of installing wall chargers, solar panels, etc. If someone (like yourself) does significant mileage per year and limits themselves to charging at home then you will reach a point where your costs have been covered and any subsequent miles can be considered "free". However, research shows that for the average consumer it can take 8-10 years to get there.

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