Are Plug-in Hybrids pointless or brilliant?

[@Trifler500]

We tried to buy the new plug-in hybrid Prius, but Toyota said there was a three year backlog, so we had to forget it and got a regular hybrid instead. I think plug-ins are the future though, especially if battery prices drop. The new salt batteries look very interesting.

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

Yeah, I think hybrids are a good option for many people, however I am personally excited about the falling prices of electric cars. I really like how simple they are, the maintenance isn't as frequent and it's much cheaper, and buying a used is less risky because instead of checking the condition of a complicated engine, it is enough to check the condition of the battery. ...still, I acknowledge it's easy for me to say that because I almost never travel by car further than 500 km from Vienna.

[@Trifler500]

@@TomaszJakubKusienicki Yes, electric cars are a good option for people who don't need much range.

[@Harveysadi]

can you share please how much monthly cost having such a car like it ?

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

It is a hard question to answer. 🤔 It will depend on where you live, how much you drive, how you charge and so on… Do you have anything specific in mind?

[@Harveysadi]

@@TomaszJakubKusienicki i am living in vienna 12 district Looking for sth small like golf polo

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

@@Harveysadi You can buy my car if you have a place to charge. 😀 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJKWaJWrYsqCmaM 31k

[@billybobbob3003]

better than an ev atleast.

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

I think it depends on what you need

[@dayoadeosun1520]

I agree with you 100%. I have a toyota prius phev and I love it.

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

@@dayoadeosun1520 The new one? It looks fantastic.

[@dayoadeosun1520]

​@TomaszJakubKusienicki I wish. It is the outgoing one Prius 1.8L Excel 2020 phev. However, when the pcp deals ends next year, I might change it to the new one.

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

@@dayoadeosun1520 I see, makes sense. Good luck! 😊

[@thetrampit]

What?!? The 12V battery does not charge in EV mode? That's crazy! My plug-in does charge the 12V battery in EV mode. BTW, you are using it wrong: on main roads and highways, you don't go EV, you ho hybrid. Or is it not Hybrid, just petrol?

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

Are you sure it does? I think most doesn’t change. 🤔 I use both engines on highways, this is how power mode works in Volvos.

[@thetrampit]

@@TomaszJakubKusienicki Yes, I am sure it does. I have the OBD scanner and it gives me 13.6V.

[@thetrampit]

@@TomaszJakubKusienicki I'm sure it charges, I can see it on my OBD scanner: 13.8 V. Does that mean that on highways the battery % goes down?

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

@@thetrampit interesting, maybe it works differently in your care. What model do you have?

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

@@thetrampit On the highway my 12V battery is being charged as I use petrol motor as well, and the big battery is being charged a little bit, a bit more if I am in the power mode.

[@andrew7720]

They are completely pointless. They are as expensive as pure EVs to buy without the tax benefits (commenrcial users get their registration fee waived off plus other tax benefits. these dont apply to private buyers). So no economic incentive to even think about them... A diesel or a normal hybrid make way more sense. And if you have the €, then you go full EV.

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

I think it depends on how much you pay over the price of the same car with a petrol engine with similar power. In my case I bought a used Volvo XC40 T4 PHEV (211HP), a similar Volvo XC40 T5 (248HP) would be maybe 2k cheaper, so I think it made sense for me personally. PS In Austria a road tax is calculated based on the car’s co2 emissions so PHEVs benefit from that as well. I can also drive for free on highways in Czechia. 😊

[@andrew7720]

Yeah its very country specific. In Greece, annual road tax is also based on CO2 emmission. But even the non-hybrid petrols and diesels in normal cars rarely cost over 100€/year. Almost all hybrids pay 0€. But... There is an one time registration fee payed at the time of purchase. And that cost is a % of the car's pre tax value in a sliding scale. TLDR, small increases in the factory pre-tax cost translate to massive increases at the final price. And an example. Opel Astra, in the Elegance trim which all 3 powertrains are available. Gasoline is 31k€, Diesel is 35k€ and PHEV is 47k€ ! Also, diesel is abou 0.2-0.3€/L cheaper than gasoline. So not only the diesel probably has a lower running costs, also you save 12k€ when buying. Even if the diesel has an annual road tax of 90-100€, still doesnt even worth it for the PHEV.

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

@@andrew7720 wow that is crazy. But you made an excellent point, it is very country specific. Different taxes as well as petrol and electricity prices will have a huge impact on what vehicles are economically viable. In Austria we have all possible taxes 😅, so low emission vehicles can have more sense in some cases. We pay a NoVa tax for new cars and then a road tax together with the insurance every year/month. Both are calculated based on the emission and can be quite high. I was paying 650€/year for Octavia 1.4 TSI, now I pay 300€/year, for powerful cars it can easily get to over 1k annually.

[@leobosnjak9741]

Im sorry, is all that you pay yearly for insurance and tax 300 euro? I

[@TomaszJakubKusienicki]

@@leobosnjak9741 hi. No, the tax alone is 300€.