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

[@garymatthews1280]

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.

[@Nochancet.v]

Regen braking works as your driving to so it kinda costs in ev pure mode Regen is better in petrol mode try it out

[@vevenaneathna]

the volt was so far ahead of its time. 16-18kwh phev, that wasnt a big suv. aerodynamics helped it reach 40-75 miles of range, i personally get 45-55 mi in my 2013 gen1 volt (with 140k miles lol). right now the typical (median) range of PHEV's you can buy here is only 21 miles. the upper quartile of phev range is only 26 miles, laughable. you have to use median instead of average when talking about phev range because the chevy volt is such an outlier and skews everything. the more EV range a phev has, you get an exponential reduction on the wear and tear of the vehicle because you end up shifting all gas miles to hwy, where the engine runs at a stable rpm range. they have shown that if you only ever drive on the hwy, motor oil can literally go 100k+ miles without showing signs of degradation/engine damage. still a good idea to change volt's oil every year or two because of water ingress, especially since their PCV valves tend to break down and let humidity in the engine crank case. I put 35k miles on my volt last year, mainly commuting to hospitals for med school rotations which all had chargers, while my partner would use the car when i got home to commute to her hospital which also has a charger. we averaged over 100mpg, mainly due to some road trips, which means the combustion engine only had about 10-15 hours of use the entire year for 35k miles. put in a 240v charger in my garage and that thing was "fast" charging 2-3 times per day. compared to my last car, 02 civic which got ~28mpg avg, we saved $2,100 in gas last year, which is about 1/3rd what we paid for the car. I put solar panels on it and expanded the low voltage battery to 4kwh of lifepo4, which further boosts range, especially in winter, and hooked in a micro inverter to charge the house and offset ~1-2kwh/day, saving us more money.

[@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.

[@Urbanspacefox]

Yeah PHEV is a good stop-gap solution esp with the BEV vs FCEV debate ongoing…

[@Johan87577]

I drive a ICE car today, I'll get a PHEV next. Chargers is not enough built out in my country I wouldn't feel comfortable with a EV. Maybe in 3-5 years when it time to change car again.

[@geolykos]

The problem with most PHEVs is the boot space you lose and the additional cost. In a GLC for example you lose 150l of boost space and have to pay £3500 more for a PHEVs. Then add another £900 for the charger and 10% more for insurance. Also with electric only mode you lose 50-70% of the car's power.

[@philipinsley927]

I have a first generation Leaf. 24 kWh battery. Tiny compared to most BEVs now. A brilliant car in every way BUT it rarely goes more than 60 miles in a day. The max battery range is 80 to 90 miles. I have driven 150 and 170 mile journeys and recharged 2 or 3 times on the way. Charging to 80% takes no more than 20 minutes. My last journey from London to S Wales (170 miles) took 6 1/2 hrs because every charger on the 3 stops I needed was occupied. The charging infrastructure is just not there yet. My advice, if you only have one car, buy a hybrid.

[@doctoruttley]

Same driving on my part and I just got myself a PHEV. Love it. Haven’t stopped at a petrol station since I picked it up a few weeks ago. 🤯 I do plug it in at night.

[@iantrott9152]

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 :)

[@Andersljungberg]

Remember that the engine oil must be allowed to pump around in the engine from time to time. otherwise in the worst case the camshaft can become dry and the rest you can guess

[@itsfahys]

Lot of phevs have a maintenance mode because of the issue you describe , turning on the Engine for a period so it doesn't seize up. I dont know if this applies to all phevs, but its good advice to engage it occasionally if thats not the case. I remember when i had the bmwi3 rex, youd hear the engine coming on every few weeks i recall for 5 minutes or so.

[@11wtwood]

@@itsfahys Correct. My 2020 Ford Fusion Energi went through a several day period of running on gas until it was satisfied the oil was free of moisture that can build up from condensation due to lack of use. It was still in regular hybrid mode so my mileage was in the 40 mpg range. When in EV mode (where the gas engine will still run if I exceed the battery only range) I get about 76 mpg.

[@brec5879]

Well done@iantrott

[@bjs7442]

I can beat that on my Volvo XC90 recharge but its a meaningless mpg because that is assuming when the car is running on electric only it is running free of charge which of course it isnt. When my electric range is exhausted I am doing 30mpg on petrol only. Now the price of electric is nothing like 1/10 the cost of petrol as it was 2 years ago and now its borderline whether its a good idea buying a PHEV rather than a latest spec diesel.

[@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.

[@chuckstang8140]

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

[@peterball8241]

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.

[@Lewis_Standing]

You most certainly did not. This does not take into account the electricity used. EVs quote 150-190 mpg for just the electric. You can see this over at EV database, sadly Mitsubishi are lying to you.

[@peterball8241]

@@Lewis_Standing Correct, maybe a better way of putting it was: I had to put a gallon of petrol in for every 500 miles travelled. Charging at home you forget about the pennies spent on electric.

[@davidwright1752]

@@peterball8241 would you buy this can again or is there a better PHEV now. I really prefer the owners opinion to what a car salesman tells me.

[@peterball8241]

@@davidwright1752 There are probably better PHEVs but I have driven Mitsubishi for 25 years. I also bought it used which made it more affordable. After 5 years of ownership I don't regret the purchase and would buy another if Mitsubishi weren't pulling out of the UK.

[@davidwright1752]

@@peterball8241 Must admit I never gave the Mitsubishi I thought I really did not know they were that good thank you for the info. It’s a vehicle that would work in my situation

[@madmitten5]

PHEVs are great in the right situation, and if you do the no-brainer stuff in this video. In my case, I generally drive short distances, and by keeping my Outlander PHEV charged and, especially, pre-heating in the winter, I sometimes go months without getting gas. But every year I do a long 10-15 hour drive (I'm in Canada - it's big!) when the fuel economy is still ok, but where I don't need to worry about recharging.

[@Spyder7223]

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.

[@keithware5314]

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.

[@mrholloway104]

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

[@randalllewis4485]

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.

[@woods19364]

Always use the petrol engine at some point the petrol degrades in time and can damage the engine.

[@randalllewis4485]

@@woods19364 Good reminder. Toyota gives good advice in the user manual about this point, and I follow that.

[@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.

[@art322]

Great car! Your Prius PHEV will do 70mpg on motorway on pure petrol as well. So you you’ll match most diesels even when your battery’s flat. I am thinking of upgrading to one of these from a normal Prius but I’m worried about the small boot. Do you find it an issue?

[@philmbridges]

The is a lttle small but the the backseats fold down ,so for us no problem. Makes it very versatile.

[@iurimerlini3923]

I owns a PHEV and fully agree with the concept expressed in the video 💪👍

[@smallmj2886]

I just keep it simple. Charge whenever possible and keep it in EV mode until the battery is out. I can't be bothered to fuss beyond that. I burn less than half the gas than I did in my last car and that is good enough for me.

[@scotsshuggie]

Being a Scotsman I totally agree with you, Plug the car in............

[@errcoche]

Another nat's chuff tight "sweaty" here seconding that motion.

[@black5f]

We just got one. It's mainly the wife's but the EV range is more than enough for either of us to go to work and back, haven't used any petrol in the two weeks we've had it! And yet still capable of long journeys as a prime mover. And in traffic or town ... no pollution at all. No need for a £900 charging point, they fully charge in about 5 hours off a normal 13A socket. I think they are excellent. Very comfortable etc. And that's from someone who owns a '96 Z28!

[@JonOvalle]

Thank you brother. The conditions here in Florida demand more consciousness while driving due to the long distances and the city traffic.

[@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.)

[@alisthomelife]

There goes the reason not everyone has the convenience and short commute as you and the lack of security with charging accessibility freaks people out. Phev is the safe way

[@glynmoore3730]

Considering a Grandland hybrid and I would expect to drive it exactly as per your video, but I'm grateful for your "instruction". For the vast majority of my drives I would be driving battery only, thus keeping the battery topped up at home overnight at under 10p/kwh. I'd take a hit on my more rare long drives, but overall it would be a big money saver, and the Grandland fuel only mpg is only slightly less than my current Mokka petrol. Thanks for your upload.

[@veedubgeezer]

This is great advice. I assumed this was the best way to use a PHEV. You know more than the car does about your journey ahead. The electricity prices didn't age well though

[@deadslota]

I filled up my phev the other day (it starts complaining if I haven't in over 3 months), put in 15l, i'd traveled 2400+km, or 370+mpg. plug it in

[@Swerve744]

What vehicle are you running.

[@lfin386]

After 12 months with a Corsa e BEV I made the decision to change to an Astra PHEV which I pick up next week. Loved the Corsa ( except perhaps the appalling winter range) but couldn't stand the stress of worrying whether a Rapid charger would be either working or not in use. Spending time in the pouring rain trying to nudge a charger into use is no joke. Clearly the infrastructure has not kept pace with the increase in EV ownership. So until that improves, for me PHEV is the way to go . As usual, good clear video - thanks

[@mawalker6921]

Great video. I drive a PHEV Volvo XC60. I plug in at home and work and do a 42 mile commute. First 10 miles are country and town roads so full electric. Then dual carriageway way for 20miles and finally 12 miles on slower roads. By forcing the car to stay in electric I arrive at both destinations with 0 range but average 85mpg!

[@Harringtonation]

Helpful information, thanks! One question though (I have an xc60), when battery goes to zero, will the car restart?!

[@jforsten9216]

Great video! We've had an '07 Toyoda Camry hybrid, it was good for what it was. Now we have an '18 530e we've had for a month. Daily commute ~22 miles. Almost every day electric mode only. I didn't think to take it out when on hwy where gas engine would be very efficient. Thanks

[@robroche14]

Just got kuga hybrid and wondered how was best to use the driving modes. This video was very informative without all the jargon. From one Yorkshireman to another thanks for the heads up.

[@johndoyle4723]

Yes all good points, I used to have a PHEV, but now gone full EV. I always tried to get home with zero electric miles left, I would save the battery for the last few miles from the motorway to my home, yes a bit sad, but I enjoyed it. BIK needs to change to avoid the obvious abuse on company cars.

[@davidfrench409]

I'm not sure what the breaks are but I definitely think that you should not get any kind of 'allowance' for having a PHEV if the company pays your fuel as well. There's little or no incentive to plug in in that situation.

[@garrycroft4215]

I have a 30,000 mile test for you in a Mitsubishi PHEV. manufacturer said 150 MPG. I got 105 MPG the battery degradation on these is awful it dropped from 34 miles to 22 otherwise it was a lovely car to drive and own with no other issues. I've had my new i3s for 5 days now and love it. 150 MPG equivalent. Lol

[@margaretgaal937]

This was very helpful. I am trying to learn how this type of car works as it seems like a good idea. But getting the whole story of Living with a plug in hybrid is not so easy to find out. I learned a lot in this review, thanks.

[@jss455]

For our 2023 KIA Sportage PHEV, we have 15K for mileage since the original purchased - 6 month ago. Per the odometer “average” for the life of the vehicle, we are getting an average of 60.5mpg. We have a Level 2 charger and use it as frequently as possible. Mostly charged “empty” (15% remaining) and charging to full. Also, due to the type of driving we did on one tank, we were able to get 1,300+ mpg. On 9 gallons of gas! Simply crazy! The biggest downside I see is the lack of a heat pump! I feel that it is a total design flaw on KIA’s part. Our 2021 Prius has a heat pump and still averages 80+mpg for the life of the car. Note we have yet to really drive it for a full New England winter! I’ll take the 60mpg of the Sportage over the 30 mpg of my prior Outback.

[@martinshillitoe4735]

My issue is that I do a lot of long distance drives that are mainly motorway. 180 to 250 mile round trips are the norm with many others a lot longer. The mpg plummets with a PHEV when doing this kind of driving and makes a mockery of the phev’s green credentials. I had to go full electric. Tbh I’m glad I did. I might need to public charge on the longer runs but it has saved me so much money

[@cotswoldphotographers]

Brilliant, you had me in hysterics 😂👍

[@callumweir1116]

Ordered a Peugeot 308 Gt Premium PHEV (180). Should get it around September. Can’t come quick enough since I’m stuck doing 60 miles a day in a Volvo S60 T5! Thanks for the tips!

[@lambleys]

Picking an outlander up this week so enjoyed watching this one and great mpg

[@allenwilson1479]

The best video I have watched so far,giving me the best information that I actually need and use. Iam part exchanging my xf 2.0 diesel which is very good on fuel 60mpg

[@stephandolby]

On a related note, I like how Skoda have put the blind spot monitoring light on the inside of the wing mirror *and* made it big, presumably because if it's a small light in the usual place, it's much harder to notice. Also, this might convince people to actually use their mirrors.

[@justhadtostartacivilengine4253]

That!

[@Twisterpins1649]

The Nissan QASHQUI has the blind spot aswell

[@stuartwilliams7903]

Thanks for a superb vid very helpful, trying to decide to buy a PHEV and video like this really helpful thanks

[@markh7288]

I have a PHEV, it’s brilliant! I get 80km in summer range and just under 70km in winter. I have filled the very small petrol tank 3 times since I bought it in July. I drive the vast majority of the time on electric power, charging it every day from only the normal 3 pin plug at home.

[@ardaaylI]

How much did your electricity bill increase monthly ?

[@markh7288]

We use a lot of electricity, I don’t see an appreciable difference since we bought the cars. The cars have a very large step up in power, so no regrets there either, except you do notice the extra weight when driving enthusiastically on country roads.

[@alisonsabin-hope7171]

we've had ours. we bought it for flexibility, we mainly do around town driving but often go further. we average about 1,000 miles for a 45litre tank of petrol. we can live with that lol

[@Vegan123]

Greetings from Ireland - many thanks for the informative videos. Subscribed !

[@azzeea2949]

Good video. I think PHEV's are the way to go. Best of both worlds and you won't get range anxiety. I was waiting for you to tell us which make/model of car it was you were driving, and you mentioned it in the 14th minute. Lol!

[@Garrison169]

It;s the WORST of both worlds and range anxiety is a thing of the past.

[@SkaBob]

We got a Niro PHEV, so far getting around 77mpg. My subaru needed gas every 300 miles, this one goes over 700 per tank and the tank is smaller as well. Drive it in EV mode on the back roads and city street, once I get on the highway I switch to hybrid and run on gas as needed, then back to EV when we get off the highway and stay in EV until I get to work. At work we can charge back up for free. My goal is to get to home and work with only a mile or two of range left, if I'm getting home and still have 10 miles of EV left I know I'm not using EV enough. On days I don't go to work and stay local I can drive in EV the whole day.

[@timslater999]

Lots of helpful tips here. thank you. looking forward to my phev.

[@mikespruce6869]

Very useful video, gave me a good head start using my new (ish) phev.

[@RWBHere]

Thanks, Andy. My brother-in-law is a Scot, and has a PHEV. He moans about high fuel consumption (under 45 mpg), but will not listen to people who try to tell him how to use the car properly. He 'can't be bothered with the hassle of plugging it in'. That attitude costs him money, so his next car will be a Diesel. There is no helping some people. 🤷‍♂️

[@kevinmacleod6761]

Does him being a Scot make a difference?

[@AlphaGeminorum1]

Extremely useful primer on how to use my new PHEV. So, I found it quite informative.

[@Costa_del_Artlepool]

I want a hybrid with a tiny lightweight battery to recoup energy during braking. Five miles max battery range would do - which would be a lot more in town traffic.

[@simonmoorcroft1417]

The problem with PHEV's is they are neither 'fish nor fowl'. I understand they are a stepping stone to a BEV, but they are woefully inefficient. Whichever way you look at it, they are either a ICE vehicle that has to carry around a heavy under ranged battery pack or a short ranged EV that has to carry around a heavy petrol/diesel engine. They only exist to fill a regulatory requirement-and according to the latest info-they do not even do that without fiddling their emissions figures. I also understand that they are a necessary evil until battery prices come down and EV's get cheaper. I think what they should have done with PHEV's is give them a minimum battery range of 70+ miles. I know most PHEV's are based on ICE vehicle chassis, so to do this they should remove the ICE power pack from the engine bay and replace it with a full electric power train and a compact efficient petrol generator unit that can act as a range extender/charger if required. The space created in the engine bay and by the reduction in size of the vehicles fuel tank could then be used for extra batteries and a 7kwh charger unit. I know this is similar to vehicles like the Prius, but that vehicle is still too much of a compromise. The engine is still too big and is sometimes used to drive the vehicles drive train directly. It is far more efficient to have a small generator that runs at a constant rpm to charge the batteries as required and let a fully electric power train propel the vehicle. So in summary make PHEVs into a true stepping stone to a BEV. A lighter generator instead of a heavy engine, faster charging and a moderately sized battery pack that gives you a reasonable commuting range. You can then run on electric most of time on your average journey, but if your battery range drops below 15 miles on a journey for example the generator could switch on and at least give you the ability to reach a charge point.

[@kathyweston8427]

Thank you for this very helpful video. I’ve ordered a 2023 Hyundai Tucson Ultimate PHEV and want to get the best mileage as possible on the EV mode. I hope you will do a review on this model soon. 😊

[@disruptIT]

I purchased a used 2017 Volt and the MPGe was very low. It was obvious the previous owner never or rarely plugged it in. I mean I get around 130 mpge on average since I've owned it, the average before me was around 53 mpge, which is crazy low. I get higher than that even if I drive on the interstate at 70 mph. So, yeah, for some unknown reason people buy a phev then don't care to use the EV portion, which defeats the point of the vehicle.

[@tureq85]

finally somebody with some common sense!!! phevs are not every journey/ commute!! do your research before getting one

[@WhoDeanyUnchained]

10:55 "Not the most exciting video I've ever done".….. but it's literally one of his most popular videos 😂

[@caponatatv]

Partialy agree. Don’t forget the more you charge it, the quicker you “kill” the battery. I prefer to save the battery for short drives and use hybrid for longer journeys. If you come back home with some battery left use it tomorrow….

[@finianfarrelly4211]

Excellent review you made it so easy to understand.

[@marcusbrutus1999]

Great video, well presented too.

[@anischab]

I drive in the EV-mode until 70-80KmH and in the Hybrid mode above. I use regenerative breaking a lot. 👌

[@raymondbutcher4579]

Thanks so much I’m just looking at a prev and this is great advice

[@mikespruce6869]

I have realised though that the petrol engine does need to run occasionally, so it's not always a bad thing.

[@GabrielSBarbaraS]

Doing some quick math here ( American ) , at 25 miles per gallon of gas is 12 cents per mile. At 12 cents per kilowatt hour and 300 watts per mile on electric, it is about 4 cents per mile, this equates to about 8 cents per mile on electric only. ( PEHV or EV ) that is a savings of $8000 per 100,000 miles. Now if I have to pay more than $8000 more for a plug in verses a gas car, how can this be worth it.? Don’t forget a PHEV will operate the gas if the cabin needs heat and at some point you will use a little gas which skews the numbers somewhat. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[@flysurfer108]

great vid EVM, must say tho when I drive my f type r v8 5.0 lt super charged beast I smile more on start up than you did this whole video haha, but I am looking to buy a EV or hybrid because I do actually care about the environment, my ICE is just a toy.

[@clansome]

Waiting on my Merc B Class 250e. Nuff said. Great video @Electric Vehicle Man

[@jamspad2088]

Good job! I 100% agree with you!! 👏🏻

[@sneekylinux]

At the end of the day if you want the miles just plug the bugger in.!!!

[@bikeman123]

How are these PHEV batteries standing up to being fully charged everynight? And how would a purchaser check the battery?

[@Adipsia1]

If only you'd made a deal with God and plugged it in the night before, you'd have been running up that hill in electric-mode no problem. Great video.

[@totalsubmition]

The Fred Dibnah of car reviewers. Thanks mate.

[@dominiquecharriere1285]

I live in the low emission zone of Madrid Spain so I asked my company to give me an EV so I could park around home, I wanted an EV and for my sins they gave me one. Since I have it simply I don't have a car. I can only use it to go to work, I dared twice to go as far as 200 Kms from the city, big big stress (hard to find a charger that is free and working). My next car will be PHEV, no doubt about it.

[@caffjohn]

Thinking very strongly of getting one.

[@martinchuchukov8429]

The truth is, we need plug-in hybrid, which can handle without an problem 120km, also has really efficient hybrid mode to help the petrol engine on highway and so on, and most important thing: Quick charge - lets say up to 80% for 15 minutes. This hybrid will be perfect, you will be able to drive it for 2-3 days without charging it non stop, also if you don't have the possibility to charge it at home, you can do it quickly on public charger, and also when there is efficient on highways together with the petrol engine -> basically you have long drivers covered as well. I cannot charge hybrid home, but I can at work, also I can on public charges, but I cannot wait there 3-4 hours to charge it... unfortunately 3-4 hours without possibility to charge it at home during the night is useless.

[@NorthsideLexus]

Awesome video! Thanks for taking the time to put this together!

[@darrenkellett]

I used a BMW 220e PHEV (I think that was what is was called) for a couple of weeks and found it awful. When it was delivered to me it came with virtually no power in it and ¼ tank of petrol so I charged it up and ran it on it’s super eco plus mode to get maximum mpg, so I was told. I drove like a saint and it seemed to use the electric most of the time only going to petrol when reaching approximately 30mph, but the electric ran out very quickly and the engine started to be used all the time. I did the exact same thing again the next day on EV mode to see how far I got on just the electric before the car changed to hybrid then I went to super eco pro again. I got less than 2 miles per kilowatt which was pathetic, I get 5 from my Tesla. So with driving around around on petrol I thought it would still charge the battery but it barely did. I tried the car without charging so it was driving on petrol and that gave me a massive (sarcastic) 22mpg, still driving like a saint. When i took the car back I had only done 140 miles and used £80 in petrol and electricity, this car was new and maybe had a fault but didn’t show one on the dash. My daughter has bought a new Nissan Juke Hybrid (not PHEV) and with the mileage she does, town driving about 40miles a day, she is getting more than double the mpg she was getting with her petrol Kona and the battery charges Great all the time. I know the battery is smaller and therefore the battery will charge quicker, also the petrol kicks in under acceleration and above 30mph unless you release the accelerator. She has reduced her petrol bill by over half. I have obviously had a bad experience with a PHEV but you said you were getting over 160mpg, I think you said, but could that be because it is only measuring how much petrol you are using and not the electric? When you are running on EV mode only it isn’t using any petrol so in theory you are driving an EV and your petrol isn’t being used but the mileage is going up, just buy an EV. In my Tesla I have done 4500 miles per not an ounce of petrol, a PHEV doesn’t take into account how much electric you put in and it’s costs, a Hybrid uses petrol to charge a battery and power the car together swapping between the two so that gives you a proper mpg. Only my opinion and I’d love to hear your view if I’m wrong. Love your videos mate, I love your honest reviews of EVs there are great ones out there but our problem is the infrastructure unless you have a Tesla and even that could be better with more locations. 👍👍

[@clewis5220]

Great videos to help us make informed choices. Is the petrol consumption high on PHEVs as it may never warm up properly in eco? Not good for petrol engine used in this stop start way especially in cold weather?

[@kbmblizz1940]

Idk why some EV fanboys hate phev so much. I had one in 2017, saved $25k USD on purchase price compared to model 3 which had a 3m queue & had subpar build quality as Elon called it "production hell". Mine had more $ incentives from fed/state than Tesla. I drove it practically free from home solar & free charge at work for 6 yrs. Believe me, I charge EVERY night to get that sweet $.09/kwh EV night rate from PG&E. I drove one summer on just *1* tank of gas. So happy to see gas consumption pegged at >99mpg.

[@eddyjawed4871]

great video and simple explanation

[@dannya6825]

Good old Skoda

[@user-jt1jv8vl9r]

This video perfectly outlines why PHEVs are never going to work for the mainstream driver who just wants to get from a-b. I can't see many of my colleagues at work pre warming their car or following a checklist to make sure they are using the battery as efficiently as possible. When you drive on the petrol engine you are driving a heavier more inefficient car than if you just drive a lighter petrol car. It's the worst of both worlds if you ask me: IMO. A useful stepping stone to get people used to charging etc maybe, but I would rather my next car be a full EV. How many people really think about the economy of a vehicle once bought? They just fill up when the tank is empty. They might drive a little slower but that is it.

[@SNORKYMEDIA]

Always use the plug-in hybridness at your disposable! haha great content as usual

[@KokowaSarunoKuniDesu]

Wish you would do a vid about efficiency comparisons between ICE, PHEV and BEV. Which will end up being KwH per mile, coz MPG is bogus.

[@daviddenley3512]

That has to be either gross stupidity or simply bone idleness if those owners don't plug their PHEV in and they could do! Great video by the way, you explained it well but as for amending those who can't make the PHEV work.....

[@MrBibber01]

Enlightening! Thanks.

[@welshminty]

I am thinking of a 530e, I am concerned the battery will die on my 200 mile journety, using the car to recharge the car on engine it severaly impacts the consumption I wish it would have a mode where it only uses regen breaking to recharge and not take power from engine. I cant find the mode to do that.

[@gatgolf]

Which PHEV was this?

[@marklevy9]

I don’t always get the chance to charge the batteries. Interested to know how the car performs if you just run it on petrol - would it be similar to the 1,5 tsi from a power an economy standpoint?

[@Pierluigi_Di_Lorenzo]

Is it good for battery life to constantly use 100% of the battery and charge the empty battery to 100%?

[@robbilton9006]

I wish i could pre heat but my Niro uses the engine for heating. Using NAV on most journeys I've set it to tell me when to coast, to maximise Regen. Also I use Regen as much as possible to slow down, meaning i brake earlier than i would in a petrol car keeping my Regen needle in the high zone. It used to be more of a thing in the UK but here in Canada it's not so i do get some pushback. I've not been drinking lately but i gather the roads are busier than 15 years ago. Not sure why you wouldn't plug in and miss out on the extra performance. The extra battery weight of a PHEV must make them terrible. Wonder if that's why they're getting so much bad press over there.

[@davidpearn5925]

My issue with PHEVs is the situation where the engine has to get you the last couple of miles and then stops and the exhaust is full of water and engine didn’t reach operating temperature. That I’d hate.

[@kinross24]

And thus the Catalyst also didn’t reach temp so high pollution results from the exhaust

[@davidpearn5925]

@@kinross24 but they DO necessitate maintenance and that keeps the dealership happy

[@d2factotum]

Presumably if your daily drive is that close to being achievable in electric-only mode in a PHEV you'd be better off going full electric?

[@juangarcia9617]

My advice is just drive the way you feel safe and comfortable , the same you will drive any other car. Cars(software) try to do their best anyway. I have now a plug in but when I had a prius I always tried to drive super economic and my wife does not care at all and her consumption was even a bit lower than mine driving quicker.

[@SamMachin]

We treid this with a Mitsubishi Outlander, had a 24hr test drive and did wifes commute, its a 70mile round trip, 10miles each way on local a-road/town and 25 on the motorway. Started out on a full charge and a full tank of fuel. Used EV only for the Aroad/town and save mode on the motorway once we were up to 40-50mph, then cruse at 70. Got home with just about 3% battery left, but then when I went to fill it up again we'd used £8 of petrol for the trip, on top of a full battery charge, thats the equiv of 55mpg. PHEVs have a HUGE drop off curve in MPG once your trip between charges (eg daily round trip) goes over 30-40miles, once you hit ~75miles in a day then its almost completely wiped out the battery savings in additional fuel to haul around the flat heavy battery

[@adyamski]

I've got a octavia hybrid and a crappy battery range of 30 miles which never materialises

[@attilab.2818]

I also own a PHEV but the pre conditioning doesn’t help in the mpg as I can’t have the car plugged in whilst pre-conditioning. I charge it through the pavement so have to unplug the car as soon as it’s done to avoid upset neighbours. When I precondition the car in an icy morning, I lose 25-30% straight away.

[@davidmccarthy6061]

I think most people want to mindless drive and won't keep a car in the best mode. The software needs to do that optimally for the humans, and the battery needs to have at least 30 miles of capacity.

[@user-jt1jv8vl9r]

People have busy lives working long hours, kids/family members to look after and houses to run. The last thing they need to be worrying about is the car. They just want to get in and drive not remember a 10 min tutorial on how and when to use the battery etc. A full EV you plug in once every few days and drive: simple.

[@dayoadeosun1520]

Hi EVM, this is a great video you have done. My question is, which would be more economical to drive btw this phev car and a similar diesel car, if you do a journey of 160 to 320miles per week on highway but you only charge your car at home? Thanks

[@jackjoyce1744]

Mercedes make a diesel PHEV

[@dayoadeosun1520]

@@jackjoyce1744 cool. I will look into merc diesel PHEV

[@rickmancini772]

I thought that 4 wheel drive PHEVs typically use the electric motor to power the rear wheels and the engine to power the front. If you are electric only mode, are you in rear wheel drive only?

[@hassocks1206]

Save yourself the bother and go FHEV. You will be self reliant then. I have had one for 3.5 years now and its great.

[@adamleeaustin1]

Cheers mate

[@davidwright1752]

Excellent video

[@maxgreece1]

OK I have a question. It looks like my wife's new company car is going to be a PHEV. Her commute is about 15 miles to work each way and she will be able to charge at the office as well as at home. As far a I can see she will use no petrol whatsoever. The question is this - how long can petrol stay in a tank without "going off?" The car in question is likely to be the BMW 330e if that's at all relevant.

[@evibes512]

Most blends of fuel are good for 6 months. I've owned 2 PHEVs since 2013. If driven only in electric mode for a few months straight they will run a maintenance cycle and burn a very small amount of fuel so it doesn't go stale and also to lubricate the engine. In the time I've owned my PHEV cars I've only had a maintenance cycle run one time. Even one or two trips outside the electric range every couple months is enough to prevent a maintenance cycle from occurring so most drivers never see it.

[@PeterTuanHuynh]

Hahaha spent the whole video sussing out what car you are driving..looks like a German BM but might be wrong....Best line of the video...' as a Yorkshireman I found that (not using the car efficiently/not saving money) perplexing.....' LOL ...Very helpful video btw as I am going to buy a PHEV coming back home to the UK from abroad in August....I'm torn between the Kia Sportage and Volvo as the different prices and availability with Volvo being more expensive and having a longer waiting time...Aesthetically I much prefer the latter..... Any pointers or other areas to look out for would be great...Regards

[@guitarequalsawesome5667]

do you also use electric mode on the highway or do you switch to hybrid mode ? i do a 50 mile trip everyday and i think i can charge at work . i live 9 stories high so i cant really plug it in there haha. but i have another stop to make before going home and i think i can put some more juice at that stop.

[@rodrigorodders7173]

Yeah use public chargers wherever you can it’s worth it even if it’s for 1 hour charge

[@USATFJUMPER]

I have a phev with 26 mile range. most my drive is on highway I charge up at work only but driving both ways and Regenning I use most if not all by the time I get to work. still have gas for the past 2 weeks looking at about 60mpge

[@StrangeClanTV]

If you don’t use full electric mode what’s the mpg? Is it the same mpg as the regular hybrid? Is the only added benefit to a phev the first 30 miles or so on battery power alone? How often do you have to charge using eco mode