Used plug-in hybrid electric cars - Everything you need to know about used PHEVs / Electrifying

Click here for the full, in-depth Electrifying.com guide to PHEVs:
www.electrifying.com/blog/kno...
With concerns about range and charging, deciding to get behind the wheel of an electric car isn’t straightforward for everyone. And that’s where plug-in hybrid electric car, or PHEVs, come in. They offer a convenient first step towards more electric miles.
But what actually are they? How often do you have to plug in, and are they better than normal hybrids or full EVs? This is your guide when buying used.
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[@LifeVlogsbyChamika]

We got an Outlander PHEV and we use it regularly charged. Therefore most of the time our journeys are in EV mode only. When going longer journeys, you can use the EV range upto 30-35km with regen and then the ICE will kick in. However if you're driving on a highway or an expressway in a higher speed, you can charge the battery using your engine. Hence, you'll get another 10 - 15 kms on EV drive mode. So far, majority of my long journeys also have shown around 50% EV driving which suggests that it's doing its purpose of existence.

[@petershorney7504]

I have an Audi PHEV, bought used. Electric range covers all my daily trips. Charging costs broadly 10% of petrol equivalent. 500 mile trips a doddle giving >50mpg. I can't afford a new BEV so this really works for me.

[@ColinCarFan]

Congratulations!! This is the most balanced, accurate and sensible review of PHEV's I have seen in my near 6 years of owning the outlander PHEV. I wanted to buy a pure electric vehicle back in 2017, but there were none that could sensibly tow. It has been a great car with no issues in 60k miles and about 1/3 of this is electric, with an overall average of 50mpg (40mpg when on a long motorway journey).

[@roelvanes1711]

Love our XC40 T5 hybrid. A lot of our trips are largely electric, but longer trips run hybrid. We've averaged over 100mpg with several 250 mile return journeys over the last 6k miles. Best of both worlds, just needs plugging in every night to make sense. Oh, and it saves a fortune in BIK...

[@iantrott9152]

I’m a wheelchair user and have my vehicles on the Motability scheme. I had a Leaf from 2015 to 2019, it was excellent and I covered 56,000 in it; but when I had to change Motability were no long offering any suitable EV’s, I need a big boot for my wheelchair. So in April 2019 I went for an Outlander PHEV on the Motability scheme. I use it mostly as an EV, so lots of charging, it’s been an excellent car. Since April 2019 I’ve covered just over 20,000 miles and I’ve averaged a genuine 238.6 mpg over this time, way better than the official figures. I can often get over 4 miles per kWh out of it. The ability for it to rapid charge makes a big difference. It’s such a shame that Mitsubishi are pulling out of the UK as the replacement look promising!

[@BHBeckenbauer]

Great video as always! I have a 330e and I’m really impressed with it. Over 75% of my mileage so far has been covered by the electric range, and once the lease is up Im swapping to full EV 👏

[@pauld6967]

A good video. I bought a used PHEV even though I couldn't overnight charge where I lived. However, there are some public chargers nearby so those help. I didn't have a worry about range when I took it 600 miles for vacation (plugged in every night while there and didn't burn a drop of gasoline for that week) and I have cut my fuel use for the work week commute in half because I can charge up at the office. At the end of an eight hour work day, the wall plug has been sufficient for the battery to be full.

[@Daniel-Condurachi]

We also went on this path. We bought a BMW 225xe which is a plug-in hybrid that's 4x4 when needed and does 100km/h in 6.5 seconds. We like it and enjoy daily gasoline free rides to get the kids to school and back in the middle of the city, in horrible traffic

[@wobby1516]

I agree for those who are nervous of pure electric then a plug in hybrid is a good stepping stone, although I drive a Kia E Niro and it’s brilliant.

[@Daniel-jm5hd]

I have owned a Mercedes A Class PHEV for the last 15 months and most of my mileage has been electric. Great car and really cheap to run. Definitely going full electric next time as it is so much smoother.

[@Jamessansome]

Great topic to cover as this is the situation I am in. Really want to get an EV but we need a large family car and a EV of this size is just too expensive. I have been looking at used Outlanders and the Passat estate GTE. Issue is the Passat is just out of our price range and the Outlander rear seatbelt design means it difficult to get two car seats in with enough space for a passenger, major design flaw! I am left thinking that we will have to get one last cheap ICE car for a few years then get a Phev which I really don't want to do.....

[@liamthomas312]

Really good video, thanks. As a company car driver, there is an influx now available to us. One of your statements is very important I think “anything that makes it a little cleaner for the environment”. Yes we drive motorways but usually between 2 cities for EV usage. Surely that is a good thing? Plus BIK is attractive..

[@garden-Railway]

Great video, agree Hybrid is Happy medium as long as plugged in as much as possible.

[@melwatson29]

I love my Outlander Phev. Mostly do short journeys, keep it fully charged and use the regen braking to save electricity (something you forgot to mention). This can actually add electric miles during the journey. I'm thinking of upgrading, but will not be going full electric, as you suggest. I want the option, when there are power cuts or the government deem me not a good enough citizen and cut me off!!

[@Ezzeenow]

Just bought a used Clarity plug in. It's working out great so far. Work is only 3 miles away so I'm only using the electric motor. I figure I'll be charging about once a week. Don't know when I'll ever see a gas station 😀

[@Uxbridgehorn]

My experience is the same as other PHEV owners who posted here, (I have owned a Golf GTE for six years). I have done over 90% of my mileage, (I don't do a great deal), on battery only. If I check my mpg after a couple of months driving, the figure BEATS VW's predicted mpg figure. About once a year I drive from London to the North West to visit relatives and then I use the 1400cc engine, (until I get to my sister's to "steal" her electricity). Even then, the "gas" mileage isn't astronomical. Some think we live in a binary world with only "good" and the "bad". In reality it isn't "one size fits all" but whatever suits your situation best. I tire of people highlighting how buying a PHEV is just towing a heavy electric motor and battery pack around - for some of us it isn't. It's a practical, workable solution. If only they weren't so hideously expensive to buy but then again...seen the price of a Tesla?

[@ricco123tube]

Bought a 20 plate Kia Niro Phev last week which still has 6 years of the warranty remaining and was cheaper than many diesel rivals with lesser warranties. I drive mostly around town and I am getting 40 miles on a full charge which is impressive, as is my driving prowess 😀

[@Jamessansome]

Good to know a near new Phev version can be bought for less than an ICE version. We are at the tipping point for Phev's now as anyone who is in the market for a new or near new car has no reason not to go for a Phev over a pure ICE car.

[@leeroy9646]

I only do an average of about 20 miles daily so perfect for me. I bought a mitsubishi outlander a few months ago and have not seen a petrol station yet. This should be the way forward for all small cars that spend most of their trips locally.

[@richardmccombs617]

I have grand kids that are 400+ mile trip. The rest of my family is with 25 miles. The Prius prime does this all well. My winter house is 1400 miles away and I do this in a 2 day trip, full electric would push this to three days. Then I live in the USA and we have states that are bigger than many countries so its a different world. At least we got rid of the guy who wanted is to burn coal in our cars.

[@kennethstealey1311]

This is a great start, if you'd like to do a follow-up with more details then that would be great.

[@computerbob06]

I'm one of those Tom mentioned at the beginning. We are a one car family so it has to do everything. My commute is only 5 miles, so perfect for a Leaf. But a day out could be 100 miles with hardly any chargers around and a family holiday could be 300+ miles, so at my price point (max. £14k) not even a 28kwh Ioniq is good enough. One thing I've noticed is that BEV's hold their value quite well but PHEV's sink like a stone. I'd love to be able to afford an E-Niro, I would get one tomorrow, but I can't......... So its a PHEV for me (next car)!

[@lewisjohnston6831]

Now that is originality in subject matter, well done for taking the time to cover it. Important information to consider if you are thinking of buying one.

[@louisvl10]

Got an A3 e-tron (called TFSI-e today) 2016 in Jan. 2019 with 46k km. Driven it to 220k km today. 0 issues to report and averaging in grand total 49 mpg, charging it once every day. Still running the factory brake pads!! Only the high voltage battery had a leak or something which was apparently a known defect and part of a recall, which I wouldn't even have known if the dealer didn't tell me, right before I surpassed the max mileage for the battery warranty! They replaced the whole battery free of charge, meaning I got a fresh battery for it. I do my best to take care of the car and follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule, not driving it hard when cold, waiting to hit a long road where I'll be driving at a steady higher speed to start the petrol engine in ideal conditions at steady light load and babying the automatic clutch. Driven hard maybe 5% to max 10% of the time. Would recommend any day!

[@matthewwassall798]

Excellent summary

[@roberthunter6927]

PHEVs are almost essential in Australia due to low population sizes and VERY large distances. Although charging stations are being rolled out, the sheer number of stations required to fully support dedicated EV is astronomical. You will probably find charging stations in urban areas and some popular regional locations, but that is about it. Many people have family and friends, or business requirements that mean at least some country travel is required. People who live in rural areas often have to travel into a city for things like specialist medical care, or other goods and services not often covered in the smaller towns.

[@johnjones1088]

Hi just watched…. Really good it to me needs a change in mind set. I, sorry we😜 bought a 22 Tucson phev couple of weeks ago ( like driving a bloody iPad!) I’ve tended to run on auto, goodness knows why as we do less than 50 miles most weeks. So from now … plug in more and run elec ta from a guy just shy of 80 yrs. Us oldies can still learn.😊

[@jonathantaylor1998]

An excellent and informative video, Wookie - thank you for putting this out there. However, as a BEV driver, I'm on the "I get really incensed by PHEVs" side of this...! Sorry... but at least let me explain. This topic came up on another channel, so I did a bit of research and came up with the following (though, I now can't remember the exact numbers I found online, so this is a bit of 'paraphrasing' if you will...) I compared 2 'typical' company rep cars - the BMW 320d Auto and the BMW 330e PHEV Auto. As a past company rep myself, I would drive anything up to around 600 miles per week - 95% on motorways, as you'd imagine. Based on that mileage, the 330e would've managed approximately 150 miles (30 miles x 5 days) on electric, then the remaining 450 miles per week on petrol - at, according to driver 'testimonial' I found online, about 40 mpg = 11.25 gallons of fuel per week, whilst pumping out approximately 169g/km of CO2 during petrol-only usage based on that mpg figure = 121,680 grams of CO2 pumped out each week. Meanwhile, the 320d does the entire 600 miles on diesel, at around 55mpg = 10.90 gallons of fuel, whilst pumping out 122g/km of CO2 = 117,120 grams of CO2 pumped out each week. So, I totally agree that, for most low mileage, private users who have the time to - and are willing to - plug in each night to recharge, PHEVs can make a great used car. But, since BIK advantages pretty well ensure that the vast majority of PHEVs will end up in the, usually time-restricted, "can't be ar*ed" company rep brigade, in my humble opinion, I honestly believe PHEVs will be the environmental "time bomb" that no one saw coming... just like diesel in the 80s... :-(

[@tomwookieford8445]

I see the argument absolutely, but as ever with anything with EV capability, it's all about usage cycles. Banging up and down a motorway at 600 miles a week is probably actually most efficient with a modern diesel (not that people want to say that). I think what I was pointing at here is that there's a second hand market for PHEVs that might get people a car they can use for reasonable money that might get them interested in full electric for their next car... whatever helps. But yeah, PHEVs are absolutely pointless if you don't plug them in!

[@madonemt]

diesels were made for that sort of mileage. phevs are ideal for more typical users of cars that are dotting around a city and suburbs for most journeys dont want the public charging hassle for long range.

[@trevorheley1045]

Good subject chaps. I had a Kia Niro PHEV and it was actually very good (albeit there was a couple of electrical niggles fixed under warranty). Always plugged in (and a lot of free lucky as the 3.6 kWh battery could be pretty much filled via my solar panels) and when I sold it on to get my e-Niro it had been averaging around 100mpg and 34 miles pure electric according to the car brain thingy. Now i got the PHEV because I wanted a genuine 200 mile range when there was nothing except a Musk car around but nowadays there is more choice so would i do it now? Probably not but if you still think you might suffer from squeaky bum on long journeys then get a good PHEV as a stop gap until you get your nerve back. The times you run smooth will convince you that there is only one way to go (unless of course you are paid by a car manufacturer to spread FUD !)

[@tomwookieford8445]

I think as people get used to pure ev, they'll get it. BUT there's a huge chunk of people that believe the FUD, and they need bringing into the fold gently!

[@clivewinn1588]

I leased an MG ZX EV and I have never seen the supposed 198 mile range ever displayed on my dash. It's used mainly local with a few longer range trips. I went to the airport and on my return I topped up the car, ate, left for home and afterwards checked the top up cost; £17 was the cost, I was mortified, I made a basic error by not checking the mileage required; a 10 minute top up would have done. The car I leased was bereft of many of the toys I wanted so be careful when leasing; get the full spec in writing first. I will not be leasing again and the next car I purchase will be a PHEV, probably a Skoda Octavia. BTW good reporting!

[@anydaynow01]

Gen 2 Volt owner here, after a little over 100k km only about 7k of it is on the ICE. I have charging at work and at home so with the ~70km electric range it more than meets my daily needs. On the east coast of the USA where I and most of my friends and family live charging is spotty at best so when going on road trips having the ICE takes a lot of headache out of where and time to refuel. A Tesla could be another option but I repair my own vehicles and I'm not a fan of the styling.

[@tomwookieford8445]

Teslas negate a lot of the issues with longer journeys, but they also cost a lot. I think being gentle and showing people what's achievable rather than constantly berating them is more useful... but look at your stats! 7k on the ICE is brilliant!

[@neilthompson2526]

Had a Golf Gtd as it was cheap to tax £20 on a 64 plate, but short journeys meant averaging 45mpg. Bought a 225xe last month and so far used 1 gallon of petrol and 120kwh of battery which equates to 120mpg (equivalent on my electricity tariff). It’s not the prettiest of cars in this SUV world but 224hp sees 0-60 in 6.7 seconds which is pretty quick for a 1700kg MPV.

[@dereckwallis3077]

We are retired and had an electric Hyundai 64kwh Kona car and thought it was great until we went on holiday in Cornwall,there are very few chargers and we go on holiday to Cornwall quite a lot so we decided to get rid of the electric Kona after only 9 months of ownership and have managed to get one of the very last Hyundai Ioniq PHEV (had to search the country 4 one in top of the range)as we had one before in just the Hybrid and we loved it so lets see how we get on with a PHEV should be fine with a petrol back up lol just feel its way too early to go fully electric as the government are dragging their feet when it comes to infrastructure.Thought about going Hydrogen but there are only 3 chargers in the country 2 in london and the other in scotland nothing in the southwest where we live!!!!!CRAZY.

[@zimkitch]

Whilst late to seeing this video, just wanted to 1. say nice job, and 2. ask if ev batteries have a lifespan ? Am looking to buy a used phev but just not sure on how old is too old.....

[@behzadnasr]

I am Behzad from Sweden I'm confused about which one it's better ! I wanna buying between Mazda Cx60 plugin or RAV4 plugin or Hyundai Tucson plugin ???? Which one is better?

[@RzzHi]

Okay. Thank you for the video. Thinking of buying a 530e 66 plate, but worried about, who actually owns the battery, what guarantee is there on the battery, what's the life expectancy of the battery? I'm not near a plug, terraced house no garage, so I would be reliant on driving the car and the battery to charge whilst driving. Is my fuel economy going to go through the roof, 66 plate 4 cyl, once the battery runs out of charge, would I need to replace the battery after X number of years? I would really need to be reassured about the above before handing over my hard earned cash.

[@andyaccount]

In cold weather, do PHEV's automatically start on the combustion engine like my full hybrid does, or can you pre-heat them like an EV. As I am unable to charge at home I will not be going PHEV or EV any time soon hence i got a full hybrid (Engine charges battery when low)

[@davidtaylor4123]

I've got a Hyundai Ioniq plugin as company car. Didn't know what to do with it at first was very anti plugin..... How could it ever work for me....? I charge every night on 3 pin plug. On octopus go tarrif 50p per night. Between my wife and I we are running at about 5p per mile combined fuel and electric cost 800-900 miles on a tank of fuel and charging most nights. Company car tax really cheap. It's a win win for me. Not quite ready for electric but defo a brilliant stepping point

[@madonemt]

But you will likely consider a full electric next time round, especially with the charging network improving and many models now offering over 300 miles of range and much faster public charging times.

[@Bewar3them00n]

I need to upgrade my smaller family car because my 2 kids have grown considerably over the 5 years I've had my current car, I've been looking at the Outlander PHEV because I generally work from home so my trips are local, and any big trips to visit family or day trips happen about twice a year. More leg room, a bigger boot, and doing something for the environment would be great. How are the Outlanders on the Motorway, compared to Citroen C4 Cactus 1.2 petrol?

[@richardgilyead7640]

I had two Outlander PHEVs and they were extremely practical family cars, spacious and quiet. On the motorway they cruised easily at 70mph. The mpg depended mainly on how far you were going. I did a number of 160 mile trips, with a small top-up charge half way, and got about 70mpg. Once the electricity runs out you are driving a heavy SUV which will return about 40mpg so the longer the journey the less the mpg overall. However, 90% of my journeys were less than 30 miles so were almost all electric. I think that was a good trade-off. I have now switched to a used full EV and definitely feel that the Outlander was a great intro to electric driving.

[@TheophilusPWildbeest]

I get 131 mpg from my 330e (plug in every night), because 75% of my miles are on electric. I used to have a Leaf but struggled with charging infrastructure and lost confidence in it for distances, so a phev does me nicely thank you.

[@tomwookieford8445]

Excellent! And when you get a bit of parity for EV, do you think you'd consider one now?

[@TheophilusPWildbeest]

@@tomwookieford8445 Right now I probably would stick with a phev, but in two year's time with improved charging facilities (and improved batteries) I will go back to EVs like everyone else with a home charging point. But what about all the homes without driveways/charging points, is this a massive future market for petrol powered self-charging cars? In the future where all cars are powered by electricity does it come from the mains or will it often come from an onboard petrol engine? Thanks.

[@shaungregory1789]

We've had a Evoque P300e for 6 months and hardly use any petrol as we're retired and go to gym 4 times a week and Sunday lunch out. 300bhp power and smooth. What's not to like.😊

[@dogsdinner99]

Still love my Vauxhall Ampera. Even though they stopped making it in 2015, it still has better electric range than most modern PHEV's. The electric drive train is practically bullet proof, check out the guy in America who has done over 400K miles in a Chevrolet Volt, basically the same car. Most of our mileage, especially with lockdown and working from home, around 90%, is on electric, and then we have the convenience of great MPG for longer trips. I will definitely look to go full EV if I replace it, and it has encouraged me to get solar on the house, which I now use to charge it.

[@sayyamhussain3999]

For Charging can use Roller Wind Generator, made in Germany by Bernd.... reseacher from Chicago

[@MalcoTube]

Hi, Interested to know the real world battery range of the Ampera ? Can you tell me what you get ?

[@dogsdinner99]

@@MalcoTubeSummer on a single straight run can get max 41 miles on electric, winter around 25 to 30. If you do lots of little runs it goes down a lot quicker. Petrol only get around 50mpg. Done just under 20k and lifetime mpg is 83. Hope that helps

[@uYahbonaEmbo]

I think there should more videos like these about PHEV because they do have a purpose for conservative drives. PLus some manufactures have been coming in late to the EV game many governments are still punishing consumers with high taxes just to buy a full EV vehicle.

[@carlosquiroz7819]

Doesn't the HP go down when the battery charge goes down?

[@alexclothier6626]

I think they are the best all-rounder at the moment. I have personally had 2 (currently a Volvo S90 T8) and until electric cars can do more than 350-400 miles reliably I will carry on buying PHEVs

[@cannygrowabeard]

Don’t know your circumstances so fair enough, but my bladder won’t last 350 miles in one shot, and I’m in my twenties. On a 200+ mile journey I stop for at least 30 mins, which is enough for a bit of a recharge,. S90, lovely car.

[@matthewjburt6482]

Can your bladder do 350-400 miles?

[@alexclothier6626]

Thanks yeah it is a lovely car, I am only 21 also but having done multiple long journeys I don’t always stop in an area where I can charge the car so I would just like the security knowing I can get back. Having said that I am looking at the new Audi E-Tron GT but I am probably going to wait it out

[@wobby1516]

@@alexclothier6626 If it were in the U.K. the Ford Mustang electric for me.

[@petergreene1903]

Towing a caravan isn't fun in an ev. Driven EVs for a few years. Bought a Skoda Enyaq IV 60. Then bought a small 830 kg caravan. Went to pick it up a few weeks ago from Norfolk and drive it back to Plymouth with the Enyaq. Took two days. Including 5 hours charging (5 stops charging to 95%) plus unhitching at each charger sometimes more than a mile from the charger. Add on another hour or so for that. Plus someone sitting with the caravan whilst I was charging for security. Then there were motorway services. Sedgemoor South the caravan parking was with the trucks near the services edit. Unhitch and try to get back to the charger by the restaurant and it's a one way system. No can do without another 10 miles driving. At Cullompton services M5, they have removed the dedicated caravan parking and unhitching in the truck parking attracted threats of. £70 fines. Effective range for the Skoda towing in winter is 70 miles ( keeping 20 miles in reserve for chargers not working). Given the limited range and lack of tow through chargers and lack of planning regarding infrastructure towing with an ev, it's a non starter. To bring this back to the video, we immediately sold the Skoda back to the dealer for what we paid for it and bought a same reg. better spec. Niro 3 PHEV with a lot of change left over. It tows up to 13000kg, I discovered it does over 60 to the gallon at motorway speeds and all my local driving is electric as the car is kept charged up. For us it was either drive an ev or tow, but not both. Our retirement plans were touring in the caravan so a no brainer. FYI my ave. figures for the Skoda are: 3 mpkwh winter driving and not towing. When towing, 1.3 mpkwh at 60 mph, 1.8 at 55 and 2.0 at 50. Think wind resistance is a bigger factor when towing caravans than weight. PS Had an Outlander PHEV a few years ago. 29 mpg was too thirsty for us.

[@dgattenb]

got a plug-in.. as there are very few charging stations around here ... adding the cost of putting in a charging station at hoe is not an option

[@T4Van-E-daycamp]

I'm angry that some manufacturers won't make PHEV'S but mild hybrid only. And now I'm looking for small PHEV SUV. the list of options is quite small

[@peterlang3369]

I am getting a BMW 225xe not much real world range about 15 I am told in winter but commute is less than 5 miles and we have 10 free charging pods at work so be crazy not to take advantage and fuel costs will go dramatically down from current Range Rover bills

[@led0073]

Just got the Audi A3 petrol/electric hybrid. It's just a waste of time, the 35 miles on a good day is meh. Most of the time, it's just 29 miles, and in winter, it is 21 miles. Either go full electric or stick to diesels. Plugging it in is a pain, and they take a while to charge due to the low capacity battery charging. speeds, Audi has this really convenient place to store the 3 cables that take a surprisingly large amount of space up. It's called the boot, I never realised I needed a car boot so much as I do until now so I can store charging cables in it, brilliant!

[@johnsmith100]

A question about plug in hybrid car: Once you exceed the mileage range that is provided by charging a plug in hybrid car, does the car start behaving like a self charging hybrid, or does it only use the gas engine, from that point onwards, till you plug it in to charge it again ?

[@lynnfisher4396]

A mixture of both. Our OutLander Phev will turn seamlessly to its petrol engine when the battery no longer has charge. However the regenerative braking is always working in the background so the battery always charges through braking or by the retardation going downhill for example. So in effect the battery and engine turn themselves on and off. It has a ‘save’ mode whereby it starts in electric but then turns to petrol at a certain percentage which is useful if you want to travel a distance but use electric power in a town later for example. It’s also has a ‘charge’ mode where the petrol engine runs to recharge the battery irrespective of whether you are braking etc. We couldn’t see the point of that one so haven’t used it. Hope that helps a bit.

[@johnsmith100]

@@lynnfisher4396 Absolutely, and thank you for the detailed reply.

[@hotshot141]

I think used plug ins are great for people like me who have been wanting a way to eliminate my daily gas bill but could never afford it 😅

[@andrewnelson7219]

I know things are going to improve in the next few years relating to EV range and charging times I think just be patient and don't rush your decision 👍

[@cristiang1991]

Phev or full hybrids in city = long life car, because miles in the city are using the car like like few more times than outside city. So those cars resist more.

[@jacobtyler1145]

i would love to have phev, but 1 cant afford one and 2 i live in a terraced house so not front garden or drive.

[@danielrichards8472]

Well done for filming in the rain! 🌧

[@tomwookieford8445]

i was only electrocuted twice.

[@tedwoghiren4002]

Still not fair that I li e in a flat in London and the nearest charging spot is 30 minutes walk away. The infrastructure for ant plug in electric car is shameful while the gov still insists on taxing older cars

[@davidp.4727]

If there were more fast chargers, I would definitely get an EV. Until that changes, it’s a PHEV for me .

[@stephenholland5930]

I think you mean rapid chargers. Check out zap-map.com to see how many there actually are. You may be surprised.

[@valleysofneptune]

The current mess with public chargers proves that hybrid is the way forward at the moment

[@gac0018]

I've got an Audi tfsi e plug in hybrid as a company vehicle, on my drive, charge and commute cycle i can achieve 1100 miles on £40 petrol. This coupled with 75% less company car tax than the equivalent petrol or diesel, its the best option by far. I would be interested to see how much reduced range the battery has after 3 years......

[@tomwookieford8445]

great point. You're using the car correctly though - 1100 miles for 40 quid use of the ICE!

[@awesomefrankrapid]

Used Peugeot PHEVs will have half the battery range they did when new. Always get to see how the battery has degraded

[@janlojko5228]

I got one to save on fuel but to keep my environmental footprint correct when I change the oil I put it down the drain to make up for the fact the car runs cleaner

[@no-oneman.4140]

The 'luxury' road tax mentioned which is now £335 a year - don't forget this is in addition to the £145 road tax for PHEV's. £480 a year WTF.

[@MalcoTube]

I guess some of the problem is the fact that roads still need to be maintained (badly) and with the loss of revenue from fuel sales it will have to be made up again at some point.

[@vokstar]

They are kinda like a gateway drug err car so people might go full electric.

[@DerekVuong7799]

but but, that's like saying you only do 30 miles a day then why luge around a 300 miles battery pack? you're only using 10 percent of the batteries. So it smarter to get an ice car for your daily or phev and you get the best of both worlds.

[@madonemt]

I personally think they are a great 'gateway drug' to the world of electric cars. We have all seen Prius owners driving along as slow as humanly possible just trying to use as little petrol and preserve as much electric energy as possible. It's even more pronounced with phevs. Once an owner does the real world calculation as to how much cheaper running on electric is then they maximise their electric miles. They will then be waiting patiently for an EV that will cover ALL their needs. I have gone the opposite way, not because i don't love my ev because i do, and will miss it dearly. I no longer have an 80 mile a day round trip commute, its been reduced to once or twice a month so i am trading in my current ev that's costing just over £500 a month for an MG phev with a 35 to 45 mile range costing £400 a month. Its also more comfortable for my wife who has serious back issues. Almost all my mileage will remain electric, but our trips to wales and its hopeless EV charging infrastructure will be easier. I can charge at work for free too.

[@sargfowler9603]

Hmm, some errors and irrelevance in this video. A granny charger costs £50-£100, not £500. PHEVs are actually more efficient than an ICE only car as they regen and use that captured energy to accelerate. They coast very well too. I easily get 55mpg out of my Leon PHEV on a motorway and get 40 miles around. town on EV alone. On the subject of benefit in kind, I'm pretty sure that only applies to the odd few company car drivers.

[@stevencampbell1150]

Small problem a PHEV is useless to me as I do 75 miles a day mostly motorway and they can only do small amounts of distance on electric and once you get up to motorway speed bang goes your economy and the electric power as well. For me diesel will remain king. For short commutes yes, for me, no.

[@stephenshannon3706]

I recognise the article is about PHEVs, but your response suggests that pure EV would not match your needs for a 75 mile commute at motorway speed. Last week I drove to Edinburgh mostly at motorway speed without needing to stop for a charge and still had 80 miles of range after the 220 mile drive. Achieved the same on the return journey in Kia e-Niro - a pure EV. Even allowing for the favourable weather conditions going to Scotland, a round trip of 150 miles at motorway speed in poor weather represents no sort of challenge in an E-Niro or indeed quite a few other modern EV’s.

[@stevencampbell1150]

@@stephenshannon3706 slight problem as well, you do know as well if you're unfortunate to get a puncture, 1st of all you can't jack the e niro up as it'll damage the battery underneath plus even if u could it doesn't come with a spare either. Not much use really. It'll be long time before an EV of any sort is of any use to me but the e niro certainly isn't.

[@davidgapp1457]

EV's are not close to providing me the vehicle I need, irrespective of price. I could use one as a second vehicle for commuting and around-town activities, but towing a boat to the coast? Going skiing in France? Good luck with that! The range of your typical EV plummets when you tow - especially at motorway speeds - and most places I go for weekend getaways, the nearest Supercharger outlet is many inconvenient miles from where I camp. So no, I would love to own a pure EV, and when they sort the problems such as useful range (especially when towing), charging time (I want 10 to 90% in under 5 minutes or don't waste your breath) and price... I'll be queuing up to buy one. In the interim, and since I can't afford a second vehicle purely for commuting and around-town driving, the Rav4 Prime was the perfect vehicle for me.

[@michaelhunter9791]

There seems to be a completely false perception about PHEV that they operate as an EV until the limited range is exhausted and then switch to pure ICE power. What they actually are is hybrids with the additional facility to run as a pure EV.

[@davelocktalk]

Electric cars with a 64klw battery are too expensive, and there are the cars I want with enough range. Second hand 64klw battery cars cost over £25000 with 30000 miles on the clock.

[@user-bo2id3cr8x]

100% efficiency of fully EV cars makes sense only in some countries where the energy comes from natural sources (such as geothermal in Iceland, for example) but not from plants burning coal, gas, or oil (it is still 80% of electricity source). Some countries (like in a video from Philipines) use diesel generators for fast chargers (How do you like it Elon Musk? Let´s equip each Tesla with a diesel generator in a trunk directly!). And if you calculate the loss of energy when converting the heat of the burning reaction to electrical power then it is much more profitable and environmental friendly to burn fuel directly in a car. BTW, what about battery utilization? Nowadays no one care but one day it will be a problem. Unfortunately, "efficiency" mainly means "it will be more comfortable and cheaper for me" and nothing more. So, from these perspectives, PHEVs are a golden middle.

[@Chicken_Lips]

Guaranteed to find an Outlander sat charging the little battery for several hours wherever you go for some reason 🤔. PHEVS should only be charging at home if you ask me.

[@tomwookieford8445]

I actually agree with this - I feel like that's kinda the point; charge them up when you can at home or work and chip away at those small journeys by doing them on EV.

[@madonemt]

i agree in general but if they take a shopping trip to tesco surely you dont mind them charging for free? i dont think any evs are charging at tesco cos of range anxiety!

[@Chicken_Lips]

@@madonemt the batteries are so small, the cost to charge at home is negligible. Someone in a full B.E.V may need a charge desperately. The PHEV won’t.

[@madonemt]

@@Chicken_Lips why would someone at tesco need a charge desperately? I currently drive a leaf and do some shopping at tesco if its on the way partly cos of the free charge. I will continue to do the same with my phev. Lobby your mp about the terrible charging infrastructure like I do.

[@Chicken_Lips]

@@madonemt I agree the infrastructure needs attention if E.V’s are to be feasible for all, but as a phev has the choice of electric and fuel I think it is only fair to leave the few charges available for full bev

[@timcockell2378]

Grat Video, but I wish you and your co-presenters would stop referring to ICE cars as “normal” which gives the impression that BEV and PHEV vehicles are “abnormal”. This is not going to help those who are sceptical about leaving ICE behind and embrace the electric future.

[@tomwookieford8445]

totally get what you're saying - I think I just use it as shorthand rather than saying 'a petrol or diesel car' all the time. I also think that people kinda get the difference, as ICE is what we've been used to up to this point. Though it's definitely changing!

[@sayyamhussain3999]

Mr. Writer or clip Maker, I m using this in PAKISTAN and very annoyed by it's performance, 22 miles on Electric, and Charging Cost more than it's saving, when drive mix,than too not attractive, This Outland of Mitsubishi PHEV, ISN'T even not making good ROI against it's cost, this isn't not even Full Electric/ Hybrid, it's joke of Technology, it HYBRID tech also Mild, it's just show piece, very depressing.... Reseacher at alternative Energy Generation from Chicago, but now from Karachi Pakistan where using ur said vehicle 🚜🚑 4 years, very annoyed 😠

[@ianbrown1255]

I’ve got a Mercedes’ GLE 350de PHEV…..unfortunately it’s cheaper to run on diesel than on pure electric because of the recent price rises and it’s going to continue…..nobody seems to want to talk about the unfortunate truth……All electric car owners are leeching off taxpayers…no fuel duty or Road tax! What a con, so I’ve decided to join the cheapskates pretending to be green and ordered a Porsche Taycan turbo…..can’t wait for the free ride!

[@IvesSteve]

You'r totally missing the main point and misleading people in the process!

[@edenviews]

All I need to know, is that they are an expensive rip-off and still use petrol. Waste of time, rubbish!

[@tomwookieford8445]

did you watch the video?

[@timaustin2000]

Angry EV owner here: put them straight in the bin. If you can plug one in, just buy an EV. Sorry

[@hughmarcus1]

My suggestion Tim, don’t judge everyone by your experience. I live in rural Northern Ireland. The charging infrastructure is abysmal. We can’t afford a new EV with a good range so realistically we’re looking at a 4-5 yr old EV & the winter range is likely to be under 100miles. That means my wife’s round trip to work would just about make it. I’ve decided then that it’s either a hybrid or another diesel this time around. There’s an EV group on FB here & EV owners are advising ppl like me not to buy until the infrastructure improves.

[@timaustin2000]

@@hughmarcus1 I'd agree with the sentiment to wait but not for infrastructure reasons: just for more longer-range EVs to come onto the second hand market. A Renault Zoe ZE40 would have the range you need already, for example, and there are plenty of used examples. But that's a small car. Plenty of used Kona EVs starting to spring up too and they have tonnes of range. Thing is, if you can't afford a new EV then you can't afford a new PHEV - they generally cost just as much. Which leaves us in the same position: if a choice between a used PHEV and a used EV,... if you can find a well priced Kona EV or even an Ioniq, you'd be much better buying that than a PHEV which only does 20 EV miles in the winter at best. Far less than your wife's commute.

[@electricwhirl5175]

@@timaustin2000 I'm an owner of Seat Mii electric. And you know, I love the EV etc, but my next car for family will be PHEV, replacing our old diesel. Because that's so much hassle to charge the car on longer trips. I can make ~1400km on fuel tank, I fuel car once or in a few days in longer trip for 10 min. On daily basis the PHEV would be plenty for daily commute-work-school-shops-home etc. And If some friend asks me advice and expierence of EV, for single car in family, I say - If you can afford, buy Tesla M3/ID3/Kona with HUGE battery. Otherwise take hybrid.

[@lynnfisher4396]

We were in a similar position, we live in Lincolnshire with few decent public chargers for trips away. We carry lots of gear so bought our Outlander Phev new in 2019 and religiously charged it via solar panels and latterly on the Octopus Go faster tariff. We learnt as went along no. 2 years on things have changed, the MG5 estate has arrived with loads of carrying capacity , a range of 180 -210 miles and costs £10k less than we paid for the Mitsubishi. So we will go full EV when we change. However, Phev owners shouldn’t be pilloried if they have to carry large loads and don’t have access to a decent charger network. In the same way some Tesla fan boys can’t take a contrary view about their cars , some full EV owners can seem to get scarily tribal too. Surely as long as we all change to EV’s eventually how we get there is down each individuals needs? There is room for chargeable hybrids and full EV’s at the moment so let’s celebrate the progress rather than criticising someone whose circumstances may not be obvious.

[@carolet1966]

I live in NE Scotland, charging network is abysmal certainly no fast chargers and 40 miles to nearest railway. Can afford EV would want EV but just not peactical to go full EV till charger network improves.