I'm averaging 120mpg on my prius plug in. It depends on what sort of journeys you do. I have a 50mile round tripe so can be in ev mode for roughly half of that.

 

Eh? Why wonder? Just read the research paper. The link is in the article. All the cars are listed. Outlander yes but also Kia Nero (their spelling not mine )

 

A friend of mine describes Plug Ins as 'smoking half a cigarette', which I always thought was eloquent.

 

I also recall this article a few years ago.

Government-subsidised plug-in cars may never have been charged

Plug-in hybrids bought for fleets with subsidies may never have been charged, research for BBC shows.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

I would subscribe to the view that a PHEV might be a stepping stone to a full EV, in my case anyway. I am supposedly averaging 110 mpg over the life of the car and these days take more and more short journeys, which are almost exclusively electric. I charge at home regularly and given that longer journeys are less and frequent with COVID restrictions continuing, maybe the wolf has been tamed.

 

Also it’s no surprise that company car drivers benefitting from BiK and paid mileage, will rarely charge their car after the novelty has worn off. So it’s no surprise they’ll be less efficient.

I average 120mpg each way on my 22 mile commute in the 330e when I charge at work (120mpg/60mpg when I can’t), so it shows that when purchased for the right reasons/journeys, there’s nothing wrong with them. 780 miles from one tank fill? Yes please.

Though I certainly wouldn’t have one as the main family car doing long distances, the Nissan Xtrail does that job. PHEVs are notoriously inefficient on long motorway journeys (though in my experience it drops to around 40mpg).

 

PHEVs are notoriously inefficient on long motorway journeys (though in my experience it drops to around 40mpg).

Not all PHEVs

 

f30paul said “PHEVs are notoriously inefficient on long motorway journeys (though in my experience it drops to around 40mpg).”

yes mine averages 44mpg on longer journeys which includes a bit of regen. I think you are spot on with the comment about bought for the right reasons

 

I have always thought all consumption and emissions data for PHEVs are useless. It totally depends how you drive it. I could theoretically only drive it on electric if I stay in my local area. You might buy it with one scenario in mind but life changes. My wife bought hers as a local commuter (100% electric) then got a job 50 miles away (terrible commuter due to its weight) then changed job to 7 miles away and is back to almost 100% electric.

 

From the linked article;

According to this data-set the lifetime emissions of a plug-in hybrid average around 28 tonnes of CO2.

By comparison, the average petrol or diesel car is estimated to emit between 39 and 41 tonnes of CO2 from fuel during its lifetime, a conventional hybrid would typically emit more like 33 tonnes.

So, even not plugged in as often as they should be and using the ‘real world’ dataset, they still offer substantial CO2 savings over a conventional ICE and smaller ones over a non plug-in hybrid.

We do like the perfect being the enemy of the good sometimes don’t we.

 

From the linked article;



So, even not plugged in as often as they should be and using the ‘real world’ dataset, they still offer substantial CO2 savings over a conventional ICE and smaller ones over a non plug-in hybrid.

We do like the perfect being the enemy of the good sometimes don’t we.

Are plug in hybrids and hybrids properly emission tested on an MOT? If not they can be far dirtier than a normal engine and get away with it.

 

I’ve gone from PHEV to BEV, wasn’t impressed with the real range of 15-20 miles on the BMW 225.

For our second car tho I’m considering another PHEV with the latest cars now offering c40 miles battery range and some serious performance. This would enable nearly all of our journeys to be on battery and do away with the pain of trying to charge up after every single journey. Just need to find the right one at the right price.

 

I’ve gone from PHEV to BEV, wasn’t impressed with the real range of 15-20 miles on the BMW 225.

For our second car tho I’m considering another PHEV with the latest cars now offering c40 miles battery range and some serious performance. This would enable nearly all of our journeys to be on battery and do away with the pain of trying to charge up after every single journey. Just need to find the right one at the right price.

I always said that my old Golf GTE would be perfect for me if it had a 15kWh battery with a 40+ mile real world range, as long as I could charge at work as well.

I did get concerned about future failures on a complex vehicle, so extended the warranty as far as I could, but PHEVs used properly are a great tool for the majority of people who have a short commute but regular long journeys as well.

 

I want a PHEV with a petrol V8. Is there such a thing?

 

They stopped production in 2015 but a good used example can be found on autotrader occasionally

 

That would be an awesome combination. Imagine the combined power output! 😍