[Bill N]

My parents may be in the market for a used PHEV in the new year.

Can any PHEV expert tell me off their top of their head which used PHEV for under £15K or so has the longest real world, proven range in EV mode in suburban/very gentle country driving?

A bonus point if anyone can tell me if any PHEVs have the ability to pre-condition the cabin on battery power? If yes, which ones please?

Thanks!

 

[Leonids]

My parents may be in the market for a used PHEV in the new year.

Can anyone PHEV expert tell me off their top of their head which used PHEV for under £15K or so has the longest real world, proven range in EV mode in suburban/very gentle country driving?

A bonus point if anyone can tell me if any PHEVs have the ability to pre-condition the cabin on battery power? If yes, which ones please?

Thanks!

BMW i3 rex has by far the longest battery range, followed by the Vauxhall Ampera/Chevy Volt. Ampera/Volt can definitely precondition on battery, but it's via a key fob button rather than an app.

 

[Spiny]

Ampera/Volt is best pre-conditioned of a charge point / EVSE but will use battery however that cuts into its range.
Both the I3rex and Ampera are electric drive and only change to petrol when the battery is out, or the driver forces the issue. The Ampera is designed to run with the battery used and has a reasonable fuel tank (35 litre), the I3 uses a small fuel tank to get you to the next charge point.
Amperas are not common and most Vauxhall dealers do not service them, check locally for a servicing dealer or if out of the Voltec warranty then a HEVRA garage.

 

[Bill N]

Ah yes, sorry, I should really have prefaced my question by saying “other than the i3 REx and Ampera”... ! I was really more thinking of the group of cars which have quoted EV ranges of between 20 and 40 miles and wondering a) which of those actually deliver the most in the real world and then b) which of the top few can you preheat if you’ve, for example, driven to a nearby lake or whatever for a walk and to get a coffee, and then want to be able to get back into a preheated, warm car to go home. I think my parents would love that, but not sure which cars offer that.

(The i3 could be an option, but having lived with one myself, I think the ride would be too firm for them. As for the Ampera, I think they’d be very reluctant just because of it being rare and they’d probably be worried about servicing etc.)

 

[HandyAndy]

All the rest are pretty much of a muchness re range. Golf GTE seems to get 23 miles, there's a v similar Audi eTron of the same vintage with same mechanicals but maybe nicer interior, Hyundai Ioniq Phev also worth looking at, ... BMW 330E (I think) may do a few more miles, but not sure if that's in 15k price range

 

[Bill N]

I had a quick look on autotrader earlier and there’s a surprising amount of choice now really, which is what prompted the thread I guess ... because, being honest, I was too lazy to go and read owner’s testimonies on each one and hoped someone might just be able to tell me basically!

 

[Bill N]

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[Bill N]

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[Bill N]

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[Bill N]

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[Bill N]

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[Bill N]

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[Bill N]

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[Bill N]

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[Bill N]

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[ChrisCross123]

Golf GTE will pre heat on battery when not plugged in - assume the equivalent Audi eTron and Passat GTE will do the same

 

[Bill N]

That’s all the options (I think) up to £15Kandabit - under 50K miles.

 

[Bill N]

Golf GTE will pre heat on battery when not plugged in - assume the equivalent Audi eTron and Passat GTE will do the same

Ah ok - thanks. Good to know. I did actually make the effort to search for that about the GTE and this is as far as I got - I should have scrolled down a bit further....

Preheat when the car is not plugged in

I will only be charging my car in work. At home can i set the car to preheat to 25 degrees for 7.30 am even though its not plugged in(not using carnet) ? Will it defrost the windows if there is ice on them ? Can you set a preheat start time ? Can you set it to only preheat from monday to friday...

www.speakev.com

 

[ChrisCross123]

2018 Golf GTE today (c. 6 degC) - driving a mix of 40 mph, 50mph country lanes, sticking to the speed limit but accelerating briskly at junctions, just completed my usual 18 mile weekend round trip on electric with 0 miles range remaining. This is with a stop for one hour in the middle which the car then had to warm up from.

Driving more gently I would have had a couple of miles range left, in summer I would have had maybe 6 - 7 miles range left, at 0 degC I would probably have ended up with the ICE running for a mile or two.

Pre heating on battery would probably knock 2 to 4 miles off the GOM.

 

[Bill N]

So.. this is what I’m finding:

Yes/no for pre-conditioning on battery
And
Rough median of real world range according to owners

(will edit with more data when found)

A3/Golf	yes 20-25
225xe	15-30 (depends if LCi?)
300e
Ioniq
Optima
C350e
Outlander
Prius