America’s automakers have staked their futures on the notion that electric vehicles will dominate sales in the coming years, spurred by buyers determined to reduce carbon emissions and save on fuel.
But so far, while EV sales are growing, their pace is falling well short of the industry’s ambitious timetable for transitioning away from combustion engines. Instead, buyers are increasingly embracing a quarter-century-old technology whose popularity has been surging: The gas-electric hybrid, which alternates from gas to battery power to maximize efficiency.
So far in 2023, Americans have bought a record 1 million-plus hybrids — up 76% from the same period last year, according to Edmunds.com. As recently as last year, purchases had fallen below 2021’s total. This year’s figures don’t even include sales of 148,000 plug-in hybrids, which drive a short distance on battery power before a gas-electric system kicks in.
I bought a PHEV. It feels like the sweet spot. I can charge and do 90% of my driving on electricity, if I want to, since most of my driving is shorter range commuting. But, I can also take it on long road trips without fighting for charging infrastructure or having long downtime between charges. It gets great gas mileage even without plugging in. Actually, the gas mileage is so good that it’s more expensive to drive on electric most of the time.
I looked at PHEVs before landing on just getting an EV. I don’t understand why they have such small batteries. The ones I looked at said they could do like 15-18 miles on electric. I feel like if that was 30-36 then it’d be usable, but half that didn’t do much for me.
PHEVs are the worst of both worlds. Tiny battery, extra maintenance for both, extra weight of both. Only get slow charging. There have also been studies done that show most people don’t charge them and so you end up with an even higher amount of pollution than a 100% ICE because the smaller engine - despite having a better mpg.
I’d like to find a PHEV. It would be perfect for most of our daily driving - 12 miles to work. And we live ~500 miles from family, so we still need to be able to take the kids to see the grandparents for holidays. Subaru had a PHEV Crosstrek for a couple of years, but stopped making it available after 2019, iirc.
I’m hoping there are more PHEV models available when we’re ready to buy a new car in a few years.
You just described the perfect use case for an EV. Having to stop to charge once for like 15 minutes for a trip you make during the holidays shouldn’t be used as an excuse to haul around an entire gasoline engine.
We’ve driven that route for 5 years now, and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a charging station. I’m sure there is one, somewhere, but that’s not something I want to try and yolo my way through.
I’m a big fan of the Ioniq5, and if Hyundai weren’t having so many issues with their business lately, that’d be my first choice. We’re keeping our current vehicle when it’s time for a new one, so we can use that for trips. What I need more than anything is something dependable and reasonable (features and price) for my wife to take to work every day.
Personally, I think a PHEV is a better option for that because she can use gas if absolutely necessary, and if everything goes as planned, she can use the electric for all of her daily driving. The reliability of predicability is what I’m hauling a gasoline engine around for. If I’m spending $40-50k on a vehicle, I want to know that it’s going to last for 8-10 years, that the company isn’t going to randomly brick a feature because they feel like it today, and that the company I’m giving money to has engineered the best product they can.