Hybrids!

[DaveD]

I've just realised I've had this car a year now so I thought I'd summarise how this generation of hybrid tech does.
In a nutshell, it does 29 miles on a charge in summer and a low of 23 in the winter. Having heater/lights etc makes a lot less difference than you'd think, but preheating the car before setting off (while plugged in) will knock 5-8 miles off the range. Once the battery is depleted, I get around 40 mpg, though this can rise to almost 50 on the motorway, where the regen tends to have more of an impact.

I'm the perfect use case for this car as my normal place of work is exactly 12 miles away, meaning that I can often run Mon-Fri on electric power only, with the rest of my mileage being almost entirely motorway. My cost per mile has been significantly below my previous diesel and hugely less than the petrol, though this has not been exactly a normal year.

So far, been worth it financially, even without the massive tax break. Utterly forgettable car though, I hope to never own another BMW or Audi again, unless I can find a nice nick E39 or relive my younger days with an E46 M3.

Thanks - it's not easy to get an unbiased opinion from somebody who has lived with this type of car , far more useful than reading about a journalist's weekend away in it.

 

[Spaghetti]

I’m awaiting delivery of a Niro PHEV. I admit it’s for company BIK tax reasons. The tax saved will cover the extra I expect to pay on the electric bill.

 

[andys]

I’m awaiting delivery of a Niro PHEV. I admit it’s for company BIK tax reasons. The tax saved will cover the extra I expect to pay on the electric bill.

Should more than cover it, mine does by a mile. Costs me around £22 extar per month from my calculations

 

[Spaghetti]

That’s good to know @andys, thank you. I was just going to go diesel again, but the tax is crippling now. Quite looking forward to the quiet motoring on electric. Delivery is supposed to be early Dec .

 

[RealGoneKid]

This is a really interesting read back to the start, as on the car front I’ve gone from Lexus CT200h, then a 330e and just downsized from two cars to one now SWMBO works from home. So now we have an XC40 and it’s allowed me to order a t6.1 to convert to a camper

Really sold on PHEVs where they fit a driver profile, but also the better ones offer the fun bit, ”wolf in sheep’s clothing” of being phenomenally fast off lights but milk float efficiency when tootling. As for PHEV vans, yeah totally researched the idea but we are so far away from them fitting any possible driver profile. Short journeys all day without minimum two hours to spare to recharge ... no way. Long trek in a heavy van ... no chance.

We’re still I’d say at least two years away from a tipping point in the car market. Cost to private buyer still a big barrier to entry, and did I mention infrastructure? Needs a massive clean up / consolidation. As for vans, ten years maybe. Elon ... we’re going to need bigger batteries!