So I’m reasonably tech savvy, I read about cars most days, I listen to green tech podcasts as I walk the dogs. I can afford to be green. So I offloaded the gas guzzler (a Toyota Tarago since you ask with a 3.5l V6 – the best family wagon I’ve had by some margin. If they did a hybrid version I’d have had another in a heart beat – but I’ll digress that into another blog post some time.)
Here in Australia EV’s are unsupported by the coal and gas fired government. So as they are elsewhere they’re expensive. The cheapest EV is currently the just released MG ZS at 43k AUD. Trouble with it is actually the size. A decent sized family EV would be a Tesla Model X at 200+ k. Otherwise it’s hatchbacks and they aren’t going to fit a week away with two kids and three mountain bikes in.
So as with all vehicle purchases but especially EV’s you have to think of your use case. For us, nearly all around town, often 50-60 km in a day. Well a PHEV that allegedly covers 50k would do that nicely eh?
The arguments against PHEV’s mainly centre around an electric motor and batteries that lug the extra weight of an engine and it’s gubbins around. And then a petrol engine that lugs an electric motor and it’s battery around. I can see that, but truth is most of the time it’s irrelevant. I bought a Mitsubishi Outlander and most SUV’s weigh 2 tonnes plus anyway. (The Outlander is 2 tonnes). Weight is the enemy of range in EV’s though. But that’s also true of ICE and SUV’s aren’t light.
The other argument is that fleets buy PHEV’s to decrease their CO2 numbers and then never plug them in. Well that’s entirely fair to complain about. PHEV’s when they haven’t been plugged in are, indeed, heavy hybrids. But that’s how all systems get gamed. If the vehicle was doing lower mileage around a town then plugging it in would be more reasonable to a fleet owner perhaps. But then you’ve bought the wrong vehicle…
And the main downside to a PHEV, as I have discovered, is that once the battery has been depleted any significant demand on the power train is not a pleasant experience. The weedy petrol engine, despite the added torque of electric motors leads to much wailing of revs and not much go. In a two tonne SUV. But you can cheat and save the battery so it doesn’t fully deplete which mitigates this somewhat. But then the economy isn’t as good as one has been led to believe. What I can’t fathom is why they didn’t put a smaller capacity, turbo engine in. That would make the driving experience much more civilised. (I’d like to try an Audi A3 ETRON that has this set up)
But the good is good and would be made better if it was a pure EV. Around town on battery, gliding in silence with no gear changes is a superior driving experience. Find me an EV with a reliable long distance charging network, that’s big enough for a family, that’s not very expensive and I’m in- aka the Tesla Model Y, well apart from the cost bit. That is projected at 100k and still hasn’t been released here. And don’t Hyundai Kona me – the boot is tiny…
We’re managing about 85% pure EV driving when we’re in the city day to day. Charged overnight on the NSW 65% coal grid isn’t ideal but it’s better than petroleum. And renewables will only penetrate further. I have solar but it’s rare the vehicle is home during the day. Even at the weekends we’re out in it rather than charging it.
I am conscious the battery is small and therefore gets charged every day so I try not to part charge it. Apparently an Outlander will do vehicle to home charging which would mean I have a battery on wheels which could smooth my power usage. I think the only inverter in Australia that will do that is seven grand though…
The fuel saving is about 1500-2000 per annum I think, at two years old for 32k AUD I’m pretty happy. The EV range is 35-40k so nowhere near the 50k advertised but that’s not surprising. Once the battery is depleted and you’re on a long journey the consumption is about 7.5l/100km. Not too bad for a heavy SUV I suppose. Next year a new Outlander is out with a projected 70k (so 60 IRL) EV range and that would cover 100% of our driving most of the time. At 40k AUD less than the model Y that’s significant.
Anyway no plans to change in the next 3-4 years and things will have moved on again by then. I’ll be very interested to watch developments… I would hope the next car will be fully EV.