rockdoc123 wrote:With regards to plug-in hybrids an interesting approach to all the current problems seems to have been taken by Land Rover (no longer English owned but instead owned by the Indian company Tata).
The new Range Rover hybrid is cheaper than the high-end Tesla and basically looks exactly like a normal ICE Range Rover. It has a plug-in hybrid engine but what differs here is the range on electric alone is only about 50 km before it reverts to the combustion engine. I think what Land Rover had in mind here was that for folks who use their vehicle for daily commutes the hybrid can handle that task. When they head out on the weekends further afield the ICE part of the equation comes into play. I like this idea and it is appropriate to where I live given the complete paucity of EV charging stations outside of the main city centre (where I am nowhere near).
This is an appropriate response to the problem I think versus the pie in the sky approaches that assume all the necessary elements for a problem-free EV existence will suddenly appear tomorrow.
Yeah, I have to agree 100%, and wish more PHEV's were available.
Also, I think the transitional value for HEV's seems obvious, given the mileage and relatively low cost of the latest generation of the Toyota technology, which it will license to any competitor, guaranteeing the technology can become widespread if it gains broad consumer acceptance.
With the modern platform, the only real HEV disadvantage I see is the possibility that the traction battery needs to be replaced or the hybrid system needs repairs. But with the 8 year 100K warranty on such systems (oh, make that 150K miles and TEN years for all Toyota HEV's starting with 2020 models, for the battery -- see link), and them often going 200K or more miles, that risk seems quite small, IMO, compared to taking the plunge so soon with a BEV. (The Prius has been sold worldwide for 19+ years now, so HEV technlogy is certainly mainstream by now).
https://www.motor1.com/news/375760/toyo ... -warranty/To me, having the ability to roughly double your gas mileage in the city, without putting up with any of the current BEV down-sides is huge. And of course, if you do very little highway driving, then the PHEV might be a cheap and effective BEV for the city, with no range anxiety when you do need to take a longer trip.
And with those, no worries about whether it takes a 5, 10, or 20 years for the charging infrastructure and battery tech and cost of BEV's to get to where you want it to be as a BEV buyer. Or, if the FCEV becomes the dark horse winner, you also have that option.
Folks like Tesla fanbois try to claim the HEV and PHEV tech. is a non-starter, just like they pretend NONE of the Tesla competition can ever matter. I call BS on that, since for a good decade and maybe two, no reason both HEV and PHEV can't be fine competitors for BEV's, especially considering the cost and functionality trade-offs for anyone who might have range anxiety in their situation.